Lumiglass becomes first U.A.E. company to get European certification for automobile glass safety

Lumiglass was on Tuesday certified as an ISO 9001-2000 quality management certified company by ATB Vincotte International, only after 6 months from commercial start-up of production.Along with these certifications, Lumiglass also received the American ANSI Z-26/27 standards for its architectural laminated glass, only the second company in the UAE to win such recognition for its quality, and the BS6206, the British Standard for safety glass. The reception of all the possible standards ensures worldwide Lumiglass recognition.

Announcing this, Mr. Harri Peramaa, General Manager, Lumiglass, said: "These awards of recognition only confirm our superior quality and the international standard that we adhere to in our production methods. These awards will strengthen our quality rating among our customers and clients. This will also give us the required confidence to go forward and further win prestigious contracts with major international corporations such as the one Lumiglass presently has with a major Dutch glass company. In automotive glass, Lumiglass is now able to compete in the worldwide OEM markets, being considered an official supplier for the Ford Motor Company after our glass has passed their stringent quality requirements.'

Lumiglass is probably the only unit in Dubai which can claim to have sold off its first year's production with deals amounting to approximately AED20 million even before commercial production began. Moreover, Lumiglass has completed successful capacity expansion installations just 6 months after start-up. Commercial production at this Phase-I facility officially started on December 12, 2004.

Lumiglass products include Lumisafe for use in automotive windshields, Lumilam for use in architectural glass and Lumiarmor for use in bulletproof glass solutions and applications.

The company's state-of-the-art production facility at Al Quoz, Dubai, has a current capacity of 20,000 windshields a month.

Lumiglass Industries features a fully automated Robotech pre-processing line which is the third of its kind in the world connected to a fully automated screen printing unit and a computerized Tamglass windscreen bending furnace, of which two exist in the Lumiglass facility. The second Tamglass Autoclave at Lumiglass which was recently installed is the largest of its kind in the world and can produce laminated glass in sizes up to 6000 x 2500 mm.

Apart from this an edge polishing machine from Bavelloni of Italy will be installed in two months time, which will considerably contribute to the Lumiglass added value effect. Other facilities to further integrate into the supply chain for glass related machineries; tooling and maintenance are also being implemented. Special in-house automotive windscreen mould fabrication tooling aim to give Lumiglass the highest possible quality in the automotive laminated glass sector.

The major Lumiglass capacity expansion projects are complete with the final capacity being reached by this year-end and Lumiglass production capacity will increase to 35,000 windshields a month. For flat lamination architectural glass, depending on the project, up to 100 square meters of glass can be laminated per hour. However lower square meters of glass can be more profitable and production depends on the order quantity and sizes, which vary from customer to customer.

Lumiglass' silk printing for printing onto glass is available for tempered, annealed, and heat strengthened glass, with different lamination combinations available.

"Lumiglass products are used by automotive ARG (automotive replacement glass) markets locally, regionally and internationally. Other sectors such as the marine business, aircraft manufacturing and other safety glass consuming industries are the potential buyers of Lumiglass products," said Mr. Harri Peramaa.