Guardian Glass is responding to demand from architects who are pushing design boundaries with buildings that maximize views and natural light for occupants in interesting, forward-thinking facades while also reaching energy performance codes and standards.
“Super jumbo helps our fabrication customers improve yields on many common commercial sizes and produce oversize insulating glass units that aren’t possible with standard jumbo coated glass,” said Chris Dolan, Commercial Segment & Technical Services Director at Guardian Glass North America.
Independent Guardian Select® fabricator Press Glass is capitalizing on this advantage. Press Glass brought its long-standing expertise in super jumbo – its Polish facility fabricates glass up to 275” – to North America last year. Its Ridgeway, Va. factory was built to accommodate 130” x 240” glass. The fabricator has some of the largest glass sizes available in North America.
“Our customers want larger glass, whether it’s commercial or residential,” said Piotr Styk, Senior Estimator/Project Manager at Press Glass. “Everyone is calling for expansive views, and the bigger the better. When we were deciding on equipment to purchase for our new facility, we researched the maximum glass size available in North America. Guardian offered the largest size at 240”, so we made sure to equip our facility with machines that could handle that size. At Press Glass, we strive to exceed quality standards. Every order is a custom order, so it’s essential that we work together effectively. Our communication with Guardian works very well. It’s a very effective partnership.”
That partnership has delivered on projects that range from Press Glass’ Ridgeway facility, which boasts 231” x 115” triple insulating glass units that include Guardian SunGuard® SNX 51/23 coated glass and SunGuard® SuperNeutral® 68 coated glass, to the under-construction Terminal 5 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, which uses Guardian SunGuard® SNX 62/27 coating on UltraClear® low-iron glass in a large variety of sizes.
“Even in circumstances where we’re not using super jumbo as the standard size, it helps us maximize yield and minimize waste because the cutting optimization is better,” said Spencer Green, Area Sales Representative, Press Glass.
Guardian Glass super jumbo glass is available with multiple high-performance Guardian SunGuard® coatings on clear and UltraClear™ low-iron substrates, at 6, 8, 10 and 12mm thickness. These coatings allow architects and designers greater flexibility to specify coated glass that meets their performance and aesthetic goals.