Tecnoglass changes all tempering furnaces over to Glaston FC

1. Tecnoglass changes all tempering furnaces over toGlaston FC500

2. Reference Case: Tecnoglass Tecnoglass changes all tempering furnaces over toGlaston FC500™ Choice of architects and consultants In a recent blind test of glass manufacturers in New York City, Tecnoglass of Colombia beat out its competitors by makinga real impact on architects and consultants with the glass quality it delivered as part of the bidding process. Tecnoglassdelivered visibly superior quality, thanks to its investment in a Glaston FC500™ tempering furnace. An order for anadditional five more FC500™ furnaces followed when Tecnoglass decided to change all its furnaces over to the world’smost modern technology. Newest fleet of furnaces elative newcomer to themanufacturing of tempered, appreciated,” states Christian Daes,Owner and Managing Director of Tecnoglass A in the world laminated, insulated, silk screened . Jose Manuel Daes and curved glass. Tecnoglass wasfounded in April 1994 in Barranquilla onthe northern coast of Colombia along theCaribbean Sea. This location has provenideal when reaching outside its borders:The US has become a major market forthe company over the past few years, aswell as countries in Central and SouthAmerica, and beyond. The decision to change over to the GlastonFC500™ tempering furnace was quite Today, the Tecnoglass facilities in Colombiaspan over 1.2 million sq. ft. and include aglass manufacturing and finishing facility,an aluminum facility and a glazing companywith its own facilities. Manufacturing is straightforward. Christian Daes explains:“When we saw the new furnace about twoyears ago at a show, we decided to testone. The furnace features major tech- controlled from the beginning to end toensure superb quality for a very diverse nology changes. For example, quenchmarks on the glass have been completelyeliminated.” portfolio of glass products that are designedfor extremely demanding use, such as meeting the challenging building regulationsin hurricane areas along the Gulf of Mexicocoastlines. The company also has a sales “We have been very impressed with thehigh quality of the machines. Also thecompany provided us with a tremendousamount of support when we first beganour production, which we really “The results from our tests were so goodthat we decided to change all of our furnaces over to the FC500™ to have themost modern fleet of furnaces in the and technical support office in Miami toserve customers in the US. world,” he continues with pride. Christian T. Daes, Tecnoglass “The results from our tests were so good that we decided to change all of our furnace` FC500™ to have the most modern fleet of furnaces in the world”

3. “Our customers are placing more importance on the quality ofthe glass. They demand negligible distortion and minimal glassiridescence. For us to keep growing at the same pace as we’redoing now, we need to know that our equipment is up to thechallenge. The new Glaston FC500™ furnaces are giving us thatedge to move ahead” Easy control with iControL™ “We couldn’t believe it!” The first Glaston FC500™ furnace wasinstalled in November 2011, and the secondone was installed at the end of 2012. Fouradditional furnaces are scheduled forinstallation and commissioning in March,April, June and September 2013. Each Glaston FC500™ furnace is equippedwith the advanced iControL™ automationsystem, which features an intuitive “The furnaces have been a big success forus financially. Our customers really noticethe difference in quality, which is extreme-ly important to us,” Christian says. touchscreen user interface, easy recipesharing, and fast furnace adjustments toprocess a wide range of glass. He goes on: “Just recently, we were invitedto participate in a blind test in New Yorkwith some of our fiercest competitors. Thepanel of top architects and consultants Armando says that the man-machineinterface is very easy to understand andconvenient. His operators were able toquickly learn and take advantage of thefeatures. Giant leap forward in glass quality and energy efficiency for the project chose our glass because ofthe superior quality. We couldn’t believe it!From all the contenders, Tecnoglass wasby far the smallest.” Glaston’s FC500™ has created the indus-try’s new standard for optical quality andglass distortion. During development, Support in all engineers focused on minimizing theiridescence phenomenon of heat-treatedglass with new technologies for bothheating and quenching the glass. Theresults have enabled a giant leap forwardin final soft-coated glass quality and in theline’s energy efficiency. Christian T. Daes is convinced, however,that the decision to make Tecnoglass theworld’s leader when it comes to the mostsophisticated equipment for high qualityglass has been right on target. “After installation, Glaston staff has beenable to provide us with all the support andtraining that we’ve needed,” Armando praises. “We have always had accessto the right technical person who couldanswer our questions. The furnace hasa VPN connection that makes it easy fortechnicians to review any problems, if “Our customers are placing moreimportance on the quality of the glass.They demand negligible distortion andminimal glass iridescence. For us to keepgrowing at the same pace as we’re doingnow, we need to know that our equipmentis up to the challenge. The new GlastonFC500™ furnaces are giving us that edgeto move ahead,” he concludes. “The optical distortion is very low in clearand Low-E glass,” says Armando required. This enables the Glaston Finlandstaff to work directly online and allow theirexperts to solve any difficulties immediately.” Del Vecchio, Technical Manager at Tecno-glass. “We also notice a significant decrease in quench marks because of thespecial chiller nozzle design.” He also appreciates the fact that Glaston hasstock for all spare parts on hand. Wheneverthere’s a need, the part is sent immediately. Christian comments: “We’re also impressedby the furnace efficiency with lower energyconsumption figures and the overall glassquality.” Glaston FC500™ increases “Glaston’s highly trained staff help us notonly with machine issues, they also work with us to create new recipes and even teachus how to move into new glass types to production capacity by up to 40% while con-suming 30% less energy of a conventionaltempering furnace. increase our productivity,” he comments onthe attentive support. For more information, please contact us: Tel +358-10-500 500, info@glaston.net, www.glaston.net Copyright © 2013 Glaston Corporation