Metalcrafters Sets Its Sights on Architectural Glass Market

From planes, trains and automobiles, Metalcrafters in Orange County, Calif., has announced that it is now aiming to produce complex, curved laminated and tempered glass products for the architectural glass industry.

The company, which made a name for itself over the last 15 years by building-and producing the windshields-of such concept cars as the Dodge Viper, FJ Cruiser and Dodge Demon, has now set its sights on the architectural glass industry. George Gaffoglio, chief executive officer of Metalcrafters, says the jump isn't too different from when the company first branched out to developing windshields for jetliners and trains.

"I'm hoping to explore the opportunities [in architectural glass]," Gaffoglio says. "When we started talking about aerospace glass two or three years ago, we hadn't done any aerospace glass at all and today we have 14 different production programs already approved. Just because we haven't done any architectural work doesn't mean that perhaps we couldn't have something in place."

Custom architectural glass is the latest goal for the company. According to Gaffoglio, Metalcrafters already has in place strong design and engineering departments prepared to take on the unique needs of the architectural glass community, as well the necessary equipment.

Gaffoglio says one of the advantages Metalcrafters can offer to its customers is flexibility in production. "[With] bigger glass companies, if you need one or two panels of glass, it will be probably be very difficult to find a supplier that can do that. Most companies, if you don't have a run of a couple of thousand of this, or 5,000 of that, they probably won't even talk to you. That's an area where we can specialize in this niche market-low volume. If you need just one part, we will do that, and if you need a couple hundred up to a thousand of something, we can also do that."

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