Glass & IGUs
Safety and quality at any altitude
» WHEN INNOVATIVE engineering meets environmental responsibility and uncompromising quality standards, solutions emerge that support high customer value – even under demanding conditions. The collaboration between TechTinyHouse and Swisspacer shows how precise product selection and technical precision contribute to mobile use cases.
Founded in 2015 by Brendan Thome and his wife, TechTinyHouse set out to rethink mobile architecture. Their goal was clear: to build tiny houses that are not only mobile but also meet the technical, structural and energy standards of fully-fledged buildings rather than conventional caravans. Today, their units serve as showrooms, rental concepts and fully-fledged living environments.
A defining feature is the diagonal support structure, which enables exceptional stability with minimal weight. This approach allows for generous glazing areas rarely seen in mobile buildings – in theory even fully glazed units without structural disadvantages.
Instead of standardised solutions, TechTinyHouse relies on in-house designs.“ The high level of vertical integration – we do everything ourselves except welding – enables us to control quality, sustainability and technical precision ourselves,” says Thome.
To maintain performance and durability, TechTinyHouse relies on Swisspacer warm edge spacer bars, which support thermal performance, durability and energy efficiency. In addition, Swisspacer Air addresses a key aspect of mobile use: because tiny houses are regularly transported between sea level and mountainous regions, pressure differences
can occur. Swisspacer Air enables pressure equalisation within the cavity between the panes, helping to maintain the visual and functional quality of the glazing over time.
Both companies also share a deeply rooted sustainability mindset. TechTinyHouse uses renewable materials such as cork, wood and wool felt, while Swisspacer contributes durable, energy-efficient spacer systems – including solutions with recycled content like Swisspacer Ultimate | Nyxé.
www. swisspacer. com
Glass machinery investment tops £ 1 million
» THREE TENON VERTICAL WASHing machines are the latest addition to UA Glass’ ongoing programme of machinery investment with Flat Glass Solutions, which amounts to a total of nearly £ 1 million over the last two decades. The Norfolk based glass company manufactures an average of 2000 sealed units per week and has collaborated with FGS with every stage of its glass processing equipment update over the last couple of decades.
As well as the Tenon vertical washers, UA Glass operates a Yuntong glass tempering furnace, Viprotron scanners and Hakon storage racks.
“ With the rapid advancement in glass processing technology, and the expectations around regulations, the relationship we have with Oz and his team at FGS has been an essential part of our growth,” said Neil Tomlinson, founder and director of UA Glass.“ The key is to invest to maintain efficiencies, remain competitive and protect margins, and somehow Oz knows instinctively what we need to make that next move.”
Neil and Oz( aka David Cahill, managing director of FGS) first met at a UK trade show more than 20 years ago, and have grown friendship and businesses( in that order) in lockstep ever since. That friendship has crossed continents as they have visited plants in Los Angeles, China and Europe, assessing machine performance and calculating length of time any investment will take to recoup costs.
“ We installed the Yuntong tempering furnace nearly five years ago after carefully looking at all the options. Prior to this, FGS conducted an extensive feasibility study
on ROI for us looking at the total range of the products we manufactured. It was estimated that payback would be less than four years,” continued Neil.“ It actually paid for itself within two and a half years. And the machine is still running with no issues all these years later.”
www. uaglass. co. uk
64 APRIL 2026 CLEARVIEW-UK. COM