The try’s the limit: JG Glass prepare for the opening of their new IG line

In the quest for sealed unit perfection, there can be no room for half measures. Ex-New Zealand and Widnes Rugby league players, Joe Grima and Shane Tupaea at J G Glass have no intention of shirking any challenges as their new automated IG line prepares to go online.

‘Strive for perfection, settle for excellence,’ is the message that Shane wants to instil in his staff as the pair continue to bring the high standards and work ethic that brought them success on the rugby pitch, into industry.

Through Joe’s Keighley Cougars days, he began his relationship with Magnet, the then club sponsors. JG started out as part of Magnet’s after sales service team, and the pair quickly realised that product quality and service were of paramount importance to success in business. They then moved into manufacturing quality bespoke wooden furniture and have continued to expand ever since.

The new project

JG’s most ambitious project yet however, is the £3 million investment (over three years) in their new 42,000-sq ft glass facility. Of the nine vertical Edgetech Super Spacer lines in the UK, only four are fully automated. World-wide, there are in excess of 45 vertical lines either installed or ordered running Super Spacer.

Amongst the many achievements throughout his illustrious career, hard-man Joe boasts the accolade of being the only player in English Rugby League to have won championship medals in all three divisions whilst maintaining a reputation of someone who adopted a more aggressive approach to achieving success on the pitch. This kind of gritty determination and self-belief could see JG really compete with the big boys.

With gas-fill and Edgetech’s Super Spacer bar fitted to all units, they have set their standards high. JG is aiming to manufacture the best units on the market. ‘Neither of us has ever believed in anything more than this business. At Glasstec, we signed up for a brand new state-of-the-art fully automated Super Spacer bar application TSS line from Lisec giving us a standing start capacity of 5-7,000 units a week’.

This is just the first step in a meticulously planned three-phase expansion programme that will culminate in a total of three lines with a capacity in excess of 30,000 units.

Meeting standards

Strive for perfection, settle for excellence

As newcomers to the window trade, their plans are a breath of fresh air. While more established firms wait for government or EU legislation to dictate their standards, Joe and Shane feel that through innovation and building a reputation, their windows will soon be the most in demand on the market. They intend to meet every standard available, taking their windows well above industry standard. There have even begun to talk about creating their own brand, which would become a by-word for high standards and reasonable prices.

Automation is the key to maintaining competitive pricing with large savings being made on manpower. Each line will need only two to four operators to produce their weekly quota whereas an aluminium line would require six men to produce on 3,500 units a week. With over 85 per cent of the US market already in the hands of warm edge manufacturers, Edgetech is confident the European market will follow suit.

While aluminium spacer bars are cheaper to produce, Edgetech’s warm edge spacer bar achieves better u-values Super Spacer also has up to 18% better sound absorption compared with traditional metal spacers.

In December 2004 Triseal was the first spacer bar with a silicone backing to be used on any product that passed the CEN1279 Part 3 gas retention test, says the company.

Strong team ethic

Both Joe and Shane are keen environmentalists and great believers in creating a strong team ethic at JG. Staff at the plant are to be immaculately turned out in uniforms, workshops are to be spotless at all times and Joe has gone to great lengths to see that all machinery is colour co-ordinated. Rumours that workers will perform the Haka before their shift begins are yet to be confirmed.

Their intention is to create a brand and reputation that will attract big companies like Magnet to support JG, as Shane commented: ‘We want blue chip, pay-on-time customers with whom we can build long term relationships and work with to come up with more innovative ideas.’

With Magnet’s extensive trade customer base already on-board, plans to move into the new-build housing market and a goal to produce 30,000 units per week by the middle of 2006, it seems there is little that can stand in Joe and Shane’s way. Well, would you?