• A new production line for laminated or safety glass has started up operations.
• Production capacity has more than doubled.

From left to right: José Cubillo, Pedro Fernández, Antonio Canedo, and Carlos Martin.

With an investment of 3,077,600 Euros, Vitro Cristalglass, a subsidiary of Vitro in Europe, put in to operation today a new production line for laminated glass or safety glass which increases its installed capacity from 600 to 1,300 units per day, equivalent to 128 tons of processed glass.

Hugo Lara, President for the Vitro Flat Glass business unit, recalled that just one year ago the company inaugurated its new furnace for tempering and thermo-hardening large size glass laminates. “Today we continue to grow in order to give immediate satisfaction to the needs of our customers in Europe, putting us at the vanguard of the industry with our installations, considered the largest glass conversion facility in all of Europe”.

He specified “…currently the plant has a capacity of 600 units per day that are equivalent to 32 tons of processed glass. With the new production line we increase our production capacity by 700 units that translate into 96 tons of additional processed glass, a capacity that no other installation in Spain can duplicate.”

On his part, José Cubillo, Vitro Cristalglass President, commented, “our company has focused over the past several years on the most complex building projects which day by day gain more importance in Europe. Therefore we needed equipment that allows for mechanization of giant pieces, the ability to temper pieces with the same characteristics in jumbo sizes and then laminate them for use in buildings and commercial complexes. Current day architecture demands larger window dimensions in their designs and Vitro is now prepared to fulfill the expectations and requirements of our customers”.    

He went on to comment that this new machinery will create 21 new jobs in three shifts and, in addition to increasing installed capacity, will trigger additional economic activity in the surrounding communities while supplying the needs of our current clients and potential future customers.

The new production line, which joins another one in Spain and another with similar characteristics in Portugal, has the capacity to process laminated glass from 650x300mm to a maximum of 6000x3300mm with a maximum thickness of 80mm and a maximum weight in laminated glass of 2000 kilos allowing for the lamination of: floated glass with or without color, floated glass with a metallic covering on one side (solar energy control glass) and floated tempered windows. This lamination process is done under the “refrigerated inserted butiral system” or with a high quality separator sheet.

This state of the art German technology is consistent with the business strategies of the company that focus on better service and expanded manufacturing capability to satisfy the growing market demands.

Web links of interest:

• Vitro Cristalglass:
  http://www.vitro.com/cristal_glass/ingles/home.htm

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