Glen-Gery<\/a> has earned even more monikers: Innovator. Leader. One-of-a-Kind.<\/p>\nNick Busch, Glen-Gery\u2019s Supply Center Manager, says, \u201cI\u2019m excited about this because of the opportunities it presents. We can bring in architects, masons, homeowners, builders to collaborate on projects. We have an almost 19,000-square-foot warehouse here with samples of every brick we manufacture and the space to educate the trade audience on how to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stunning facility, located in Urbandale near the Highway 141 exit off Interstate 80\/35, includes a 7,000-square-foot showroom, a consultation area, a trade sales area, a fully equipped training and education center, and a high-end event space.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a commercial kitchen, too, so we can make the events hosted here really special. If you have a premium product and a premium space, like Glen-Gery does, you have to offer premium events,\u201d says Brickworks North America president Mark Ellenor.<\/p>\n
The supply center\u2019s May 26 grand opening was just such an occasion. Kicking off with a preopening press event and tour, the evening also included cocktails, dinner, and entertainment.<\/p>\n
In the light-filled main showroom, dining tables were surrounded by artfully designed product displays that served as backdrop to the activities. That comfortable yet innovative setting reflects what the company envisions for the supply center as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing here is supposed to be an enjoyable experience,\u201d Busch says. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people to be overwhelmed, even though we do have samples of every product we manufacture. Some are on the changeable displays, but many are in hidden drawers below the display wall. We want customers to come enjoy the space, walk around, move around the space. And when they\u2019re ready, we have a great staff to help them make the best decisions for their home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellenor, a native of Australia, where Brickworks Limited is based, adds, \u201cWe have facilities like this in Australia, but this one is certainly a step up from anything we\u2019ve done before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glen-Gery, a Des Moines institution for more than a century, was purchased by Brickworks as its first expansion outside Australia. \u201cWe liked Glen-Gery because it was a premium brick maker,\u201d Ellenor says. \u201cWe make an array of brick products in Australia, and we\u2019re very good at making and marketing bricks. We scoured the world to find the best fit for our first international investment and ultimately settled on Glen-Gery because they had premium products but old facilities in need of upgrading, and we\u2019re very good at that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just one year after purchasing Glen-Gery, Brickworks purchased Sioux City Brick, which further established the company as the premier supplier in the Midwest. The brick products offered ranged from entry-level to top-of-the-line options, but Ellenor says the branding didn\u2019t match the existing showrooms. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t sell Tiffany earrings at the dollar shop,\u201d he jokes. \u201cWe wanted to design a facility that equaled the premium quality of the products and services we have to offer, which is unique in the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n
Busch agrees. \u201cWe have the facility to train all levels of the industry here. We can bring in 10\u00d710 wall units and have hands-on training so contractors know how to install our products and builders and architects aren\u2019t afraid to specify them. We even have a retail area where we have anything and everything a contractor could need to install our bricks, from trowels and levels to gloves and everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to create a facility where a tradesperson would be as comfortable coming in with dirty boots as an architect would be to bring clients for product selection,\u201d Ellenor says.<\/p>\n
With covered storage on one side of the building, the facility offers protected loading and contractor access no matter what the weather. The light-filled front showroom boasts state-of-the art interchangeable displays to serve retail customers and design personnel. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually provided the brick for this building when it was first being constructed,\u201d says Busch. \u201cSo it\u2019s fitting that we ended up selecting this space for our new supply center.\u201d<\/p>\n
With its easy access to all parts of the metro and beyond, the Glen-Gery team anticipates serving clients from across the state. And with two manufacturing plants just a short drive away, Glen-Gery is able to offer almost nonexistent lead times while some competitors are facing up to six-month delays.<\/p>\n
Like the old, dated Glen-Gery offices on Ashworth Road, the brick industry in the U.S. has been in need of an upgrade. The investment Brickworks has made in Glen-Gery reflects its commitment to transforming that image.<\/p>\n
\u201cBricks last forever,\u201d says Ellenor. \u201cThey\u2019re not a commodity product despite the old perception. They meet every demand homeowners could ask for. They\u2019re durable, they\u2019re cool in the summer and warm in the winter, they have very low maintenance requirements, and the design possibilities are endless.\u201d<\/p>\n
He says most homeowners aren\u2019t even aware of the options available, and that\u2019s one of the exciting pathways Glen-Gery has mapped out. \u201cHome buyers spend more time selecting the tap (what you call the faucet) and spend more on that upgrade than on the brick,\u201d says Ellenor. \u201cBut the exterior of your home is the biggest fashion purchase you\u2019ll ever make.\u201d<\/p>\n
He adds that the price difference from entry-level to premium brick is only 10 to 50 cents per brick, which amounts to an average of a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars on the typical home.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this new supply center, we can help homeowners make those exterior selections with confidence,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have designers and color consultants who will sit down with you and look at your plans, talk about the styles and colors you like, find a brick that you love, then advise you on the colors to choose when you go to select the roof, the trim, and everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
As property values continue to climb, making that investment wisely becomes even more important. \u201cAt the end of the day, you\u2019ll spend just a little bit more on a better-quality brick, but you\u2019ll be much happier with the finished look. When one builder or one homeowner in a neighborhood does that, it sets the standard,\u201d Ellenor says.<\/p>\n
To Busch, that attitude is what makes the future for Glen-Gery as exciting as the past has been. \u201cGlen-Gery is an iconic company, and that Ashworth building helped establish that,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t regret leaving. It\u2019s time for us to have our moment here in this new space. We\u2019ve got a parent company that\u2019s willing to invest in what we do and make an even better product. This new space reflects that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brickworks North America and Glen-Gery introduce new supply center. Legend. Icon. Artifact. Landmark. When you\u2019ve been around for a century, you get called a lot of things. With the introduction of its new masonry supply center, Glen-Gery has earned even more monikers: Innovator. Leader. One-of-a-Kind. Nick Busch, Glen-Gery\u2019s Supply Center Manager, says, \u201cI\u2019m excited about this because of the opportunities it presents. We can bring in architects, masons, homeowners, builders to collaborate on projects. We have an almost 19,000-square-foot warehouse here with samples of every brick we manufacture and the space to educate the trade audience on how to use them.\u201d The stunning facility, located in Urbandale near the Highway 141 exit off Interstate 80\/35, includes a 7,000-square-foot showroom, a consultation area, a trade sales area, a fully equipped training and education center, and a high-end event space. \u201cWe have a commercial kitchen, too, so we can make the events hosted here really special. If you have a premium product and a premium space, like Glen-Gery does, you have to offer premium events,\u201d says Brickworks North America president Mark Ellenor. The supply center\u2019s May 26 grand opening was just such an occasion. Kicking off with a preopening press event and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured"],"modified_by":"Build Des Moines","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7196"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7198,"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7196\/revisions\/7198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.builddesmoines.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}