The new line will meet rising demand for laminated glass products, the line will also produce specialty products such as acoustic, thick and coloured laminated glass.
To support the increasing demand for laminated glass in Europe, Guardian Glass is adding a new laminated glass production line at its Oroshaza, Hungary plant.
The new line will produce both standard and coated laminated glass, as well as specialty products such as acoustic, coloured and thick laminated glass.
The rising demand for laminated glass is being driven by three long-term trends:
- Country-level regulations in Europe require the use of safety glass in an increasing number of fenestration and interior applications, for which laminated glass is the most effective solution.
- The desire for building to have more natural light is driving the trend towards larger, energy-efficient windows, which requires the use of laminated glass for higher mechanical resistance and security.
- A general rise in demand for noise reduction for both residential and commercial buildings has increased the use of acoustic laminated glass.
“The Oroshaza plant already has a coated glass production line and so the opening of a laminated glass line will also enable us to offer an optimal product mix to our customers, for residential and commercial segments, including low emissivity, solar control and other specialty laminated coated glass products such as anti-reflective Guardian Clarity™,” said Guus Boekhoudt, Vice President Guardian Glass Europe, and Managing Director Guardian Europe.
The new line is also a logical continuation of a change initiated at the plant by Guardian Glass in 2016, which saw a switch from standard float glass production to Guardian’s higher light transmission alternative, Guardian ExtraClear®, to meet the increased need for more natural daylight in buildings. Laminated glass production is expected to begin in Q1, 2018.
As a result of these changes and in response to continuing market trends and further advances in mirror technology, Guardian Glass has decided to discontinue production of mirror glass at Oroshaza. The mirror line will cease production at the end of March 2017. However, Guardian Glass will keep serving customers in Europe with its UltraMirror™ lead- and copper-free mirror glass produced at its Dudelange plant in Luxembourg.