AGRR - March/April 2008 - AGRR Magazine

Honestand TrulyGreenStep InsideBend, Ore.-based GlasWeldby Debra LevyMike Boyle and his wife, Lori, strike a pose outside theGlasWeld headquarters in Bend, Ore.“How do you respond to peoplewho thought that you werecrazy when you first startedin the auto glass business?”It’s a question that brings no denialor consternation from Mike Boyle, thepresident of GlasWeld in Bend, Ore.“I had fresh ideas and I asked a lotof questions,” he says, smiling. “If youare not in the right environment to dothose things, it can kill you. I neededto be tough, which I was, and not backoff, which I didn’t.”Boyle had just joined GlasWeld in2000 and burst onto the national repairscene when he made a presentationat the 2004 National WindshieldRepair Association’s (NWRA’s) annualconvention. He made his debut in amemorable speech that challengedthe status quo.“When you are new to any industry,you don’t have perspective. Youalso don’t have pre-conceived notionsabout how things work. I looked at theglass industry very differently than alot of people,” Boyle said during a visitto his offices late last year. “I wasRound the BendLocated in Central Oregon at the eastern foothills of the Cascade Mountains,Bend is a hidden treasure of the Northwest with a fast-growing populationof just less than 80,000. Bend is noted for its scenic setting, year-roundrecreational activities and growing economy. At an elevation of 3,625 feet, thecity covers 32 square miles. It offers world-class skiing, a delightful downtownand great vistas from every location.Bend has attracted Californians and other Silicone Valley-ites with its pristineair, wide-open spaces and beautiful view of the mountains. In addition toGlasWeld, both Cardinal Industries and JELD-WEN, a window manufacturer, operateplants there. “Almost every Cardinal plant uses our scratch removal system,”says GlasWeld president Mike Boyle. —DLamazed and disappointed by it. It isvery, very politically driven, very selfish.So I asked a lot of challengingquestions. This led some people toask ‘who is this person and why is herocking the boat?’”“I had some fresh ideas aboutthings,” he continues. “I believe thiscan be an admirable industry wherepeople can be proud of what they do.No one had heard that before and itrankled some people. One trade associationeven had me investigated unfairly.They later apologized andretracted their investigation.”So was Boyle’s reputation as arebel-rouser well deserved?“No,” he says. “I believe in candor. Ilove [former GE president] JackWelsh’s style of management. I speakmy mind because I want change. Youhave to identify a problem to changeit. This industry had problems andneeded some dialogue around them.”How Boyle came to work atGlasWeld is a series of coincidencesculminating in a confluence worthy40 AGRR March/April 2008 www.agrrmag.com