Glasstech is the world leader in glass bending and tempering technology and fully committed to the solar industry, with glass system offerings for both bent and flat glass solar technologies.

With over 35 years of experience as a global leader in glass heat-treating technology, Glasstech has provided innovative solutions for the automotive industry’s greatest challenges. In support of our customers, Glasstech systems routinely provide complex, high precision glass parts consistently and at high volumes.

To meet the specific and unique needs of the solar segment, Glasstech has taken that knowledge, ingenuity and expertise acquired across the globe and applied it to develop and refine glass strengthening and bending processes to meet the solar power industry’s greatest challenges. These segments include concentration solar-thermal power (CSP), concentration photovoltaics (CPV) and photovoltaic (PV) technologies.

Glasstech’s latest innovation, the CRB-S™, produces cylindrical parabolic trough glass reflector shapes. The ability to achieve tight-specification, repeatable, high volume cylindrical parabolic trough reflector glass shapes has made a significant impact in the solar trough industry. One machine has the unique capability and flexibility to fabricate fully tempered, heat-strengthened or low-stress glass for lamination, depending on the thickness. The system also enables the production of different size reflector shapes without tooling, which reduces part cost and overall energy consumption.

CRB-S systems provide stronger glass, with greater wind-load resistance and enhanced safety.

Glasstech also offers EPB-S™ and DB 4-S™ systems for the fabrication of dish segment, mini-dish (CPV) and bent heliostat reflector glass shapes.

In addition, Glasstech provides ERH-S™ and FCH-S™ continuous flat tempering equipment to fabricate extremely flat glass for active (coated superstrate), cover and back (substrate) plates for PV panels.

Glasstech solar energy glass systems. Building on the tradition of providing competitive advantage for our customers.

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Automotive

Glasstech automotive systems are the products of inventive minds, creative thinking and innovative problem solving. Time and production has proven, beyond a doubt, that our equipment is the most rugged, dependable and versatile.

Following the successful development of the architectural roller hearth – in oscillating and continuous formats – Glasstech launched, in 1974, the revolutionary automotive Quick Sag system, which quickly became the industry standard for high productivity and quality.

In 1985, Glasstech introduced the innovative DB 4 system, which made it possible to economically produce very dramatic deep bend shapes. In its latest configuration – with Quick Change and Fast Change capabilities – the DB 4 QC/FC system is unsurpassed in the production of high quality, complex shapes.

Glasstech’s CRB series of cylindrical bending and tempering systems answered the automotive industry’s need for efficient sidelite production, free of part-dedicated tooling. Although originally limited to cylindrical bends, the latest version CRBA system also can form flat glass into asymmetric shapes for cars, trucks, SUVs and buses.

Continually seeking to develop more economical and productive systems, Glasstech’s most recent addition is the EPB external press bender system. EPB-L is designed to produce bent and annealed windshields and doorlites suitable for laminating. The tempering/heat strengthening EPB-T is a highly versatile glass bending system ideal for complex part shapes with superior optical quality.

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Architectural

Glasstech's global reputation as a leader in glass processing technology began with its development of systems for the architectural market.

The company's first system was a continuous, horizontal, flat glass tempering system for the production of "safety glass" for patio doors and other architectural uses. The system was a forerunner of today's sophisticated and innovative systems.

Starting with Glasstech's introduction of the horizontal roller hearth process as a replacement for vertical processes, evolution has taken place continually in the firm's base technology.

One of Glasstech's latest developments is a new architectural glass tempering system with an advanced, gas fired, forced convection heater (FCH). It substantially reduces energy costs and produces significantly higher throughput than a radiant heater. The FCH, developed by Glasstech with the sponsorship of the Gas Research Institute, reduces the time required to bring a piece of glass to tempering temperature. By reducing processing time, the glass spends less time in contact with the system's rollers, which, coupled with lower processing temperature, creates higher levels of optical and surface quality.

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Aftermarket

Perhaps the fastest growing segment of Glasstech's business is its aftermarket services. These services include upgrading and retrofitting systems with the latest technology, providing dedicated contract services, troubleshooting, conducting system audits to ensure maximum operational efficiency and providing training, tooling and replacement parts.

To meet the needs of its growing installed base, Glasstech has initiated a contract service program which permits the users of Glasstech systems to custom-design service/support packages to meet their specific needs. This program gives the Glasstech systems user priority access to Glasstech's technical service/support structure.

The modular construction of Glasstech systems allows users to easily upgrade and retrofit their systems to incorporate the latest technology. The ability to upgrade Glasstech systems can lead to expansion of their capability, flexibility and productivity.

Another new aftermarket service is "shape modeling," which is a computer software, mathematical modeling program that simulates automotive glass forming processes and glass evaluation methods. Shape modeling can predict the optical quality, both transmitted and reflected, of a given surface design. If necessary, the software program can calculate a modified surface design to minimize optical distortion.

With Glasstech's Shape Modeler technology, a designer can evaluate and improve automotive glass designs, and the glass producer can evaluate and determine the best process to produce the resultant glass without incurring the time and expense of making tooling and producing preliminary samples, as is customarily the case.

Glasstech's commitment to its customer base extends well beyond the initial installation of a system. The company's commitment to improve the performance and capability of Glasstech systems, as well as to deliver those improvements to customers through its aftermarket services group, positions every user of a Glasstech system with competitive, state-of-the-art equipment well into the future.

Glasstech systems are engineered and constructed to such a high level of quality that Glasstech provides a one-year warranty on all systems. Glasstech will replace any defective components free of charge, irrespective of the number of hours operated, during the first year.

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