Silcar Chooses Forel’s Flexible Profile Applicator

Silcar is a market-leading PVC Window and Door manufacturer, their production and assembly facilities are located in Romania. Silcar historically manufactured and distributed its finished products primarily in the Romanian market but increasingly over the last number of years, it has broadened its scope to a wider range of clients in Europe-hence the creation of Silcar International.

Silcar has grown and developed over a period of 26 years and prides itself on customer satisfaction which is reciprocated with multiple repeat orders from satisfied clients from Austria, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland as well as the existing client base in the local market.

SC Lightglass, the Glass production facility of Silcar, has just recently installed an automatic applicator of the spacer profile at its glass facility. Lightglass is the very first company in Romania that has invested in this technology.

The automatic applicator system chosen by Silcar is Forel’s ART. TBB, which feeds a continuous strip of “warm edge” spacer from a reel and applies it directly on one of the two glass sheets, to obtain a closed frame. In the TBB applicator, the butyl extrusion is independent to the spacer application.

The introduction of this new automated system removes the conventional spacer frame processing techniques and improves performance and efficiency of the double & triple glazed units, both in warm edging and argon gas filling.

SC Lightglass is now producing its double and triple glazed glass units with an entire IGU line by Forel consisting of the washing machine ART.VW, the ART.TBB applicator, the coupling flat press unit with gas filling ART. APG and the sealing robot unit ART. SA.

INTERVIEW TO OVIDIU CARABA, GENERAL MANAGER OF SC SILCAR

- What are the strengths, in your opinion, of flexible profile? 

We can say that now we have the best quality available in the market place for our residential doors and windows thanks to the new technology of automatic application of the flexible spacer: SUPER SPACER profile. Some of the new technology advantages are:

- A saving of up to 20% on the heating costs of a building.

- Reduces perimeter condensation by 70% compared to the aluminum spacer.

- Great aesthetics: the self-adhesive band of the spacer prevents the penetration of the butyl inside the visible glass panel; this system also eliminates the gap between the glass panels, which is very visible especially for triple glazed units.

- Due to its flexibility, the spacer better absorbs shocks caused by solar heat expansion and contraction.

- Better argon retention due to the continuous application of the spacer and the automatic sealing of the final corner.

- What are the benefits of assembling an IGU in line, thanks to an applicator of flexible spacer? 

I think all of the companies in the Romanian market are realizing that it is becoming increasingly more and more difficult to find good employees to expand our existing business. So, we need to invest in new technologies to reduce the dependency on a finite labor market.

This new line vastly reduces our unit production time and as it is a highly automated process by its very nature it gives us a superior high quality finished unit. This gives us great confidence to know that we are giving to our clients only high quality finished glazed units, which outlast the older glazing techniques.

- SILCAR is the first Romanian company choosing the flexible spacer: what do you think about Romanian market? Will it appreciate this? 

Yes, I think so. Indeed, we are the very first company in Romania which has invested in this new technology. After extensive research of the different automatic spacer systems, we choose the Forel Super Spacer system: it’s a proven and tested system, used all over the world.

We have already started to market and advertise the new spacer system in all the major cities in Transylvania. Our sales partners and also our competitors are very interested in this new technology. We are very confident that will be are able to raise the quality standards in the Romanian market for the thermal-insulating double and triple glazed units.

- What do you think about your Forel IGU line? 

We found the Forel company to be highly open and collaborative in conjunction with the technical assistance they given us on an ongoing basis. Forel is always developing new solutions with their end customers in mind, so that we both achieve the highest quality and performance from their automated production lines. The new Forel line we have purchased will serve not just the Romanian market for us but also the European market which is growing year on year.

- What are the next goals of SC Lightglass?

Our business plan is a long-term one and we are already looking at ways of developing new automated technologically advanced production processes, in order to provide our customers with superior quality products.