Glass & Glazing Products • November 2024 • News

Cornwall Glass Manufacturing returned 1,437 tonnes of glass to Saint-Gobain Glass as part of its ‘Glass Forever’ scheme in 2023, which reflects the size and efficiency of its operations.

The recycled cullet dramatically reduced the raw materials used in the production of float glass, significantly reducing carbon emissions in the process.

“In a single year, we helped ease the burden on virgin materials to the tune of 1,724 tonnes, saving 1,006 tonnes of CO2 in the process,” Mark Mitchell, Cornwall Group’s chairman, said. “As a large glass product manufacturer, our contribution to Saint-Gobain’s Glass Forever scheme was always going to be significant, but interestingly that figure isn’t as high as it could be!

“We have invested in the very latest machinery and optimising software to ensure that we use as much of each sheet of glass that we buy, so less of it is returned as cullet and less energy is spent unnecessarily delivering it and collecting it.

“We also partner with the very best (UK-based where possible) glass manufacturers so that we only ever manufacturer quality products using quality raw materials. Again, this reduced the amount of waste glass being returned to Saint-Gobain Glass.”

The whole of the Cornwall Group – including Manufacturing, Mackenzies and Forward Glass – is on target to return over 2,500 tonnes of cullet to Saint-Gobain Glass in 2024, saving 1,780 tonnes of CO2 and saving 3,051 tonnes of virgin raw material.

“A key advantage of operating as a group of companies is that we can create significant operational efficiencies that ultimately benefit our customers,” Mark said. “But these positive figures also demonstrate that those efficiencies translate into sustainability benefits, and we are pleased to be doing our bit in reducing our industry’s impact on the environment.”

Cornwall Group has invested in three new state-of-the-art Glaston Tempering Furnaces, representing more than £3m, with each going to different sites within the Group. Since they replace existing machines, they will each make a significant impact on the Group’s carbon footprint.

“A less than perfect furnace could result in sub-standard product, a bottle neck in our factories, or excess energy being wasted fuelling them,” Mark said. “These new machines are aligned perfectly with our vision for reduced waste and efficient manufacturing.”

Glass Technology Services (GTS) has secured funding to commission a new pilot-scale research furnace at their laboratory facility in Sheffield.

GTS has been carrying out worldleading research in both mainstream and specialist glass fields for over a hundred years, but until now, glass melting trials have been limited to batches of a maximum of 2kg per melt. The new furnace will enable future trials to produce glass up to 50kg per melt, providing a reassuring scale-up of results on the path to commercial-scale implementation.

Explaining the new furnace capability, Chris Holcroft, energy and environment lead at GTS, said: “Continuing a longstanding partnership with AFT Glass, we have designed a new modular furnace that allows rapid reconfiguring to accommodate different-sized melts depending on customer needs.

“This is coupled with an instrumentation and camera system to enable real-time logging of glass and furnace conditions throughout the melt process. The instrumentation pack can be modified to suit the testing being performed.

“The furnace will initially be configured to simulate melting under a natural gas atmosphere with up to 80% electrical heating. However, the innovative design allows for reconfiguration to test with alternative fuels as they become available on an industrial scale to provide industrially relevant results. This will enable low-carbon glass manufacturing innovations to progress from lab bench to industrial implementation, rapidly realising carbon savings in the real world.

“The facility also enables mediumscale development and production of non-standard glass compositions for bespoke products or research purposes.”

The furnace is scheduled to be operational by early 2025, with initial projects focused on studying low-energy refractories and continuing GTS’s work on waste vitrification glasses, secondary raw materials, and increased recycled content.

profine Group has announced the acquisition of EFP International B.V., a Netherlands-based company with a global footprint, specialising in the design, development and production of aluminium and facade profile systems for architects. Their offerings encompass a diverse range of systems, including curtain walling, skylights, aerofoils, louvers, sunshades, windows, doors, sliding windows and doors, as well as specialised systems for cladding substructures.

EFP meets the increasing demand for high-quality, advanced facade systems by merging European technology with efficient manufacturing practices. With a robust commitment to quality and over 45 years of international experience in developing and marketing aluminium facade systems, EFP's products are built on a solid global foundation.

Operating from offices in the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and India, EFP brings extensive expertise within the global facade industry to variety of buildings such as hotels, offices and hospitality, high rise buildings, sports, leisure and lifestyle, governmental building, hospitals and airports across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The acquisition of EFP marks an important milestone in profine Group’s strategy to complement its existing product portfolio by introducing high quality aluminium system solutions within the global construction and renovation markets. In addition, this move will enable profine Group to expand its product offering for existing as well as new customers in international markets by leveraging its internationally renowned Kömmerling brand.

Dr Peter Mrosik, owner and CEO of profine Group, remarked: “This acquisition will unite two forces with the common goal of transforming the facade industry by offering innovative solutions to our valued customers, while pursuing a sustainable approach to preserving our environment, which is our primary concern.”

Bram Hannessen, former owner and continuing general manager, added: “I am delighted to have found in profine Group a strong partner with an entrepreneurial mindset that will support EFP and its motivated team to take the next step for further international growth.”

NEW ENDURANCE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM DEVELOPED TO DELIVER FURTHER SUCCESS AND GROWTH

Endurance Doors has created a new team to act as a catalyst in its continuing success.

The SLT, or Senior Leadership team, sits just below the composite door manufacturer’s executive management and is uniquely placed to maximise communication, collaboration and engagement across the business.

“The SLT is a multi-faceted group of senior professionals with a 360° view of our operations” explained Stephen Nadin, managing director at Endurance Doors. “It brings together different heads of function to create a melting pot of ideas and a launch pad for further innovation.

“It also acts as a valuable conduit helping to facilitate cooperation and the free flow of information and ideas in all directions - whether that’s vertically between leaders and teams, and vice versa, or laterally between departments.”

The members of the Endurance SLT are drawn from areas across the business including operations, customer experience, sales, marketing, technical, business systems, procurement and finance.

As well as having eclectic areas of professional expertise, these individuals also have differing amounts of experience of Endurance Doors and the wider fenestration sector. Some have been with the manufacturer for many years and have already made a significant contribution to its existing achievements. Others are relatively new appointments and bring fresh perspectives and a first-hand knowledge of best practice methodologies employed in other industries.

The SLT will work together to help determine strategic objectives for Endurance Doors before implementing and owning the necessary departmentlevel strategies to achieve these goals.

The SLT will also communicate Endurance’s strategic objectives to their teams, ensuring colleagues at every level understand their value and the importance of their contribution.

“We are genuinely excited by the formation of the SLT and the dividends it will deliver for our business” added Stephen. “It will play an important role in harnessing the full potential of our people, ensuring they feel empowered and engaged with the business’ goals and direction, as well as a real sense of ownership over its future successes.”

The British Fenestration Rating Council (BFRC) has further extended the scope of its Testing division with the introduction of CWCT onsite testing. CWCT testing evaluates the ability of cladding, curtain walls and window systems to resist water penetration, under simulated weather conditions. The onsite CWCT standards are recognised across the UK and are becoming a regular requirement for warranty providers.

Trade fabricator, Dekko Window Systems has announced a change in leadership. Gary Torr, the company’s long-standing managing director, will be stepping down at the end of the year, but will continue to be involved with the company in an ambassadorial capacity. Kurt Greatrex, currently serving as sales director, will assume the role of managing director effective 1 January 2025.

Software pioneers, Tommy Trinder, have taken the unusual step of openly sharing sensitive key metrics that allow visitors to track the company’s performance and growth on their newly updated trade website. The new site, launched to mark the firm’s 10th anniversary, is designed not only to improve user experience but also to promote transparency by sharing sensitive Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with the industry.

Glass Futures, the St Helensbased global glass research and technology centre, has appointed Justin Kelly as its new CEO, whilst founding CEO Richard Katz becomes the centre’s President. Justin is a Chartered Engineer with a BEng (Hons) in Computers, Management and Electronics. He began his career at Siemens where he held several roles over nearly three decades culminating in his appointment to the Siemens Executive Management Board in 2017.

Jon Vanstone, chair of Certass, has won with the Stunell Award for Individual Excellence at the National Home Improvement Council’s Parliamentary Reception. The award recognises Jon’s contributions to the home improvement sector, particularly in promoting high standards and competence within the repair, maintenance and improvement industry.

Anglo has achieved the ISO9001 accreditation for quality, which recognises the commitment the window steel reinforcement supplier has made – and continues to make – to improving systems and services right across the business.