Proud sponsor of Glass & Sealed Units Extra
GLASS & SEALED UNITS Extra
A year under new management
The last year was overall very satisfactory for the manufacturer of warm wedge spacer bars , says Cholley : “ Like others , we also had to battle with price rises for raw materials and energy . Which makes me all the more pleased to note that we were always able to cope with the constantly high level of demand , despite the shortages of raw materials .” The positive report also includes the launch of the new SWISSPACER Ultimate Pro : the spacer bar can be processed even more easily . “ The changed material composition gives our product even more elasticity . Which means even more robust processes in production . In particular , manufacturers of very large insulating glass units evaluate that as very positive , according to the tests .”
Despite the good first quarter , the managing director also considers the imponderables in the current year : “ The downwards trend can still happen as the year progresses because the renovation market will not compensate for the lower demand for new builds – we are monitoring this very closely .”
Which makes it all the more pleasing that the company is very well positioned internationally and now able to realise substantial sales outside Europe . Whether on the American continent or in Asia – there are many countries that are increasingly turning to European specifications and local know-how . Also of great interest are potential new applications for insulating glass units – not only in classic
window and façade solutions . Wherever the aim is to optimise insulating glass units in terms of their properties for insulating against heat or cold and minimising condensation , the warm edge spacer bars make a small but mighty difference .
Sustainability remains the central issue
“ The construction industry and especially the housing market are obviously key factors when it comes to countering global warming ,” emphasises Cholley . “ I am firmly convinced that a small carbon footprint will quickly become an integral part of product performance and competitiveness . Values that are achieved for the construction and operation of a building are already key features – and each component is expected to make a contribution to them .”
The company is also observing how the government-defined specifications for the quantity of bound CO 2 in new builds are changing in different countries . For example , France has now capped the total amount of CO 2 that is allowed to be produced when constructing a building . “ These developments will strengthen across Europe and beyond and have a big impact on the market ,” Cholley is certain .
SWISSPACER is one of the few manufacturers of spacer bars able to provide an environmental product declaration ( EPD ) for all spacer bar widths . Especially when it comes to the carbon footprint , the company is the clear benchmark in the industry . “ We are pursuing a strategy of adopting a leading role in matters of sustainability and decoupling corporate growth from carbon emissions ,” explains Cholley . “ For us , this means that we will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions on the basis of the data from 2017 – regardless of the actual production volume in the coming years . We are striving to achieve a reduction in direct and indirect emissions of around 30 percent . For all other emissions given off during the overall lifecycle of the product , such as for transport or in waste management , we believe we have a good chance of reducing these by around 15 percent ,” says Cholley with optimism .
Customer benefits at a glance
SWISSPACER also sees supporting customers to the best of its ability as being an important task . Whether with individually tailored technical services , in the preparation of EPDs or the expansion of digitalised processes from customer order to production and delivery . “ It ’ s how we want to improve the customer experience because that is an important part of the competitive advantage that SWISSPACER wants to offer its customers ,” says Francis Cholley .
www . swisspacer . com
CLEARVIEW-UK . COM JUNE 2023
79