While D3 Glass of Fort Myers, Fla., is no stranger to accolades and honors, it’s adding a new one to the list. The company was named as one of a handful of finalists for the Sterling Manufacturing Business Excellence Awards for the first time in 2022. Owner and founder Bill Daubmann says the achievement communicates to consumers that they’re doing business with a company worthy of their trust and confidence.

Family-owned D3 Glass in Fort Myers, Florida, was recently named as a finalist for the Sterling Manufacturing Business Excellence Awards.

The award recognizes high-performing Florida manufacturers and offers company learning and development opportunities and exposure to the Florida manufacturing sector. Daubmann says D3 Glass is an offshoot of MY Shower Door, which used to purchase glass from fabricators until it began purchasing so much that it made more sense to invest in its own machinery. That decision gave birth to D3 Glass, with the company selling its first piece of glass in 2013.

“We’re a member of a local manufacturing association, and we had given a tour to all the members,” Daubmann says, noting the award is for the manufacturing industry as a whole and not just glass companies. “After the interview, they were so impressed they nominated us for this statewide award.”

Of the 161 applications received, Daubmann says the list was narrowed down to 23 finalists, of which D3 Glass was one.

“So we were one of the top 23 manufacturers in the state and the only one in the glass industry,” Daubmann says.

D3 Glass did not make the Top 8 at the awards ceremony in early June, with Daubmann noting stiff competition with much larger companies.

“They’re looking to make sure your processes and procedures are sound, so you’re scalable and repeatable,” he says of the awards. “Even though we’re a one-shop factory and we have good processes in place, we’re not quite equal to these larger places.”

That might not be the case in the near future; however, as Daubmann noted, his company believes in continuous improvement. Efforts are already underway to improve processes and procedures, efforts which Daubmann says could land the company in the winners’ circle in years to come.

“No matter how good you are, you have to get better,” Daubmann says. “We are instituting a specific glass software that will greatly enhance our efficiencies and track abilities so that you can get real-time dashboards on efficiencies. It wasn’t installed yet, but that would have put us in the Top 5.”

Besides being named as a finalist, MY Shower Door/D3 Glass boasts numerous recognitions, including multiple inclusions in Inc. Magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the country. MY Shower Door also just installed its 100,000th frameless shower door in Florida and hit 2,500 five-star Google reviews.

“That’s why D3 is so busy, and we must continue improving to get our glass out in the highest quality,” Daubmann says. “As MY Shower Door improves, so does D3 Glass.

Daubmann says the company has a “phenomenal” culture and is where people want to work. He says that allows for the attraction of more employees, and paired with the implementation of the new software, will increase efficiency even further.

“When you see a company that gets recognized for a statewide award, that’s a pretty big deal,” Daubmann says. “As a consumer, it gives you trust and confidence in the company you’re dealing with.”

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