The new association will combine the best elements of NGA and GANA to better serve members and the industry. GANA's technical and advocacy work will be supported and magnified through NGA's robust delivery platforms, including Glass Magazine, e-glass weekly and GlassBuild America, the largest industry trade show in the Americas.
Both organizations are committed to training the industry's workforce, and their dedicated volunteers will leverage the growing capabilities of MyGlassClass.com and other education resources.
"The combination of our associations will unify our industry, giving stronger voice to our advocacy and industry standards efforts, our technical resources and many other initiatives to ensure the continued use of glass in buildings the world over," said Doug Schilling, GANA President.
NGA and GANA will continue to operate as separate and collaborative entities until the transaction is complete and a Closing Date is established, likely by the end of 2017 or early 2018. Between now and then, the leadership will establish a joint integration working group to create a roadmap for the integration.
"The industry thanks the Joint Task Force members who worked to get us to this important threshold," said Ken Mariotti, NGA's incoming chair.
The NGA task force was represented by:
- Michael Albert, S. Albert Glass
- Angelo Rivera, Faour Glass Technologies
- Nicole Harris, NGA President & CEO
- Jerry Jacobs, NGA General Counsel
The GANA task force was represented by:
- Stanley Yee, Dow Corning Corp.
- Doug Schilling, Schilling Graphics
- Gus Trupiano, AGC Glass Company North America
- Steve Marino, Vitro Architectural Glass
- Kim Mann, GANA General Counsel
Nicole Harris, NGA president & CEO, continues as staff head of the combined association. Urmilla Jokhu-Sowell and Sara Neiswanger will join her staff. "We've collaborated with Urmilla and Sara for many years; my staff and I look forward to working together as we transition to build the new association," said Ms. Harris.
"With a ROI member-service mindset, we will execute on the goals articulated by many in the industry: eliminate redundancies and overlap to produce focused, relevant meetings, programs and products that reduce costs, save time and deliver on member company needs."