The company was founded in 1965 by Otmar Lang senior as a glazier's workshop in Mondsee-Tiefgraben near Salzburg in Austria. In 1995, Glas Lang added glass production to its glazing operations. With a tempering oven, grinding and drilling system, the company also produced toughened glass. Today, Glas Lang has 60 staff, a total floor space of 9,500 square metres in two locations and over 50 years in existence – and operates successfully in the fields of glass production and glass construction.
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Otmar Lang junior took over the running of his father’s company in 2000, and developed company production in particular, in order to serve potential future markets such as facades, glazing, safety glass as well as the solar and door sectors, supplying to wholesalers etc.
Due to the growing customer base, the first production site quickly became too small and in 2010 production was expanded to include a second facility in Mondsee. Furthermore, the focus also shifted towards laminated safety glass.
With innovative machines of today to quality products of tomorrow
The co-operation between Glas Lang and Lisec began with the investment in a Lisec laminating system. “Even back then, we were already moving towards a decision to work together with companies located in the area. Thanks to rapid support and quick solutions, it was possible to minimise downtimes, which in turn allowed us to better serve our customers," says Otmar Lang junior. Today, toughened glass and laminated glass are the company's most important products.
Lisec
In 2019, Glas Lang invested in the Lisec SplitFin (EPS and MRX), a grinding system with water jet and optional drilling and milling. Otmar Lang junior is well aware: “As an entrepreneur you have to recognise the signs of the times and be alert and willing to invest – that is what makes a good entrepreneur!"
For Mr Lang it was important that the new processing machine be capable of producing extremely efficiently, and that a high throughput as well as top quality be attainable. Grinding, drilling and the water jet system in a single "tower" was not an ideal solution for the company, because there was a requirement to decouple the peripheral processing from the internal processing. When it came to selecting the new processing machine, the investment decision was therefore made in favour of the Lisec SplitFin.
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“In addition to the glass support, the suction plates and the built-in spindle technology, the machine offers the advantage that it is not only possible to perform water jet processing, but that it permits drilling as well – all in all, this machine is perfect for us," says Otmar Lang junior and goes on to explain why:
Lisec
“Normal holes are not really calculable with a water jet in terms of costs. It is more efficient to produce the normal holes with a conventional drill and only the high-quality cut-outs with a water jet. Due to the higher running costs of water jet processing compared to a simple drill, this should also only be used in those areas where you have high added value. This is possible with the SplitFin system due to the separate processing towers". This separate value creation, which is facilitated by the two independent processing towers, is a key USP of the system for Glas Lang and was ultimately the most important factor in the company’s decision.
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The Lisec SplitFin therefore offers both economic and technical advantages, and it stands out for Glas Lang in particular due to its speed, accuracy, as well as the throughput and quality achieved. “The entire work process is outstanding – resulting in a top quality product within the shortest possible time. Particularly in the area of high-quality glass sheets such as those used in staircases, or with shapes such as counter-bores, cut-outs or even glass doors or overhead glazing, as well as in interior design, where high build quality and being state-of-the-art is essential, you have to use such systems in your production if you intend to be successful in the future," says Otmar Lang junior.
In his opinion, another advantage of the SplitFin system is the simple and intuitive operation of the machine. After a short induction phase, the Glas Lang staff were able to work with the new system and achieve the desired results. This laid the foundation for the key factor of production reliability, which is essential for manufacturing operations.
Glas Lang also relies on Lisec in the area of software. The company owns the software packages GPS.prod and GPS.order. The former is an application for production planning, which allows the production sequence to be organised: from the glass plate in stock, through the laminating process, insulating glass production or any other process, to the packaging of the finished products. GPS.order is a software for order management, which helps to accelerate and automate the processing of enquiries and orders.
About the trends in the industry
For Otmar Lang junior, one trend in the glass industry is clearly moving in the direction of automation that ensures high-quality products – in particular with mass products. He is certain: "Anyone who misses this trend will not last long." Quality plays a central role and is becoming increasingly important.
Lisec
"We must work with high-quality systems that produce high-quality products – much higher quality than the standard prescribes, otherwise we are no longer competitive. It is essential that processing is of high quality across the board and Lisec machines make that possible," says Otmar Lang junior in relation to this development.
In Austria in particular, many glass products are ordered individually, in varying dimensions and in small batches. Here, too, the trend is heading in the direction of high product quality. It is important for the future that production facilities be flexible, in order to achieve the same throughput given varying requirements. Yet again, the SplitFin system with its separate processing towers offers an ideal basis for processing glass products.
Glas Lang and Lisec
"Over the years I have come to appreciate the open communication with Otmar Lang. Also during the many discussions regarding the possible investment in a SplitFin system. Lisec benefits from a customer like Glas Lang, who has decades of experience in glass processing and with whom we work together on further developments and improvements", says Klaus Grabenschweiger, Regional Sales Manager at Lisec.
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Otmar Lang junior is also happy with the cooperation with Lisec: "Our suggestions and requests are quickly taken on board and we receive an honest answer as to what is and what is not possible, and where we stand. To date, everything has been implemented just as we envisaged it." He also emphasises the high quality of the Lisec customer service, which was always available promptly if problems arose and came up with fast and competent solutions.
"I am very happy with your systems and everything is running well for us, in particular with the SplitFin – the machine is highly productive, straightforward to operate and does very well in comparison. Next time Lisec makes something new we will certainly be one of the first to install it – if it fits our needs!”
