Reflection on change – and looking ahead to Glasstec

By Brian McDonald, CEO of Forel UK & Ireland.

Since returning to the glass machinery market as CEO of Forel UK & Ireland after a 10-year switch to the PVC and aluminium fenestration markets, there has been a seismic shift in the reasoning for replacing machinery and how decisions are now been made when replacing older machinery.

With Glasstec 2024 fast approaching, it’s interesting to reflect on how things have changed since I entered the machinery market 27 years ago.

My first job was with a well-known name in the industry ‘Peter Hawkins Limited’ where we were agents for many leading Italian manufacturers. The market was buoyant and so was the glass industry in the UK. We had major centres of glass processing, full of the latest technology in machinery through to small companies working from shops but still finding the space to fit some basic equipment.

I remember my first international show in Milan where many excited UK visitors came and placed multiple orders there and then ­– and the same thing happened at Glasstec the following year. It was a cycle that repeated itself for many years.

This, combined with the opportunity to congregate in some of the smallest bars we could in the evenings to have one or two beers and hopefully conclude some more business, made the shows all the more special.

Moving to some of the major German manufacturers over the following years didn’t really change the UKs appetite for the latest technology and purchasing even bigger ticket items.

So, what’s changed? Well, quite a lot.

Payback has always been important with any investment but now it’s more vital more than ever. We no longer enjoy plentiful labour with skilled staff coming over to work from eastern European countries, many of our kids would rather be influencers than work in a glass factory and we face an ageing workforce.

So, manpower and “will I need less” is a common question and a justification when it comes to investing in new or upgraded machinery.

For instance, some of our high-speed sealed unit lines now only need two or three operators at most to run which can be lessened even more with the addition of robotic loading and unloading.

Scanning systems linked to Industry 4 software help to remove defected glass quickly and simply without drastically slowing down production.

Construction of machinery, design and quality components also make a huge difference to the longevity of the machine as well as access and service.

From a breakdown perspective, this is probably what has changed the most. Over 90% of breakdowns can now be analysed and rectified quickly without the need for an engineer to travel halfway across the country to diagnose an issue.

At Forel, we introduced on-line diagnostics and help, free of charge, for the lifetime of the machine, giving the customer the confidence to help to diagnose and sort the problem there and then. Our engineering team now concentrates more on preventative maintenance to avoid problems.

So yes, a lot has changed and so have the shows. Although we exhibit on all the worldwide stages, we are putting as much emphasis on open weeks for customers that are based at our headquarters in Italy. Our first event of this type, arranged for UK customers this summer, was a great success and we will be repeated early in 2025.

However, there is one thing that keeps the visitors coming to shows like Glasstec – and no its not the Irish bar.

It’s because of new technology and advances in manufacturing.

Like other major manufacturers, we will be showing our latest innovations on our stand, alongside our existing well-known machines.

This is an opportunity for us to showcase the improvements we have introduced by listening to our customers and working with them to provide tomorrow’s solutions in today’s market

Of course, at this stage, I’m sworn to secrecy on what these will be but I would encourage anyone that’s visiting Glasstec to attend our stand, to see what we have to offer, and how it will benefit their businesses.

So, I look forward to welcoming UK & Irish visitors to the show. It will be good to see some old and new faces on 22-25 October in Düsseldorf, listen to what customers want and how we at Forel can help them.