High quality sealed units and a steady stream of prestigious glazing contracts are driving business for the Liverpool glass processor James Price TuffX.
TuffX, the glass toughening and sealed unit division of the James Price Group, is firing on all cylinders. Due to the sound management, skilled staff, and machinery in place, this relatively new kid on the block produces around 2,000 sealed units daily and executes a wide range of glass processes for some high profile projects.

The division began when it produced its first piece of toughened glass in 1997, but the experience within the Group stretches back to 1947, when James Price began as a glazing contractor in the Liverpool area. Today, grandsons Colin and Graham Price are Managing Directors of James Price and TuffX respectively. The growth of the group has resulted in the business moving from a 15,000ft2 unit to a 70,000ft2 facility within the Aintree Racecourse Business Park, and further expansion to a purpose built factory is planned.

Single toughened and sealed unit production was the original brief for TuffX, but tremendous processing capability has been added along the way. Various CNC cutting, drilling and edging processes can be undertaken, and cold pour laminating, screenprinting and heat soaking are among the additional in-house facilities demanded for architectural projects. Soft coat glasses are routinely toughened, and the latest piece of machinery is a Hegla cutting table with edge deletion facility. Operations Manager John Tierney is an important name to mention here. His knowledge and ability have enabled new processes to be added at TuffX seamlessly, without fuss. A staff of 120 work over a 24 hour shift pattern, and deliveries are handled by a 15 strong vehicle fleet.

On average, two sealed units are produced by TuffX every minute. Recently, the bread-and-butter sealed unit business has been supplemented with innovative and highly profitable range for conservatories. The inclusion of soft coat low-e glass, easy clean and tint options, and argon gas filling has led to Cervoglass, a range of glass units for conservatory applications. There are three Cervoglass products in the range, and all are dual sealed using the company's robotic Lisec system.

The new range has already demonstrated its great potential. The recent appointment of Chris Roberts as Group Sales Manager has led to a deal with a major conservatory roof manufacturer to supply Cervoglass units to roof fabricators nationwide.

The glass processing division of James Price supplies a range of architectural glazing projects, including contracts undertaken by the James Price division, resulting in a supply and fit capability for an array of glazing projects such as bolted glass assemblies and automatic sliding doors. Glass entrances and balustrades in Liverpool shops and bars, and a glass bridge in a city centre park are among the high profile contracts. Dorma and G-Span are among the architectural hardware systems used. The Capital of Culture award for Liverpool in 2008 has already had a positive impact on business, and a regular stream of projects are supplied further afield.

James Price TuffX has expanded to meet the demands of commercial glazing contractors and to innovate in the sealed unit market. It's been very interesting to follow the growth of this established glass processor over recent years. We can expect further growth and innovation by the group in the commercial, domestic and furniture markets.

Source

Glass Age