Germans at glasstec

For the Germans, glasstec is a domestic show and their chance to show their wares to the world, as the Italians do at Vitrum (held in Milan on the years that glasstec is not).

Of the exhibitors at the show this week in Dusseldorf, there are 392 German exhibitors in 22,298 square meters of space, followed by the Italian contingent with 198 exhibitors in 18,759 square meters of space.

Hall 15 in the Messe is a German hall, with many large booth spaces, including Hegla. The company is showing several new items including the Galaxtica cutting table, which features a pulse magnetic drive system that has no moving parts. It operates at 240 meters a minute and is twice as accurate as the company's previous models, and achieves good results on grinding at the same speed.

According to Jim Van Riper, Southeast regional manager for Hegla Corp., in situations where two tables were being used for high-volume the same amount of work can be done with one table. "It's something for those in this situation to look at," he stated.

The company was also promoting its MarcColor laser unit for marking glass. The unit is integrated into the cutting line in front of the cutting table and the mark gives visual confirmation if the glass has been tempered and washed.
The Sort Jet handling unit sorts the lites into harp racks for insulating glass production in production sequence. It can be coupled with an automatic IG loader.

Maver Maven
Nearby in the hall, Maver was showing edge deletion capability on its cutting table that doesn't use a grinding wheel or create any dust. The company has applied for a patent for the process, and one person in the booth reported that there was so much interest from competitors that they have to take the cutting head off at night and put it away.

A special metal milling tool that lasts a "life-time" is utilized, according to the company.

Hardly Just Hardware
Over in Hall 10, CHMI had a position in the KL Megla booth promoting its various hardware products. "We do joint manufacturing with them," reported Tony Lambros, president of the Keokuk, Iowa based company, "so the products here at the show will also be available in the United States."

He reported seeing a "fair amount" of attendees from the U.S., and said that there was a lot of interest in the sliding door systems being shown as well as a folding system that has no bottom track. Magnets are used to hold it together when it closes.

"They can be used in big hotels to separate space and the glass can be decorated in any way," he explained.

- Charles Cumpston is the editor of Architects Guide to Glass and a contributing editor to USGlass magazine.