Glass Inc. - Reflections 1999-2019

The receptionist replied, “He’s no longer with the company.” “Well, who the hell is in charge?” She directed the customer to Robert Smith’s new office. Smith heard the pace of quick footsteps approaching his office. As the gentleman entered his office, Smith moved to the middle of the office to greet him. “You’re the guy in charge now?” he asked. “Yes, sir,” Smith said. “I’m Bill Yates,” the man said, “and we’ve got this job at the hospital, and y’all haven’t had anyone there in over two weeks. Y’all are behind schedule, and you’re holding up the whole damn job.” Smith listened as Mr. Yates reiterated how unhappy he was about the situation. When Yates stopped, Smith said, “Mr. Yates, it’s only my second day. I don’t know anything about the hospital job. In fact, I don’t know where the hospital is. But I promise you I will go find out what’s going on, and I’ll have you some men on that job tomorrow.” Yates stood silently for a moment and said, “See that you do!” Then he turned around and left. Smith asked the sec- retary for directions and drove to Anderson Hospital. At the hospital Smith encountered Yates’ su- perintendent Wallace Walker. When he ex- plained his situation to Walker, the superin- tendent put his arm around Smith and said, “C’mon son, I’ll show you around.” “After I saw what we needed to do,” Smith said, “I got a crew of men together, and we knocked the job out in a matter of days.” After that, whenever Bill Yates needed glass work, he called Robert Smith. A Chance at Independence Smith worked for Binswanger through most of the 1980s. And the company flourished. Then Sammie Davidson, an entrepreneur who founded South- ern Pipe, Southern Electric, Magnolia Steel, and St. Louis scrap, among others, approached Smith. “Sammie kept calling me. He said he’d always wanted to open up a glass company,” Smith said. Davidson invited Smith to lunch at Hardee’s in Meridian. Dur- ing the lunch, Davidson said, “I want to start this business, and I want you to come with me, Robert. I like you, you’re a good sales- man, and you’re the guy I need. I’ll pay you more than what you’re making right now, and I’ll give you a percentage of the profits we make.” Smith told Davidson he would think about it. Then, Smith went to visit his Uncle Eddie for advice. “Look, Robert,” his uncle told him, “if Sammie Davison is trying to put you in business, you need to do it. He starts all these companies and ends up selling it to the person who ran it once it grows into something big. So if Sammie’s trying to put you in business, you better do it. In fact, you’d be crazy not to do it.” The next day, Robert Smith turned in his two weeks’ notice. Smith and Davidson’s new venture was to be called Southeast Glass and Door Co. They launched the business in a storefront in Meridian. Smith worked to build the business, develop relationships with new cus- tomers, and line up qualified employees. Davidson provided the cash to fund the early stages of the business. On April 25, 1993, nine months after the establishment of Southeast Glass and Door, Sammie Davidson died of a heart at- tack. “After Sammie died, the family and the CPAs shut the business down,” Smith said. “We couldn’t make payroll. I started to look for another job.” A New Partnership Smith interviewed in Memphis, Jackson, and Atlanta. As Smith was contemplating job offers, the owner of Mississippi Paint and Glass Co. called. The owner wanted to expand into the commercial glass busi- ness. “I’ll finance it,” the owner told him. “You grow it into what you can, and we’ll split the profit 50/50. Plus, I’ll pay you a salary to start.” “Hell,” Smith said, “I’ll be here Monday.” Over the next five years — in addition to adding another son, Justin, and a daughter, Kristen, to his brood — Smith built Mis- sissippi Paint and Glass into the largest glass company in the state, primarily from his Yates connections. While at Mississippi Paint and Glass, the company completed glass work on Silverstar Casino and Lady Luck Casino, as well as the Beach Club in Fort Morgan. Yates called Smith and said, “Robert, we got a big high-rise condo project we want you to do.” “We’ve never done a condo before,” I told him. “You can do it. You’ve done everything else we’ve needed you to do. Sure, it’s a big job, but you can do it.” Everything seemed to be going well at Mississippi Paint and Glass; however, the owner of the company had recently devel- oped some expensive tastes. He purchased condos and beach houses. He was driving Jaguars and buying expensive items. Then, the profit-sharing payments to Smith were made later and later. “He owed me a couple of hundred thousand dollars,” Smith said. “So I confronted him. I’m not faulting him for buying what- ever he wanted to buy, but I had a contract, and he wasn’t living up to his end of the bargain.” After a weekend of entertaining customers at a hunting camp, Smith showed up Monday at Mississippi Paint and Glass at 6 a.m. He noticed the owner’s car was parked at the building, which was unusual. Smith was sitting at his desk when the owner walked into the office. “Robert,” he said, “it’s time we part ways. Clean out your desk. Today is your last day.” (Above) Bill Yates, circa 1999 (Above) Robert’s Uncle Eddie 16 17