Trainor Glass, a big player in the glass and curtain wall industry in the U.S., went out of business last week. During better times, they were a great company and it is sad to see them go. A company of that size no doubt had many projects in various stages of progress and completion and the effect on each can vary widely.
If a project has not yet started, a new contractor must be retained. However, there may be critical path scheduling issues that need to be accounted for. Custom curtain walls can involve long design and testing lead times and if a full scale mock up is required, this can take many months. On some projects, this is a critical path item for the project schedule and Owners, Architects and Contractors may need to adjust the project requirements to keep the schedule intact.
If a project in in process, then materials need to be procured to complete the project and a new labor force needs to be retained. Often, an inventory of exactly what the project needs are going forward needs to be completed. Supervision and quality assurance become critical items. Quality Assurance may require full time inspectors and field air and water tests.
Last, if a project is at or near completion, quality assurance inspections and testing may be required to confirm system performance since there will be no warranty from the out of business entity. Project closeout activities should be completed to preserve any pass through warranties by manufacturers.
A firm going out of business can cause some difficulties, but they can be managed to make the most out of a bad situation.
Read the article from Glass Magazine here: http://www.glassmagazine.com/news-item/commercial/sudden-closure-trainor-glass-likely-cause-ripple-effect-across-industry-129371
How will owners complete their projects? What resources will bonding companies have to complete the work? If leaks and warranty issues are present, who will be able to identify the problems and design & implement repair solutions?