Glasshape reports 42 per cent increase in marine glass sales

The DuraShield line represents 30 per cent of the Warkworth, New Zealand glass manufacturer's total sales.

"The quality of the glass supplied by Glasshape was simply amazing," said David C. Porter, director at McMullen & Wing. The shipyard recently completed 148ft Big Fish. The superyacht featured 160 flat and curved panels, including many floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Their highly professional team offered a consistent product and maintained a high level of communication with us throughout this process, patiently assisting us with approvals from the Classification Society—an often tedious exercise," said Porter.

The DuraShield product line meets all classification society requirements and performance and safety standards, including BSMA25, MCA LY2, ISO21005 and ISO614. Different tests witnessed by Lloyds Register, Germanischer Lloyd and Bureau Veritas demonstrated that the glass provided a minimum of 20 per cent additional performance and safety margins.

Glasshape Sales Director Andrew Forrest said that company sales have increased 39 per cent each year since 2007. "We are very pleased with our performance, especially in these challenging economic times," Forrest said in the statement.

Porter said McMullen & Wing would use DuraShield on its next build "without even looking at alternative suppliers." The company has eight confirmed contracts for superyachts ranging from 100 to 280 feet in shipyards in six countries.