This will enable the company to increase production of a broad range of tempered glass types for customers. Flat Glass Merchants, one of the three companies in the glass group, will take delivery of the new furnace in April 2015 and plans to have it up and running by early May.
In 2001, Paul Buckley founded Flat Glass Merchants, first trading purely as a glass merchant and later processing a wide variety of toughened glass to meet a variety of customer needs, including those of metal fabricators as well as window glass providers.
Over the years, PJB Glass Group, located in Corby, Northamptonshire, UK, about 90 miles north of London, has expanded to serve all of the UK. The company offers an extensive range of stock glass from 2 mm to 25 mm, float, tinted, laminated, patterned, safety glass – and any other type of glass needed.
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PJB Glass Group offers an extensive range of stock glass from 2 mm to 25 mm, float, tinted, laminated, patterned, safety glass – and any other type of glass needed
Rolls Royce for toughening
“Glaston, and formerly Tamglass, has always been recognized as the Rolls Royce for toughening plants,” Paul says. “When we invested in our first toughening furnace over 10 years ago, we had no hesitation in buying the Glaston HTF 2142. This furnace has provided us with years of reliable operation.”
The HTF furnace was a major investment for Flat Glass at the time. It became operational in November 2003, enabling the company to offer toughened glass alongside its float glass products. This created a onestop- shop for PJB to meet its customers’ demands and live up to its mantra of being the company for all your glass requirements.
“We also always appreciate the service we have received from Glaston over the years. We have never experienced any major problems. Therefore, it was easy to select Glaston for our second furnace when we now need to invest in more production capacity,” he continues.
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The two furnaces will be run together to complement each other. The older HTF will be used for 6 mm upwards, while the RC200™ will process all 4 mm clear and coated glass.
Capacity to grow
The new Glaston RC200™ will help PJB’s Flat Glass cope with the growing demand for coated glass. The two furnaces will be run together to complement each other. The older HTF will be used for 6 mm upwards, while the RC200™ will process all 4 mm clear and coated glass.
“This furnace will not only enable us to temper coated glass quicker, it will also give us more capacity to grow in the future,” Paul explains. “The RC200™ is designed to handle all of today’s modern glass types. For us, it’s vital to be able to keep up-todate with the latest development trends in coated glass and continue so we can serve our customers with the wide range of products they’ve come to expect from us.”
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The Glaston RC200™ will come equipped with a Vortex Plus™ convection system and integrated thermal scanner systems, including QMS reporting.
Modern design from start to finish
The Glaston RC200™ will come equipped with a Vortex Plus™ convection system and scanner. The furnace was specifically designed for glass processors who not only want to expand their operations to include tempering, but also aim to enhance their tempering capability. Most importantly, it will ensure low operating costs in continuous production.
Paul comments on the design of the furnace: “It’s very modern from start to finish. And I particularly like the user-friendly control panel.” Each RC200™ furnace includes iControL Dynamics™, the next-generation automation system, with a 22-inch touchscreen user interface. The user interface design was based on operator feedback and Glaston’s long experience.
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Paul comments on the design of the furnace: “It’s very modern from start to finish. And I particularly like the userfriendly control panel.”
Vortex Plus™ convection boosts production
The special Vortex Plus™ heating system is designed to enable higher quality and production rates. The excellent heating uniformity and accurate heating control leads to spotless glass quality.
The heaters in the Vortex Plus™ system are divided into three parts lengthwise, allowing easier heating control with continuous production.
The system also includes controllable convection in a widthwise direction, which leads to more precise convection profiling and energy savings. Both of these special features have a significant impact on the actual furnace output when it comes to capacity and quality.
Becoming a major player
As PJB Glass continues to meet the growing need for toughened glass with its new furnace soon to support them, Paul says: “We are perceived as a friendly company with the ability to react quickly to our customers’ needs. We’re looking forward to having the new RC200™ up and running at full capacity. This will help us increase production and become a major player in the UK’s toughened glass processing market.”
