Clearview National April 2020 - Issue 221 | Page 68

GLASS&SEALEDUNITS
Factory Expands to Make Room for
its Newest, Largest Glass Furnace
» LEADING SAFETY GLASS SPECIALIST
TuffX recently expanded its manufacturing
facility by 6,000ft2, making way for the
installation of a state-of-the-art Glaston RC
Series furnace. Installed in January, this new
addition is the third, and largest, furnace now
in operation at the company’s Merseyside
premises.
The factory extension, coupled with the
arrival of the new tempering furnace, is part
of TuffX’s ongoing commitment to increase
both throughput and efficiency, whilst still
maintaining a keen focus on quality. With
TuffX being one of few companies able to
process spans of glass up to 4.6 metres in
length, part of the motivation behind recent
improvements is focused on increasing
throughput of orders for larger glass sizes.
This £750k investment in TuffX’s site in
Knowsley, near Liverpool, comes hot on the
heels of its large expansion last year when
the facility grew in size by almost 50%.
“TuffX continues to gear up for growth, and
to make sure we have the infrastructure in
place to serve the growing market demand for
high-performing, quality glass,” said TuffX’s
Managing Director Graham Price.
“As the UK’s leading toughened safety glass
manufacturers we need to ensure we continually
strive to improve the tight lead times and high
standards of service our customers have come to
expect, and this expansion and investment are
part of our ongoing commitment to that.”
Building on 25 years of experience in
toughened, oversize and other specialist glass
processing, TuffX is also in the final stages of
developing an in-house process to produce
a new heated glass product. Set to launch
this Spring, the glass is intended for use in
bi-folding doors, skylights, conservatories, and
as a component within tiled roof systems. This
innovative product has the potential to replace
radiators in rooms where layout is problematic
or when wall space is limited.
www.tuffxglass.co.uk
48 COUNTRIES IN 5 CONTINENTS
NOW RECEIVE IG COMPONENTS
» THE DEMAND FOR MORE ENERGY
efficient insulated glass (IG) components
has been growing worldwide with the global
drive for more energy efficient buildings.
This, coupled with the changing UK market,
has contributed to a growth in demand for
Thermoseal Group’s highest performance
warm edge spacers which is set to continue.
Thermoseal Group’s Sales Director Mark
Hickox, having now analysed the Group’s
2019 sales, announces a 10% growth in the
Group’s export business which now supplies IG
components to 48 countries in 5 continents.
Mark tells us: “We have seen significant
interest in our products from a variety of export
markets to suggest that this growth in sales will
continue throughout 2020 and beyond.
“In 2019, we saw a 41% growth in sales of
Thermoflex Warm Edge Spacer and the range
of manual application equipment we supply.
This product alone is now sold in 15 countries
across four continents and is being trialled
by manufacturers far and wide. We have also
68 » A PR 2020 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
been working with the key manufacturers
of automated application equipment for the
application of flexible spacer and have seen an
increase in our sales of Thermoflex Auto Reels.
Our Thermoflex Dual Seal product is also now
supplied to export markets.
“In 2020, we have already booked to exhibit
at a range of exhibitions including: China
Glass Shanghai (14-17 April); Glass South
America (3-6 June); The 24th International
Passive House Conference Berlin (20-21
September); Glasstec Dusseldorf (20-13
October) and Glasstech Asia Bangkok (17-
19 November). We will also support our
key distributors in exhibiting at regional
shows to develop awareness of warm edge
technology and the advantages of working
with our highest performance Thermobar and
Thermoflex Warm Edge Spacers.
“Glasstec Dusseldorf is always the biggest
show for us and this year is set to be no
different. We are again planning our popular
ThermoBAR at McLaughlin’s Irish Bar in the
Altstadt on the Wednesday evening of the
show. As usual, it’ll be free drinks, food and
entertainment, but you’ll need a dedicated
entry band to get in, so if you’d like to reserve
your bands now, please e-mail marketing@
thermosealgroup.com and we’ll make sure
you’re on the list to get yours.”
www.thermosealgroup.com