Date: 11 November 2024
“When we buy a new TV or piece of furniture for our home, it gives us good vibes – a nice feeling. In a similar way, we chose to upgrade our tempering furnace to make things easier and better for our team, so their work would be more enjoyable,” says Pedro Aguilar, Managing Director of Vitropor.
More than 30 years ago, Vitropor was founded by Pedro’s father to temper glass in northern Portugal, about 10 km north of Porto. Despite the huge demand for tempered glass, the Portuguese market had little to offer. Mr. Aguilar visited the main glass processing industry exhibitions, Glasstec and Vitrum, to source the best tempering machine for his new company. Tamglass, now Glaston, was one of the best even then.
Vitropor grew throughout the years and eventually consolidated its three locations into one new production site. In 2001, the company purchased a Glaston laminating line and a new ProE tempering line to replace its older HTF line.
Today, the 50-person company serves the appliance, automotive and architectural markets. “We see ourselves as a niche company, present in several markets with a diversified portfolio,” Pedro explains. “We seek to deliver solutions that inspire our customers and communities.”
ALWAYS FINDING WAYS TO IMPROVE
“Whenever we have the opportunity to improve the quality and efficiency of our business or that of our operators’ work, we don’t hesitate,” Pedro says.
“We don’t have the budget to invest in a new production plant or line every 20 years,” he says. When he was approached by Glaston with proposals for upgrades, he was happy to move forward. One of the upgrades two years ago involved adding a new process line and autoclave control.
The most recent tempering line upgrades, carried out in two phases, included the iControL system, the Roller Heat Control (RHC) system and new solid state relays for the tempering line.
“We constantly have young people coming to work for us – even from McDonald’s – looking for a satisfying work environment. Upgrades help us enhance working conditions, improve our end product quality and maintain Vitropor’s state-ofthe-art production capabilities. The upgrades give everyone a good feeling, too,” he says.
UPGRADING STEP BY STEP
For Vitropor, the best way to upgrade was step by step. In August 2022, the ProE tempering line was first upgraded with the Glaston iControL system to add more functionalities.
“Controlling the energy efficiency was extremely challenging, especially for some of the latest three-layer coatings,” Pedro says. “Now, with iControL, we are completely confident, knowing that we can achieve top-quality and complex tempering.”
In August 2024, Vitropor used its summer holiday break to complete the RHC and solid state relays upgrades. The solid state relays are a new technology that ensures more stable temperature control.
The installation took about three weeks, as all the rollers needed to be disassembled and then reassembled to rebuild the bottom of the furnace. “After upgrading a line, you can always find new capabilities with the same machine. It’s amazing how much more a machine can give you!” he says.
REQUESTING A SPECIAL TECHNICIAN
“Vitropor also made a special request to get Sami Vähä-Mustajärvi from Glaston Finland to be their on-site technician for the upgrade installation.
“We first met Sami when he came to Vitropor on a maintenance visit. We had a good feeling about his energetic personality and built a good relationship with him. So, it was a pleasure to work with him again during the weeks of installation,” Pedro says.
NO DOUBTS ANY LONGER
Before committing to the latest upgrade, Pedro was often questioned by his team: “Why don’t we save money and just buy a new furnace?”
At times during the installation, he himself wondered if he’d fallen victim to the promise of upgrades.
On the second day of running glass after the RHC and solid state relays upgrades had been completed, the team was tempering complex coated glass. “The end result was perfect, straight and absolutely flat glass. There was no roller wave at all,” Pedro says. “And the entire team had no doubts any longer!”
CONTINUING TO FULFILL EXPECTATIONS
When reflecting on the future, Pedro emphasizes that Vitropor will continue working to be consistent, reliable and close to its customers. “Not bigger – but better. We want to maintain good, strong relationships with our customers,” he says.
“Today, I am relaxed. I know there is no glass that we cannot temper. We know we can do it – and we can produce the best results with Glaston’s machinery,” he continues. For him, upgrades have become a business approach that gives good vibes to the entire team – and ensures continuously outstanding end glass quality for Vitropor’s customers.
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