Reliable and quality driven

Treforest Glass has been manufacturing high quality sealed units for more than 30 years and has recently made a considerable investment in its own tempering plant, sourced from Lambert GT. Glass Times spoke to Peter Zehetmayr, managing director of Treforest Glass, to find out more about the machinery investment and the impact this will have on the company and its customers.

For over 30 years, Treforest Glass has been manufacturing a wide range of double glazed, triple glazed and acoustic IGUs, and many specialist products for joineries across the country from its Cardiff base.

The company has always placed a huge emphasis on customer service and operates a ‘no job is too small’ policy, something which larger IGU manufacturers can’t offer, managing director Peter Zehetmayr said.

As part of this longstanding commitment to providing the best service, Treforest took the decision to begin toughening its own glass.

“We pride ourselves on being a highly reliable and quality driven supplier to our customers, and realised that we could go one step further if we were in control of the toughening process,” Peter said. “Previously, if we had any issues there was a wait for remakes, whereas now, we have the facility to address any problems right away.

“Being completely in control of the process not only means that our reaction times to customers has improved, it also means we have complete confidence in the quality of our toughened glass products and can be more competitive on price.”

The company went through a lengthy and detailed due diligence process to research both the machinery required and the right company to supply it, and following a comprehensive review of the market, settled on glass toughening specialist, Lambert GT Services and a gapless top convection/bottom aspiration flat glass tempering furnace, an advanced glass tempering furnaces produced by NorthGlass of China.

“We obviously knew about the outstanding reputation of Peter and the team at Lambert GT and as soon as we began discussions with them, we knew that they were the company for us,” Peter said. “Their level of knowledge, coupled with the care they showed throughout the research and installation process, was beyond our expectations and gave us complete confidence in this large investment.”

Representing around £440,000, including infrastructure and additional equipment, it was crucial that Lambert GT helped Treforest find exactly the right machinery for their requirements.

Trips were made to China and Europe to look at various options, before settling on the NorthGlass furnace.

At some 60m in length, housing it was no mean feat and Treforest moved into new premises that had the space required in 2018. Ongoing maintenance will be carried out by the Lambert GT team to ensure the machine is always running in optimum condition and Treforest knows that if there are any queries, they have the support of the 24/7 Lambert GT service available to them.

Eight of the 56-strong Treforest team have benefitted from detailed product training from both NorthGlass representatives who travelled over from China and the team at Lambert GT.

David Lambert, technical director of Lambert GT Services, said: “Treforest is a fantastic company with an ethos very similar to that of Lambert GT, where service is key and they go the extra mile for their customers.

“We’re extremely proud to have been a part of the process to help them take their business to the next level with the installation of their own toughening furnace. They have chosen a fantastic machine which I’m sure, will bring countless benefits to them and their customers.”