By Andrew Keir, managing director, Spraylat

In the August edition of Glass Times, Mark Mitchell, chair of Cornwall Glass, wrote two excellent articles entitled ‘Glass allocation to Europe threat to UK stability’ and ‘Glass industry under intense strain’.

The articles explained how gas shortages in mainland Europe this winter would put pressure on the European float lines, how the glass manufacturers can no longer use glass from Russia and Belarus to prevent shortages and how price increases and shortages will affect the industry before Christmas.

Mark explained that; ‘when these price increases come into effect, a lot of companies will find themselves paying double for their glass, than what they were paying pre-Covid.’

As Mark says; ‘2023 will be when all the issues of the previous three years will come home to roost’.

In response to Mark’s articles, whilst there is little that companies can do to prevent shortages and increases, I would like to point out that they can minimise the need to replace damaged glass on site.

We work with construction companies and housebuilders who, before meeting us, were replacing 7-10% of their glass due to scratches caused by damage from mortar, cement, plaster, and general building site dirt.

We are able to help them by supplying our Protectapeel product, a water-based coating that is sprayed or rolled on to the glass. The coating forms a skin-tight barrier, protecting glass and frames during the build process, which can be anything from 4-12 months. Prior to handover, the coating is simply peeled off and can be returned to us for recycling.

Those companies using Protectapeel have eliminated glass damaged, saving the need for expensive replacement, and cut out the time and costs associated in replacing glass. When glass does go onto allocation, those companies using Protectapeel will be able to handover their buildings or newbuilds on time.