Hub Glass Services, Inc.

Company Founding and the Early Years
Hub Plate Glass Company started in business in the late 1920’s. In 1931, the original owners dissolved the business and the partners separated and started two different businesses. Julius Porter started Empire Plate and Window Glass Co., Inc., and Malcolm Carver and Sam Goldsmith started National Plate and Window Glass Co., Inc. Both were union shops. In 1944, George Carver, son of Malcolm Carver, graduated from high school and went on to attend Wentworth Institute. Upon graduation from Wentworth, George worked at National as a union glazier in the field and on the trucks until 1954. In 1952, George and his wife Frances Carver purchased Sam Goldsmith's half of the company.

The Fifties and Sixties
In 1954 Malcolm Carver died. Ownership of the business went to George, an only child. George was faced with relocating the business due to urban renewal in the West End. He purchased a small gas station (1500 square feet) in Somerville and added a warehouse and a garage to store inventory, increasing the property to 3,000 square feet. George ran the business until December 1, 1964, when he died of a heart attack. He was 37. His wife Frances was 35. At this time, the work force consisted of two glaziers, Charlie Goldsmith (Sam Goldsmith's son) and Dennis McNamara, and a bookkeeper, Kay Salani.

Except for having knowledge of some of the customers Frances’ late husband dealt with, Frances was not a part of the business. With the help of Kay, Charlie and Dennis, Frances took over the business. It took quite a few months for Frances to absorb everything. In a small business the proprietor wears many hats. Frances had to learn how to take calls and get the proper information, how to do the billing, and how to collect bad debts.

The Seventies
Riots in the late 60’s and early 70’s kept National busy as well as the bid jobs that Frances had won. The company earned a reputation for its quality of work, integrity, and honesty.

By the early 1970’s Frances had four full-time glaziers and Richard, her oldest son, working on the trucks during school while he attended Boston College. By this time Frances had been running the business for ten years, doubled her workforce by doing bid jobs, kept her old customers, and added many new ones. Frances added new services and products as they presented themselves, such as auto glass installations, selling Plexiglas, lexan, insulated units, tempered glass, tub enclosure, and laminated glass, to name a few.

The Company Today
Today Hub Glass employs approximately 20 people. We have been building the contract glazing department up again over the past seven years. We have glazed many of the retail stores in Natick Mall, Square One Mall, Cambridgeside Galleria, Copley Place, Burlington Mall, and Providence Place.

We have glazed tenant fit ups in many of the local office buildings. These include jobs for KPMG, Fleet Bank Executive Office, I2 Technologies, Fidelity Investments, Bell Atlantic, and GTE. We have glazed storefronts and entrances for Bloomingdale’s, BankBoston, Boston Public Library, and Northland Development.

Hub Glass is still a union, WBE, SOMWBA Certified, DCAM (Division of Capital Asset Management) Certified family business. Some of our estimators and glaziers have been with the company for between 10-25 years. Hub Glass has continued to earn a reputation as a quality glass company with honesty and integrity in the glass industry and a leader in specialty glass contracting jobs.