Meet Said Elieh: Bendheim Wall Systems VP of Sales & Innovation

Mitch Hawkins:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Martineau Minute. My name is Mitch Hawkins with Martineau and Company, and today's episode features our new partner, Bendheim Wall Systems. Joining us today is Bendheim's VP of Sales and Innovation, Said Elieh. Said and Bendheim have both been a great connection of ours in the industry for a long time now, and we're psyched to be officially representing their glass guardrail, channel glass and rain screen systems. Said, thank you for joining me today. It's awesome to have you here.

Said Elieh:

Thank you very much for having me, thank you.

Mitch Hawkins:

I think the best place to start with all this stuff is a quick intro for anyone that's watching or listening. So if you could give us just some quick background about both yourself personally and Bendheim's background, that'd be great.

Introduction to Bendheim Wall Systems- Channel Glass Systems, Decorative Rainscreen, and Glass Guardrail

Said Elieh:

So Bendheim is a US based company, started in Tribeca, New York, in 1927 as an importer of colored glass, stained glass. And in the 80s we started doing architectural glass, back painting, tempering, laminating. In 2000, we started importing channel glass from Lamberts in Germany. And then around 2015 we started with clipped glass that can be used as a rain screen, as parking systems. 

About me, I'm the VP of Sales and Innovation at Bendheim. I've been with Bendheim for 14 years. I have a masters in architecture, and I started working with glass since I was 17 years old. I started with a curtain wall company in Beirut, Lebanon. And that's about me.

Mitch Hawkins:

Oh, I didn't know you started that young.

Said Elieh:

Yeah, I was in high school actually when I started working with the curtain wall Company. And then I stayed with them until I came here in 2005. I went to college, I was still working. I was an estimator and designed shop drawings. And then before I left Lebanon, I was a project manager, and I came here and then I worked with structural engineers over here for 4 years. So I know a lot about structural engineering too. And then I found Bendheim, and then I've been with Bendheim for 14 years.

Mitch Hawkins:

Wow. So that's cool. I mean, anytime you have that level of continued employment at a company, that's just a great sign for how they do business.

Thank you for that background. Now, next question on the list, next topic on the list. I mean, in your eyes, what are some of the advantages or benefits to working with Bendheim for some of this stuff that we're now representing?

Advantages of Working with Bendheim Wall Systems

Said Elieh:

So I think our main advantage is we have architects in house that actually have a lot of technical knowledge about glass systems, how glass is attached to the building. So we can offer design assist to architects while maintaining the design intent. So we don't go directly to engineering and then take an aluminum, if the architect wants to two inch of aluminum, make it six inch because it's going to work. We're still architects. We want to make it work as beautiful as possible. So I think that's the main advantage that we have at Bendheim. Now, the second one is, for example, on the channel glass, is our partnership with Lamberts. This partnership started with the stained glass, or with the colored glass, 1927. And still this family business in Germany and the family business in the US, we're still partnering since 1927.

Mitch Hawkins:

Wow. Coming up on a hundred years. That's pretty cool too.

Said Elieh:

So, that's I think very important for us. And then the third one is we've, as Bendheim company, we have a lot of experience with specialty glass that we've done on the interior. We know how this glass works. And then we were able to mimic, not all of it, but some of it that we can use on the exterior. So we can bring specialty glass to the exterior that we've been using on the interior, and we know how this glass worked on the interior. So I think those are the three main advantages that we have at Bendheim.

Mitch Hawkins:

And I think for us it's just the fact that you guys, we wanted to partner with you guys just because of your, I'd say there's a general excellence level with you guys. You guys know your product, you're at the top of the list when it comes to this type of glass and these type of systems. So it was a real no-brainer for us to join up with you guys too. And I mean, we trust you guys. That's what it comes down to. We don't want to work with people that we're not going to trust and that we're not going to enjoy representing. So I think that's a really big part of this whole piece.

Said Elieh:

I think even the owners, the Jaysons, which is the company, the owners, three brothers, the reason why actually we all love working. And then we have people at Bendheim that they've been there for 30 years, 40 years, because how they treat the people and then how they treat projects. Every project is very important project for them. And they're very passionate about the glass, about the industry, and then the entire team under them too. They take this energy from them. It's very good place to be

.Mitch Hawkins:

Yeah, yeah. We agree. We agree wholeheartedly. Last topic that I want to touch on before we go, is there anything new and innovative that you guys are working on over there that these people should know about?

Future Innovations Coming from Bendheim Wall Systems

Said Elieh:

Yeah, so we have the parking facade systems. Those, I think they're becoming really popular because before that you'll use a curtain wall system to attach on a parking deck or you'll use metal panels. There's so many different stainless steel. So we design systems specifically for glass that goes directly to concrete. It doesn't need any continuous metal in the back. That's one. 

And then channel glass, we design systems specifically for parking on a channel glass and other systems for rain screens, for channel glass and flood glass. 

And then the latest is the glass guardrail, which we're currently testing. So it's a unitized system, can be unitized. We can do stick built or it can be unitized. So we're currently testing this product and then we're hoping to launch it, I would stay early, maybe end of June.

Mitch Hawkins:

End of June. Okay. That's coming up.

Said Elieh:

We'll finalize all the engineering design, and then we have all the metal already produced. So we're just scheduling testing and we keep moving on it.

Mitch Hawkins:

I think that's just a great intro for the customers that we work with and the architects that we work with that need to know that we're now working with you guys. So I thank you very much for hopping on with me. It's awesome to have you here.

Said Elieh:

Thank you, Mitch. Thank you so much.

Mitch Hawkins:

Yeah, and anybody else that's out there, if you're watching, feel free to reach out to myself, reach out to Nicole Martineau, or reach out to Said for any questions or new opportunities that pop up. Thanks everybody.

The Martineau Minute is an Architectural Glazing Products educational series for Architects, Glaziers, Consultants, and Developers. Each interview highlights Martineau & Co manufacturer partners, their people, products and what makes them unique in the architectural glazing market. Experience interviews with the likes of Kevin Norcross, General Manager of Vetrotech, Jeff Haber, Operating Partner at W&W Glass, and John Trainor, General Manager of Architectural Grilles and Sunshades.