GLASS PROCESSING
(4.01% OF GROUP TURNOVER)

With ever increasing demands placed on building owners to provide both safe and aesthetically interesting environments, the need for high quality and accurately specified glazing solutions has never been higher. For the Architectural glazing industry this can present some very tough challenges.

The issue is further complicated by the arrival of technologies that have been designed to lower sheet glass handling and speed up the final manufacturing and finishing process, which in turn has resulted in the overall loss of craftsmen from the industry.

However, this is not true for KITE Glass, a Surrey based supplier of toughened and laminated safety glasses, with an enviable reputation for delivering craftsmanship levels of perfection on the products they supply to an increasingly highly demanding client base.

This craftsmanship approach stems from the company’s pedigree, one which goes back nearly two decades to when the business was established as the demonstration centre for their sister company Efco, a division of the Furness Group. This centre of excellence philosophy is deeply rooted in the business and remains as a primary driving force. Today both Kite Glass and Efco, a specialist engineering company, are under the ownership of the international Belgium based company B.M.T. nv.

The underpinning value of the company is their focus on delivering measurable quality standards. The approach, processes and detailed attention to standards are very important to Kite Glass. So much so, that even the company name reflects their attention to detail - the finishing of every glass substance that leaves their Weybridge manufacturing base can proudly bear a BSI Kitemark or BSEN logo.

It’s not only British Standards that Kite Glass products conform to. The company’s thorough approach to manufacturing and finishing has allowed them to gain status as suppliers of glass substances bearing new European Standards which include:
BSEN 12150 Toughened Safety Glass
BSEN 14179 Toughened and Heat Soaked Safety Glass
Soon to be added:
BSEN 1863 Heat Strengthened Glass
BSEN 12543 Laminated Safety Glass

It’s not only the output standards of glass production that have been changing over recent years but also the market. Architects and building owners are now specifying glass as a major feature of new builds and refurbishments, and are no longer prepared to accept some of the associated risks of falling glass. As a result the market has moved to safer and stronger glass products. Kite Glass’s ongoing commitment to the architectural and construction markets has resulted in a growing demand and a shortening of lead times for supplied toughened laminated glass. To meet this growing demand, Kite Glass has invested over £1.3million in a new laminating and curved toughening line. Glass laminating is now carried out on-site, handling glass sheets of up to 2200 x 4500 mm with a wide range of acoustic, coloured and architectural interlayers.

Kite Glass has supplied the toughened laminated glass for many high profile developments that have included, Wembley National Stadium, Ascot Racecourse, Glaxo Smith Kline (World Headquarters), Plantation Place, London, GLA Headquarters London, HM Treasury, The New Welsh Assembly, the list goes on………

When asked why Kite Glass decided to install this new equipment rather than continue the manufacturing process off site, General Manager Leroy Reed had no reservations about the £1.3million decision. He said, “to continue to deliver to the quality standards that Kite Glass are renowned for and to fulfil customers’ increasing requests for fast delivery times, we concluded that to maintain our quality delivery we had to manage every process in-house, where our management and quality control team could constantly monitor our work flow. It’s a testament to the staff we have at Weybridge that within a week of the new equipment being installed, we were producing toughened laminated glass to the exacting standards that we demand and our customers now expect from us”.

Not only Architectural Glass
The Kite Glass pedigree embraces a wide range of glass products delivering quality wherever attention to detail and high standards are required. In the world of passenger transport Kite Glass are to be found delivering glass solutions to the Marine, Automotive and Rail Industries, again all conforming to the rigorous processes and specification demands of the British Standard relating to each industry specific requirement.

Although the transport sector holds interesting challenges for Kite Glass and all who supply it, Kite Glass’s core business is set firmly in the construction and architectural markets, where the demand for aesthetically interesting buildings is at its highest.

The range of glazing solutions seems only constrained by our imagination. Today Kite Glass provides glass that is being used as floors, walls, ceilings, walk ways, balconies, balustrades and of course windows. As architects are designing ever more complex structures and incorporating glass as a structural substance, it is becoming even more critical that BS and BSEN standards and quality are constantly provided.

The production lines at Kite Glass’s Surrey based plant offer clients a range of services to address the needs of modern architecture, and can incorporate curved toughening of glass sheets up to 1,750 x 4,000mm. The bespoke machine in this part of the line was developed to the exacting standards laid down by the Kite Glass senior management and demonstrates how machinery can be manufactured with technology and craftsmanship in mind. For more traditional flat glass sheets, Kite Glass has two tempering furnaces, capable of toughening 4 to 25mm thick glass sheets up to 2,200 x 4,500mm. When it comes down to heat, Kite Glass again deliver to very high standards. The European prEN14179 requires constant surface temperature measurements of 280°C being taken across each glass sheet throughout a period of two hours.

It’s the appearance and fit that makes glass a stunning feature within a building and Kite Glass’s craftsmen know how to deliver products that, when installed, finish off a premium development. Kite Glass can screen print a variety of designs using inks that bond permanently to the glass complying with all of the relevant standards. The inline CAD smoothing, polishing, routing, grinding, and drilling machinery can accommodate glass up to 50mm thick and is managed by highly experienced technicians, many of whom have been employed by Kite Glass since its foundation.

The Kite Glass philosophy is that of a true solution provider who will undertake a difficult challenge and become involved, in many cases even before the specifics have been laid out for the glass specification. It’s this philosophy of delivering to measurable standards, on time and to a quality level that reflects the commitment of true craftsmen.