Mirror Musings

The Glass Association of North America’s Mirror Division meeting during last week’s Fall Conference got me thinking about the state of the North American mirror industry. It’s no secret that the North American mirror industry has seen better days. After all, so much production of the mass-produced consumer products has moved offshore. Is there any hope that it will ever return to North America? It’s not all that likely. As Lee Harrison, president of Walker Glass told me during an interview, “I wouldn’t hold my breath for it to come back.”

So what happened to the mirror industry here in North America? I went back to an article I wrote nearly eight years ago for USGlass, which talked about the state of the industry then. Let’s take a quick look back …

One struggle that John Matthews, then vice president of industrial products for Carolina Mirror (now part of Gardner Glass Products) in North Wilkesboro, N.C., talked about was the fact that primary glass manufacturers—suppliers for mirror makers—had started making mirror, too, and that lead to over-capacity.

Another deterrent, and probably the most significant, is increased competition from international producers who could turn out product faster and cheaper. As Drew Mayberry, president and CEO of Lenoir Mirror told me:
“Imported mirror and glass from countries such as China are affecting mirror manufacturers [in the United States] in two ways, neither of which is positive. First, mirror and glass parts are being installed in furniture that is being manufactured in [Asia], then packaged and shipped to the United States. Secondly, mirrors produced in China are being shipped to warehouses on the West Coast, then cut and fabricated for those markets. Both activities diminish the market available in the United States."

Producers also told me about the need for development and innovation. And today we’ve seen companies like Walker Glass and Gardner Glass Products do just that—innovate by finding ways to bring new products to the market place to stay competitive.

In last week’s mirror meeting, in fact, Tommy Husky with Gardner said at his company they don’t even consider themselves to be just a mirror company, but rather a specialty glass company. A number of mirror companies have developed new products products and are staying busy serving the architectural and design community’s decorative and specialty glass needs.

Another potential focus area mirror members talked about last week is using mirror for solar applications—another timely and significantly developing market. I know several times a week I read articles online that talk about photovoltaics and solar applications.

Maybe mass-produced consumer mirror production is gone for good. But there are still lots of opportunities for mirror producers; you just have to go out and find them.