The Glaston Upgrade Team for insulating glass lines has now been active for three years.
It was in February 2020 when the Upgrade Team for insulating glass lines was established at Glaston's Neuhausen-Hamberg site. Now the team celebrated its three-year anniversary. The aim is to offer IGU manufacturers greater added value by upgrading their line.
"The idea to establish the new upgrade service for insulating glass manufacturers came to us when we received a growing number of customer requests for components that were no longer offered by suppliers, such as frequency converters or controls. With every essential component that is no longer available as a spare part, the risk of machine failure increases," recalls Ralph Schultz, team leader of the group. "We wanted an independent team to handle customer enquiries and offer them solutions and a range of retrofit kits for their insulating glass lines."
And that, he says, is now well known in the market and manufacturers are increasingly taking advantage of the service team's offers.
The upgrade expert team comprises a number of specialists in total, including in-house hardware and software technicians who have decades of experience in the installation, commissioning and servicing of all types of insulating glass lines and a detailed knowledge of the associated machinery and accessories.
Tanja Richardson, who coordinates the team, says: "Customers now approach us of their own accord when they need support. I think they have realised that service upgrades contribute significantly to sustainability. By replacing components, they can extend the life of their equipment or maintain peak performance of their machines."
Ralph Schultz adds, "Working with processors, we jointly develop a master plan that helps them stay productive. We also offer them value-added maintenance to keep them fit for the future."
Component replacement can bring insulating glass lines back up to a current state of the art. This gives IGU producers more security.
What does the future hold for the Upgrade Service?
After the first three years, the direction is clear: Glaston's lifecycle services approach has added value to many insulating glass manufacturers by helping them build a sustainable business and supporting them with lifetime spare parts, software and hardware upgrades.
