Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/177525
supporting evidence that the issues are associated with inferior glass and products," Dente explains. East & West Alum Craft Ltd. uses only North American Produced Tempered glass, and has reported only two breakages from its railings in the past 30 years. Architectural Hardware p.32-37ArchitectHware.indd 37 Dente stresses the importance of well-designed stress-distribution systems, in addition to quality products. "Shortcuts don't pay," says Dente. "A higher quality product may cost a little more, but it also means minimized liabilities." The company custom welds each of its systems, working closely with architects to turn design visions into reality, and with an inventory of over 30 proprietary top pro iles and components, a personally developed design comes together easily. With all of this interest in custom products and design options from residential and commercial buyers, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what's the trend for the architectural hardware industry in the coming years. And of course, some things are important to consumers no matter the year: security, ease of use, reliability. So 2012 may just be the year of no trend at all. Perhaps the abundance of choice in the rest of our lives is having an impact on our expectations for everything we encounter; perhaps there's a more diverse source of design in luence in today's media landscape. Whatever the reason for this desire for customization, hardware manufacturers appear to be game, offering their clients solutions for a wide range of problems. ■ FOR WOOD & CONCRETE STRUCTURES Canada Scaffold manufactures not only standard products, it also has full facilities to provide its customers with "specialities" and custom one-off products. CSS connectors are made in British Columbia, Canada. HOLD DOWNS (Anchor Downs) FEBRUARY 2012 /37 1/23/12 10:33:47 AM