Spectrum Closing

The forum for discussion on business aspects of working with glass.

Moderator: Brad Walker

Post Reply
AndyT
Posts: 168
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:34 am
Location: Medford, Orygun
Contact:

Spectrum Closing

Post by AndyT »

Just got an email from Spectrum.


To Our Retailers and Professional Studios;

It is with heavy hearts and great remorse that we must inform you that we will begin the process of closing Spectrum Glass Company. This has been an extraordinarily difficult decision, and its ramifications were not taken lightly. We are keenly aware of the impact this decision will have on all of our employees, and customers worldwide. While there are many factors that have led to this decision, the hard economic realities that finally pushed us to this point are outlined below.

Our proprietary manufacturing process and furnaces were built to handle the demand that existed at the height of the art glass industry movement, which for many of our good years equated to sales of well over a million square feet of glass per month. Beginning with the rise of Chinese art glass production, followed by the Great Recession and the accompanying crash of the housing market in 2007-2008, we have watched those numbers dwindle dramatically to only 40% of production capacity. We have restructured several times, making necessary adjustments to reflect our diminished sales, but we cannot cut our workforce anymore and still operate in an efficient and sustainable manner. With the U.S. and worldwide economies continuing to struggle, and no significant signs of stabilization or growth in the foreseeable future, the business model for continuing to produce such a specialized, niche product simply no longer works for a facility of our size. While sales have declined, overhead expenses have continued to increase. Whereas our size was once a strength, it is now our greatest weakness.

Additionally, the entire U.S. art glass industry is now being evaluated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with respect to potential new regulations. Long-standing interpretations of air quality regulations are being reevaluated, and if new regulations were applied to our facility, it would require substantial capital expenses. Spectrum Glass Company has operated well within existing environmental guidelines and has been the only stained glass manufacturer to employ baghouse technology on furnace exhaust. Still, we have already accrued extraordinary, unanticipated expenses since the start of the EPA evaluation and cannot withstand additional investments of an unknown scale for an already faltering business. Due to all these factors, it's no longer financially feasible for Spectrum Glass to continue to operate.

Our plan is to produce glass for another 60-75 days. We will begin looking for other manufacturers to whom we can transition our product lines. We will simultaneously begin the process of selling the remainder of our existing inventory. Our sales staff will work with our distributors to make the process flow as smoothly as possible.

We wish to sincerely thank each of you for your years of support for Spectrum Glass products, and deeply apologize for any hardship this change brings about for you, and your customers.

Craig Barker
CEO, Spectrum Glass Company, Inc

Kyle Barker
President, Spectrum Glass Company, Inc.
Buttercup
Posts: 626
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:22 pm
Location: S.E. Queensland Australia

Re: Spectrum Closing

Post by Buttercup »

Just received the same email. Such a sad day........I wish all the management and staff all the best for the future. Jen
JestersBaubles
Posts: 705
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:01 am
Location: North Logan, UT
Contact:

Re: Spectrum Closing

Post by JestersBaubles »

Sad, indeed. I wish them all the best.

Hopefully, someone will pick up their product line, but there are only a couple of alternatives within the industry. I wonder how Uro is standing financially... probably not all that great if they are paying legal bills and likely facing many of the challenges Spectrum has faced.

And now... let all the hysteria begin among the masses.

Dana
Kingman_Arts
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 11:52 am

Re: Spectrum Closing

Post by Kingman_Arts »

Facebook has exploded with this. I read the detailed explanation from Spectrum and it sounds like the "recession" (depression) of '08 was a lingering factor still. Maybe more than a factor to the closing than all the EPA/DEQ talk. Spectrum pioneered the baghouse technology years ago. The same technology that Bullseye and Uroboros are only now struggling to install or just installed. I don't know but if you already have the filtering technology installed, it doesn't make much sense to close because of what might be required in the future does it?
Post Reply