Jeff’s Glass has expanded its service area and workforce over 14 years
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EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.
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ESCANABA -- Located along the highway between Gladstone and Escanaba on the stretch of road locals refer to as "near the Terrace" is a shop that has been outfitting Upper Peninsula windows and more since 1950.
Don and Elaine Ness established Ness Glass 73 years ago. Jeff Heiden was employed by the family business when Don and Elaine's son, Barry, took it over. Heiden worked for Ness Glass for 28 years before purchasing it from Barry in 2010 and changing the name to Jeff's Glass.
Tina Heiden -- vice president of the company, Jeff's wife, who may usually be found in the store on a given day -- said that the type of jobs undertaken by Jeff's Glass are not much different than the ones completed under Ness ownership, but that the area serviced has expanded and the workforce has grown.
Ness had employed a handful of people; now, there are 13 workers at Jeff's Glass. Tina said that all are experienced and knowledgeable, and some employees carried over through the change of ownership almost 14 years ago.
Tina said the commercial side especially has grown. They take jobs all over the U.P., into Wisconsin and downstate.
Both commercial and residential jobs can vary. Jeff's Glass cuts and installs custom shower glass and insulated glass for vinyl or wood windows -- either for the first time or to replace broken panes. They supply mirrors, Plexiglass (acrylic) for side-by-sides and deer binds, Lexan (polycarbonate plastic) for heavy equipment, and Pyroceram (a glass-ceramic material from Corning) or tempered glass for fireplaces. Less frequently they've done boat windows and clocks.
As a locksmith, they change doorknobs and locks and make keys.
Looking back on work Jeff's Glass has completed, Tina thinks the most impressive job they've done is on display at Riverside Toyota in Marquette, where glass makes up much of the face of the building, allowing the showroom floor to fill with sunlight.
"Right now, we're finishing up on the tribal center that they're building (in Hannahville) and the fitness center in Manistique," said Sara Hall, office manager.
Jeff's Glass secured the bid to do the windows of the Culver's currently being rebuilt in Escanaba.
Past jobs readers may recognize -- in addition to Riverside in Marquette -- include Baybank in Escanaba; State Bank in Escanaba, Gladstone and Marquette; "all of the dealerships in town"; many of the storefronts in downtown Escanaba and in the mall; and soon, new doors at Holy Family Church.
Hall explained that sometimes, an outdated establishment just needs a simple replacement to revamp the entrance. She described a common commercial door from a couple decades back: "…just like the one metal bar across, and it just -- after wear and tear of fixing it so many times, and fixing the pivots on the bottom and such, they're just like, 'okay, we need something that's gonna seal better up here.' So we'll come in and we'll put in a brand new door with new sweep, new locks and just a great new look to it," Hall said.
Tina said that she appreciates and enjoys the challenges associated with construction, the variety the job offers, and the people who work at Jeff's Glass. "Whether you're working on commercial stuff to residential stuff, it's just always -- it's always different," she said. "We just have the best team, you know. Everybody here really knows their job; they work very hard."
Hall echoed and expounded upon those sentiments, adding that she enjoys helping customers come up with solutions.
"Working with the team we've got -- if one person doesn't know something, the next person does, and they all work together very well," said Hall.
Both Tina and Hall expressed a satisfaction with seeing a project through to the successful end.
"I feel like there's not anybody that walks out of here that's upset with their outcome, because it just looks beautiful," Hall said.