Forel News - july 2023

47 years of know-how in Double Glazing

For over 40 years, the production of insulating glass has been Forel’s core business. A globally recognised record, achieved through constant investment in research and development.

Creating solutions for insulating glass unit production has always been Forel’s core business.

Over the years, the company’s commitment to this segment has allowed it to continuously extend its range of specialised insulating glass solutions with new product types, new patents and improvements to existing machineries. This extensive choice of offerings, which caters comprehensively to every possible need of the glazing sector, has now been reorganised into four distinct product families with different characteristics but all sharing

the same quality and attention to detail built into every Forel machine: High Tech, Residential, High Speed, No Limits.

Particularly valued by the market, the “High Tech” line was conceived to offer an unrivalled choice of options for the production of insulating glass: it is a versatile production system for both the residential and the commercial markets, and also specialising specifically in façade insulating glass .

Engineered and built with hallmark Forel quality, and evolved with a host of exclusive patented solutions and improvements to existing technology, the “High Tech” line is a strategic choice for businesses, that will significantly increase both productivity and process quality.

Passion, heritage and technology at Ravensby Glass (Scotland)

Companies created as “family businesses”. Many grow, evolve and diversify but just a few companies pass successfully through one generation to another and even fewer, keep the ownership over three generations. Ravensby Glass is owned and managed by the Ogilvie and Cunningham families since 1847.

Ravensby Glass is a glass company based in Dundee, Scotland, specializing in products such as double and triple glazed units, interior glass and facades. With over 50 employees and _ square meters of production space, the company distributes its products throughout the UK and Irish markets, distinguishing itself for quality, installation service and customer care.

The history of Ravensby Glass has its roots in the 19th century, with the foundation of the group in 1847 of Malcolm, Ogilvie & Co. Ltd., at that time dedicated to textile manufacturing. Over the years, or rather decades, the group diversified its activities, investing in various businesses, reaching the glass sector in 1985 with the foundation of Ravensby Glass. A long history with one constant and unusual element: in over 160 years the ownership has remained intact. For five generations the founding families Ogilvie and Cunningham have run the group with passion and foresight, investing and evolving as the markets and opportunities dictated. We met the current owners: CEO Hamish Ogilvie and CFO Nicholas Cunningham, great-grandsons of the founders.

“After diversifying into different sectors, we have been in the glass business since the 1980s, as processors and installers” says Mr. Ogilvie “Over the years we have always invested in increasing the quality of our glass and the efficiency of our service. The Dundee site, where we have concentrated our activity for greater efficiency, is a hybrid plant dedicated to residential glass, which we distribute extensively in Scotland,

Dundee, Scotland May 23

and commercial glass, which we install throughout the UK. We have put a lot of effort into having efficient logistics across such a vast territory. In this latter regard, we have established a reputation as a reliable supplier, which is one of the company’s assets”.

Ravensby Glass presents itself as a structured company. In the production plant, there are two warehouses of large panes, from which two horizontal cutting lines are fed. The glasses are then processed and tempered where needed, before being

directed to one of three existing lines for the production of insulating glass.

“In 2019 we decided to enhance our production with a new insulating glass line” Mr. Ogilvie explains “and we accepted an invitation to visit the Forel plant in Italy. On this occasion we were very impressed by the technology and solutions developed, and decided to purchase our first Forel IGU Line along with a Vertical Processing Line, for the production of processed glass pre tempering. After overcoming the initial

bedding in period of the new equipment (every machine of every brand has its own peculiarities) we were suitably satisfied with both lines’ performance, and as part of our growth strategy, we decided to order a second IGU line, to process projects related to both our residential and commercial sectors. Today these two Forel IGU Lines represent the core of our production and the Vertical Edging Line, processes the bulk of our glass production, an investment we are particularly satisfied of”.

The Forel machinery in operation at Ravensby Glass are The “Residential” IG line, capable of processing double glazing units up to 4000 x 2500 mm, with rigid or flexible spacer bar, and a “High Tech” IG line with a wide range of options such as triple/quadruple glazing, all sides stepped and large piece processing of up to 5000 x 2800 mm. The edging machine is Forel Art. EM, appreciated worldwide and renowned for its precision and output performance in arrissing, grinding and polishing.

Like all manufacturing companies, Ravensby Glass faces the challenges of a competitive market in which new variables, such as rising energy costs and enhanced requirements for thermal performance have recently appeared.

NicholasCunningham, CFOofRavensbyGlass

“We are managing with the complexities of this economic phase in different ways,” explains Mr. Cunningham “On the one hand, we have turned up the heat on our energy supplies, particularly when our contract is expiring, and on the other hand we are rationalizing our production flow, for example by using only one toughening plant instead of two. This particular situation, however, does not change one basic reality: if the glass production is already highly automated today, it will have to be even more in the future. Forel’s system brings clear advantages in terms of productivity and allows for constant digital control over the work in progress, facilitating the operator’s task. This allows us to guarantee our customer the conformity of our product”.

MARKET TALKS

“2023 is the time of triple glazing for UK glass market”

- Hamish Ogilvie, Ravensby Glass CEO

Given its position in the UK market, Ravensby Glass has its finger on the pulse of both commercial and residential glass trends: two different realities that are react in different ways in this first half of 2023.

“Contrary to what might have been assumed a year ago, the demand for commercial glass shows no sign of contracting, quite the contrary” continues Mr. Ogilvie “The constructionarchitectural sector in the UK is in full swing and the need for facades, shopfronts and other installations will be a constant until and including 2024.

Despite the dampening effect we can expect due to the rising cost of raw materials, it is undeniable that there is a willingness to invest significantly in commercial glass, particularly triple glazing. In fact, in 2022, our orders were only 10% triple glazing, whereas today they are already 35%.

As for the residential market, it is stable at the moment. However, I believe that the demand for triple glazing will also increase here before long, in the wake of what is happening in other sectors. From this point of view, Ravensby is well prepared: when it comes to triple glazing, the Forel line has demonstrated really good performance”.

In 2022, our orders were only 10% triple glazing. Whereas today they are already 35%.

FLEXIBLE SPACER APPLICATOR

Watch Ravensby Glass video on the official YouTube Forel Channel!

What’s going on with Insulating Glass and Thermoplastic Spacer?

An increasingly popular solution for the production of large volume production of double and triple glazed units

The use of thermoplastic spacer products is a decidedly attractive option for all manufacturers who handle large daily production volumes of IG units, which is often the case when dealing with orders for residential and commercial glass units. The Forel High Tech IG line with thermoplastic applicator is a bivalent model, capable of processing conventional insulating glass with rigid box spacer profile. The entire solution is highly automated and can be managed via a single workstation. Following the principles of Industry 4.0, the line provides real run time production data that is linked to the companies ERP.

At the heart of the system is the Art. TA Thermoplastic Applicator, developed for the perfect extrusion and positioning of the material in a fully automatic but userfriendly way. The interface already contains the most commonly used cycles and the

different options related to the use of thermoplastic spacer: “Its use is easy and intuitive”. The extruded profile thickness changes automatically relative to the production requirements and the non-stop dosing system allows for material drum changes without any loss in production. The product is constantly monitored throughout the entire extrusion circuit, thanks to multiple temperature control sensors and heater elements.

Before glass coupling but post spacer extrusion, the glass can be stationed within the new Buffer Station, which enhances the characteristics of the material and increases the overall assembly speed of the panel. The process of coupling the glass and filling with either argon, krypton, or a mix of the two, is performed by the Art. AP Automatic Press. The final inline process is entrusted to the Art. SR ‘High Tech’ Sealing Robot, already widely appreciated for its excellent performance on both residential and commercial insulating glass units.

The “High Tech” with thermoplastic spacer line is available in four formats, with maximum workable dimensions of 4000x 2000 mm, 4000x2500 mm, 5000x2800 mm and 6000x3300 mm respectively. The line can also process offset units. The maximum thickness of units assemblable with the line is 100 mm.

Watch

Fast. Automatic. Astonishing. These adjectives come to mind when you see the Forel IG line at work.

the video on the official YouTube Forel Channel!

New Buffer Station for increasing performance

At Glasstec – International Trade Fair 2022 Forel displayed a fully automated line for the production of insulated glass units with a thermoplastic spacer. Key new features of the line were a buffer system after the thermoplastic applicator, a fully redesigned press, and automatic loading and unloading systems. The Buffer Station is a solution developed to improve the performance of “High Tech” Insulating Glass line with thermoplastic applicator. The Buffer Station, indeed, can temporarily hold the panes which the thermoplastic spacer has been applied to. This patented solution enhances the characteristics of the product and increases the assembly speed of the panel.

Automatic IGU Unloader: “wake me up when it’s all over”

- specific innovations for managing insulating glass with thermoplastic spacers.

In light of the specific needs of thermoplastic spacer, the racks can be adjusted to allow for an inclination of as little as 2°. Units with a freshly sealed thermoplastic spacer are set up against the rack or on the previous panel with minimal inclination: this keeps the overlying units from putting excessive pressure on the underlying units. Once the catalytic period for the sealant has ended, the inclination can be increased to 4°.

Art. GU automatic unloader is compatible with every type of line used for the production of insulating glass and allows for the units to be unloaded with an original system of racks on rails:

This new solution offers a variety of advantages:

- increased automation of the process and “smart” unloading; - greater safety, both for the operators and for the product itself;

Windoorex (Cairo, Egypt)

Exhibitions of May ‘23

Throughout the month of May 2023, Forel will be exhibiting at trade fairs across the world in the glass industry.

“Local exhibitions are an important meeting point for national markets,” comments Carlo Zuccarello, Forel Head of Sales “As an international brand we care about local needs and one of our key priorities is to listen and understand the different realities of any geographical market”.

Above: Victor Ozoekwem (ForelAfrica)at Windoorex 2023

In North Africa, Forel Africa attended Windoorex (Cairo, Egypt, 6 – 8 may), one of the the most important exhibitions for window & doors in the region, and at Batimatec (Algiers, Algeria, 7 – 11 may) within the Italian Pavillion of the ICE agency.

Batimatec (Algeri, Algeria)

Above:AfamIke,CEOof ForelAfrica,atBatimatec2023

In this same week, Forel SpA exhibited at China Glass (Shanghai, China, 6 – 9 may), an appointment that is full of expectation. It is in fact the first ‘open’ edition of China Glass post pandemic, due to the covid restrictions being lifted.

Above: Sergio Cosano at China Glass’23

On the right: Opening of the Italian Pavillion

Under: Sergio Cosano, Joe Hague and Carlo Zuccarello

Also, Forel North America attended GlassTexpo (San Antonio, Texas, 11 – 12 may). The conference, co-sponsored by the Texas Glass Association (TGA), USGlass magazine and USGNN, is a biennial meeting with the goal of bringing qualified customers and prospects together to learn about the latest products and services in the glass industry.

China Glass (Shanghai, China)

GlassTexpo (San Antonio, Texas)

Ontheleft:TroyLarson,JoeHague, ScottKnisely

Scott Knisely new President of Forel North America

Jun/23

St. Paul, Minnesota (USA)

and service commitment. “Forel North America’s mission is to deliver high-quality products and exceptional customer service” explains Scott “That’s what our customers have come to expect from us and we are committed to investing in our people, technology and service standards to keepusattheforefrontoftheindustry”. Marco Schiavon, former CEO of Forel NA, has finished his mission in the US and will return permanently to Italy, where he will take up a management role at Forel Headquarters.

Deliver high-quality products and exceptional customer service: this is our mission.

Above: Forel team at GlassBuildAmerica ’22 Ontheleft:ScottKnisely

Below: RiccardoVianello and Marco Schiavon

Scott Knisely is the new President and CEO of Forel North America. With over 15 years of experience in the glass industry, including his position as Vice President of Sales for Forel NA these past years, Scott brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our company. He has previously held other senior leadership roles within the industry and his personal vision for the future aligns perfectly with our company’s strategic goals

TRISTAR installs a Forel IG line in Catoosa (Oklahoma)

The Forel IG line displayed at Glasstec 2022 caught the interest of Tristar Glass, Inc. (USA) and was purchased during the exhibition for their headquarters facility in Oklahoma, to replace their previous Forel line (installed in 2010).

The new equipment is Tristar’s sixth Forel and is the latest step in a long and fruitful partnership between Tristar and the Forel brand. The new line was installed a few weeks ago and is now operative.

EXHIBITIONS 2023

GLASSTECH MEXICO

19 jul - 21 jul

Mexico City (Mexico)

VITRUM

5 set - 8 set

Milan (Italy)

GLASSBUILD AMERICA

31 oct - 2 nov

Atlanta (USA)

EURASIA GLASS

11 nov - 15 nov

Istanbul (Turkey)

GLASSTECH ASIA

29 nov - 1 dic

Bangkok (Thailand)

GULF GLASS

4 dic - 7 dic

Dubai (UAE)

Forel

Via per Monastier 4 Vallio di Roncade - 31056 (TV)

ITALY

+39 0422 84 05 07 sales@forelspa.com