Glasstech, Inc.’s first 40 years have seen the company transform from a small, one-idea operation into a global company with glass processing systems installed in more than 40 countries on six continents. The company’s reach goes from the very basic continuous flat-glass tempering system, designed for architectural applications; to bending and tempering systems for automotive glass applications; to state-of-the-art glass bending and tempering systems for producing parabolic glass troughs for the concentrated solar power market.
Glasstech, Inc.’s first 40 years (1971 to 2011) have seen the company transform from a small, one-idea operation into the world’s premier designer and supplier of glass processing systems. Glasstech was set up thanks to the foresight and friendship of three glass industry veterans: Harold A. McMaster, Norman C. Nitschke and Frank A. Larimer. Throughout the years, these friends were instrumental in the formation of Permaglass, Inc., Millbury, Ohio (1949); Glasstech, Inc., Perrysburg, Ohio (1971); Glasstech Solar, Inc., Wheat Ridge Colorado (1984); Solar Cells, Inc., Toledo, Ohio (1987); and First Solar LLC, Perrysburg (1990) along with True North Partners, LLC, Phoenix, Arizona. McMaster and Nitschke sold their interest in First Solar to True North Partners in 2003.
Glasstech has grown into a global company with glass processing systems installed in more than 40 countries on six continents. The company’s reach goes from that one simple idea, the very basic continuous flat-glass tempering system, designed for architectural applications; to bending and tempering systems for automotive glass applications; to state-of-the-art glass bending and tempering systems for producing parabolic glass troughs for the concentrated solar power market.
“Glasstech’s future is as bright as the sun’s reflection from the glass the company’s systems process for solar energy installations, vehicular windows and building exteriors,” said Mark Christman, Glasstech’s President and CEO. “I know, our development team will continue to make possible the designs and specifications our customers’ customers require.”
As solar collection systems cover increasing amounts of the world’s real estate, especially in areas with hostile climates, it is important these collection systems withstand the challenges presented by the weather in those areas. These collection systems also must be capable of tracking the sun and storing its energy for subsequent use. Glasstech’s systems produce the glass parts that help meet these demands.
“For solar-energy production,” Christman points out, “Glasstech currently is the only producer offering a range of systems that enable producers to shape and temper or heat strengthen glass for concentrated solar power (CSP) and concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) markets, as well as equipment solutions for fabrication of extremely flat glass for the photovoltaic (PV) market.”
In the automotive field, vehicles, especially top-of-the-line vehicles from the world’s high-end automakers, feature even more compound and complex glass lites than before. Today, windshields, backlites, doorlites and sunroofs curve and flow into stylish shapes demand more precise and strict tolerances than just a few years ago.
“Shape, style and thinner, lighter, efficiently made parts and the ever-increasing demand for tighter tolerances dominate the automotive market now and into the foreseeable future,” Christman said. “We’ve gone from designs with three-to-ten probe points to check for glass surface uniformity to windshield designs with 100 or more checking points, and Glasstech has the systems that make these increasingly complicated designs possible.”
According to Christman, “Just as it has done throughout its first 40 years; Glasstech thrives on challenges and developing the technological innovations to meet these challenges. We’ve done it in the past, and we have the knowledge-base and talented, experience people to continue doing it in the future.”
Through its pioneering solar development role, Glasstech gained first-hand knowledge, which it applied to its industry-leading bending and strengthening technology. The result is a family of systems expressly for the solar-power industry.
The company markets five rugged, production-proven systems that provide precisely bent or curved-glass equipment solutions for the concentrated solar power (CSP) and concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) markets, as well as equipment solutions for fabrication of extremely flat glass for the photovoltaic (PV) market. Currently, Glasstech solar processing systems are manufacturing parts or are under construction on three continents. Glass parts manufactured on Glasstech systems are proving themselves in Spain and the US and are now moving into expanding solar markets such as India, China, the Middle East and Northern Africa.
CSP reflector parts produced using traditional methods are more susceptible to breakage in challenging climates such as India, Florida and the Mediterranean. However, Glasstech systems temper the parts, making them four-to-five times stronger.
“Given the choice of utilizing tempered or non-tempered reflectors in a billion dollar installation, it just makes sense to select the most robust yet proven product available,” said Michael Ondrus, Glasstech’s director of Solar Energy Systems. “Tempered glass parts minimize installation and in-service failures from wind, hail and debris, as well as minimizing costly collateral damage, in the unlikely event of an in-service failure. When broken, the resulting glass pieces are small and are safer for workers as well.”
Glasstech’s newest and largest solar glass processing system – the CRB-S™ 1900 for Solar Parabolic Shapes has recently been installed in Arizona and is shaping and tempering to LS2, LS3 and LS4 industry-standard sizes used in CSP-based generating systems.
The CRB-S 1900 and the slightly smaller CRB-S™ 1700 form flat glass into parabolic or cylindrical shapes with high-volume output, ease of operation and a high level of repeatability. The systems also are capable of meeting the precise tolerances demanded by the market, and they are the only commercially available parabolic trough glass-shaping systems that temper or heat-strengthen glass.
Additionally, Glasstech’s CRB-S systems:
• use much less energy than traditional forming systems, since the CRB-S system heats only the glass and not a mould;
• can change shape set-ups in 60 minutes or less;
• cost less to operate since glass is formed without dedicated tooling. CRB-S systems can also be ordered with a Glasstech electric or gas fired heating system, depending on which provides lower energy costs.
In the photovoltaic market segment, millions of square meters of PV-panel glass are processed each year on Glasstech systems around the world.
Glasstech’s Solar Forced Convection Heater Flat Glass Tempering System (FCH-S™) was designed to meet the needs of panels with speciality coatings. This system features natural gas fired, forced convection heating, which efficiently processes low-iron float and pattern glass, TCO-coated and clear glass for PV panels.
Along with the CRB-S and the FCH-S systems, Glasstech’s comprehensive line of solar glass-processing systems includes:
• Solar External Press Bender System (EPB-S™) for tempering and heat strengthening high-volume dish segments and heliostat shapes;
• Solar Advanced Deep Bend and Tempering System (DB 4-S™) for complex and deep bend-shaped parts for dish segments and parabolic collectors;
• Solar Electric Radiant Heater Flat Glass Tempering System (ERH-S™) for continuous, electrically powered flat glass tempering for photovoltaic panels.
Over its 40 years, Glasstech designed and manufactured systems have played a part in every major glass processing development from the simple sag-bending approach to Glasstech’s highly complex external press bending (EPB) systems.
“Our press-forming technology enables glass processors to produce thinner, lighter, and more complex shapes than previously possible,” said Jay Molter, Glasstech’s vice president of Marketing and Sales. “We’re already seeing an increased use of laminated glass in vehicles. First, it was windshields, now backlites and sidelites are being laminated for styling and safety reasons. There are no better systems for meeting these design and manufacturing challenges than our EPB systems.”
Glasstech has three systems utilizing its press-forming technology to meet all automotive glass needs:
• Windshields – External Press Bending System for Annealing Automotive Safety Glass (EPB-L™);
• Sidelites, Sunroofs and Backlites – External Press Bending and Tempering System (EPB-T™);
• Backlites – DB 4™ Quick Change/Fast Cycle Advanced Bending and Tempering System (DB 4 QC/FC).