A window into glass manufacturing

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manufacturing

From humble beginnings supplying insulated glass to various markets, Olympic Glass has evolved into a sophisticated manufacturer of a diverse variety of glass panelling for a range of applications and industries. In March 2022, the company celebrated its 30th anniversary. On the back of this impressive milestone, Gary Jenkins, the founder and Managing Director of Olympic Glass, shared his secrets for success in the glass business with Richard Hagan.

Olympic Glass, based in Kent in the UK, is a classic example of the success that becomes possible when a company is self-aware and really focuses on doing all of the little things right, all of the time.

Established by its current owner and Managing Director Gary Jenkins in the first week of March 1992, Olympic Glass was founded based on his plan to produce insulated glass products for the home improvement, architectural and commercial markets.

Through a combination of bold decisionmaking and careful iteration, the company has gradually added capacity and manufacturing capability to its factory which today, boasts some of the best and most sophisticated machinery available in the world.

A picture of manufacturing sophistication

Olympic Glass’ high-tech factory is a picture of sophistication. It boasts two insulated glass production lines running 24 hours a day, supported by two bar-benders that create the aluminium or fibreglass profiles that are central to the insulated glass product, all ending in three cutting tables. The two production lines include a commercial production line which gives the company the ability to manufacture insulated glass panels up to 3x5m .

The factory’s gas facility delivers the ability in-house to mix the gases, including argon and krypton, that are required for insulated glass production.

Hovering above the flurry of activity on the floor is the company’s £1.3 million CNC ceiling robot. Like a robotic deity, it constantly monitors the products coming down the production line and, using barcode technology to identify each product, automatically descends from its robotic perch and installs the correct sealant in the correct quantity on each window.

A major highlight of the company’s capabilities is its glass toughening plant and ancillary machinery. Installed in 2008 at a cost of over £1 million, the plant was a major step forward for the company, leading to a significant expansion in market share.

All of Olympic Glass’ key machinery is manufactured by highly-regarded LiSEC machinery from Austria and according to Mr Jenkins, the machinery is in a class of its own.

“LiSEC is one of the world leaders in this industry. Their R&D is phenomenal and we work closely with them to develop our machinery. LiSEC machinery is extremely well made and although it’s expensive, we regard it as the best, and that’s a testament to them.”

Crystal clear customer service

A major point of pride at Olympic Glass is its relentless focus on customer service and satisfaction.

“Our customer service and our ability to deliver on time is our best-selling product,” Mr Jenkins emphasised. “It’s so important that when the pressure is on for our customers, that we are able to deliver quality

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products when we promise it. Our internal due diligence ensures that we have a really good product, but our customer service team is what sells it.”

The company’s management team meets every morning, and part of the meeting involves reviewing the results of the routine customer surveys offered to its clients on an ongoing basis. Clients are asked to rate Olympic Glass’ service across several questions out of five. As of the date of our conversation, the company was proudly sitting on a consistent 4.98 grading.

Of course, great service is meaningless if the product being delivered is inferior. Therefore, the company has a number of measures in place to ensure its production lines consistently deliver the best quality products. In a typical week, it manufactures 7,000 finished products, the quality of which is measured according to an internal metric called ‘On Time & In Full’. Products successfully completed on time and to the required quality are graded as being on time and fully delivered.

“We recently achieved On Time & In Full results of 99.9% out of 7,000 units,” Mr Jenkins remarked, before adding: “In this particular week, in February 2022, one unit out of 7,000 didn’t go. I’ve never seen high performance like that in the 30 years I’ve run the business.”

Investments and expectations amidst Covid

The onset of Covid-19 has seen an unprecedented and sustained surge in revenue in the home project/DIY industries as consumers, stuck at home due to lockdowns or remote working, continue to spend money upgrading their homes. According to Mr Jenkins, Olympic Glass experienced the boom first-hand.

“My normal lead time since starting the business was always five to six days,” he said. “We got so busy that – added to supply chain shortages – my lead time for orders went out to five weeks at one point. Our order book was full to the brim.”

This was made all the more impressive given simultaneous raw materials and supply chain shortages that pushed prices up by more than 40%. It’s a difficult situation which, said Mr Jenkins, the company has carefully managed thanks to its focus on excellent customer communication:

“We’ve upped our customer service department and have been communicating with our customers on a weekly basis, updating them regarding upcoming price increases and material shortages. Ironically, that’s helped us manage our order books because we’ve been forced to increase our lead times.”

The company had to adapt to the increased demand for its products fast, and it did so by accelerating its already planned investment program. Step one was the installation of a third cutting table in April 2021. An additional furnace, at an estimated cost of £1.5 million, is planned for installation towards the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, as part of its efforts to mitigate rising energy costs and reduce its carbon footprint, Olympic Glass has firm plans to install 2,000 solar panels onto its roof. And finally, to reduce the quantity of material it sends to landfills, the company has already begun incinerating its waste.

Achieving great staff morale

Whilst many companies grapple with shortages of skilled staff, Olympic Glass can count on its committed, highly skilled workforce. With some staff members having been with the company almost since inception, Mr Jenkins made it clear

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the secret to staff loyalty lies simply in how well you treat your staff.

“As part of our ongoing internal and external audits, we audit the cleanliness of the factory and machines, and we review the personnel every week to ensure they’re wearing the correct PPE, that they’re healthy and they’re doing well. Without them, we don’t have a factory.”

The company hosts a daily, factory-wide production meeting to keep staff abreast of all news and developments within the organisation. Wins are shared and testimonials are announced.

“We want to keep morale as high as possible,” Mr Jenkins noted. “A happy camp is a productive camp. That’s one of the main secrets of staff happiness and high morale. And to get there, we communicate with the staff constantly. They’re not just there dayto-day, coming and leaving. We’re talking to them. They see me walking around the factory and I greet every single one of them. It’s proven to work.”

In the interests of staff health and safety, the company has decided to maintain its Covid rules, regardless of national government guidelines.

“We have two full-time cleaners sanitising machines and common areas and we insist on people wearing masks to keep all of them safe. But they all just do it now anyway because they appreciate that it’s there to protect them.

“I’m always optimistic about the future,” Mr Jenkins said, concluding. “It’s how you approach the business. If you maintain your positivity throughout the organisation, you will grow and that perspective will spread throughout the company.” n