Double R targets growth with Cooltemper toughening plant

Glass Times editor, Luke Wood, visits Wellingborough glass processor, Double R Glass & Roofing, which has introduced new levels of product quality, efficiency and service with the addition of a state of the art Cooltemper furnace from glass machinery specialist, Unilam.

As a previous G-Award winner for Glass Company of the Year, Wellingborough based Double R Glass & Roofing Systems is a company that has always invested in the best technology to deliver outstanding product quality and customer service.

The business was the first to invest in a vertical, Super Spacer automatic hot melt IGU line – nicknamed ‘Gina’ – a machine that introduced new levels of speed and efficiency and one that is still going strong today.

More recently, it also upgraded its production operations with the addition of two new glass cutting lines, replacing old tables that had been worked hard over their lifetimes and delivering improved quality and consistency into its manufacturing processes.

The new cutting lines, which were installed in 2023, were also part of a staged investment process that preceded Double R’s latest addition to the factory floor, an advanced Cooltemper toughening plant, purchased from glass processing machinery specialist Unilam, that was commissioned in May last year.

As Double R’s managing director, Ian Sims, explains, the new Cooltemper plant – which represents an outlay of more than £500,000 – has not only vastly improved capacity and manufacturing efficiency, but it has also allowed the company to actively pursue new business opportunities as well as further enhancing its customer service.

“At Double R, we predominantly supply product into the home improvement sector, so like much of the industry we experienced a challenging year in 2024,” he says. “That’s largely because it’s a market that relies heavily on consumer confidence – and when the news is full of doom and gloom, that confidence recedes, and we feel the impact on business as a result.

“However, as we head into 2025, as a business we are now feeling much more confident,” continues Ian. “That’s due to the investment we have made in our Cooltemper furnace, which has allowed us to be very proactive in pursuing new business opportunities and gaining market share.”

Ian explains that prior to the installation of the new Cooltemper toughening plant, Double R was relying on an older, smaller furnace that had been a workhorse for many years, but because of its size and specification, was no longer capable of keeping up with the demand of modern glass processing.

“It had been in the factory for 15 years and despite running almost 24 hours a day, it just couldn’t cope with what we needed it to do,” says Ian. “It wasn’t capable of processing the range of more advanced glass coatings that are more popular these days, but it also couldn’t accommodate the larger units that are typically specified for bi-folds or oversized openings.

“So, it was being pushed to the limit of what it could do, it was a bottleneck on the factory floor, but we were also having to buy in product that we couldn’t process in house.

“The new Cooltemper furnace has been transformative,” he continues. “It’s much bigger, at 2,440mm x 3,650mm, it’s almost double the size of the old machine, so that has given us a far greater capacity, but also the ability to toughen a wider range of product, including solar control and high-performance Low E glass.

“And while it’s clearly a much bigger machine, it actually has a smaller footprint, so in addition to being able to toughen a greater volume of glass more efficiently, it’s also freed up valuable space on the factory floor.”

Supplied and installed by Unilam Machinery, an industry leader in delivering innovative and intelligent solutions for glass production, Ian is also quick to praise the level of service and ongoing working relationship that Double R enjoys with the company.

“We looked closely at a number of different suppliers and machines, but we’ve known Nolan (Millard, technical sales director) and the team at Unilam for many years and the service, from the initial discussions we had, through to delivery and installation has been outstanding. We’re a highly customer focused business, and for us, it’s important to work with suppliers that have a like-minded approach to business.”

Ian adds that the new Cooltemper furnace has been instrumental in Double R’s ability to gain market share, without compromising the levels of customer service that underpin the company’s offer.

“We have a greater level of control on product quality by processing everything in house, we have increased our capacity and we are operating more efficiently and that means we’ve been in a position to actively look for new business,” he says.

“That means we can target new business, and from a position that means we can look after them properly.

“Again, customer service is at the core of our business. The worst thing you can do is promise the earth and then let customers down – because you’ll never get them back – but the new Cooltemper plant means we can follow up on what we say we can do, and we’re seeing the benefits of that now.

“As for our outlook for the rest of the year, I’ve long since given up on long term predictions for the industry – the last few years, and the conditions we saw following Covid, have shown just how unpredictable things can be!

“We do need that consumer confidence, whether it’s from the housing market or a reduction in interest rates, and we have seen some signs this year that conditions are improving, including a period in February that was our best since 2022.

“Ultimately, whatever is in store for the industry in 2025, the investments we’ve made have ensured we are well positioned to service our increasing customer base,” concludes Ian. “The new Cooltemper plant from Unilam will continue to play a big part in delivering that growth.”