The start of a new chapter for Dual Seal Glass

Dual Seal Glass, one of the UK’s leading independent glass processors was acquired by Vandaglas in February this year. Now trading as Dualseal, Glass Times editor Luke Wood, talks to managing director, Nils Matthies, to learn more about the acquisition and the company’s plans for the future.

Dual Seal Glass was founded in Huddersfield, 1995, by father and son team, David and Nigel Meredith.

Originally set up to support a local market with IGUs that incorporated Low E soft coat glass – a new innovation at the time – a combination of hard work, quality product and great service led to continued growth and ultimately, the requirement to expand the business.

Dual Seal Glass moved to larger premises, located at Leeds Road in Huddersfield, in 2004, and has continued to invest heavily in the facility since then, introducing automated IGU production lines and state of the art glass toughening furnaces, as well as purchasing additional factory units to house an insulation department as well as a paint and lamination line.

In the last couple of years, it has invested in a new Hegla laminating table, a third heatsoak oven and a new fully automated Bystronic speed sealing robot for its second IGU line, increasing capacity and product quality.

While Dual Seal Glass has established itself as an industry leading manufacturer it is important to take into account that it has done so as an independent, family-owned company.

David Meredith sadly passed away in 2019 after retiring some years earlier, and with Nigel Meredith approaching a point in his career where he was also looking to retire, it was important that he could pass Dual Seal on to an organisation that would have the capability to offer future investment and growth, while retaining the values that have been so integral to its success.

That was achieved in February 2022, when Dual Seal Glass became part of Vandaglas, a company that specialises in high quality IGUs, curved glass and oversized structural units across the Netherlands, Germany and Austria.

As Nils Matthies, new managing director of Dualseal explains, a key consideration for vandaglas has been to integrate the family run business into the group, respecting its heritage, while at the same time preparing it for the next stage of its journey.

“Vandaglas is also family owned, it has been built on the same foundations as Dual Seal Glass,” he says. “That’s reflected in the fact the Dualseal will continue to act as an independent company, and it’s also evident in our new branding, which has been designed to bridge the strong performance of the past, our heritage and pride in the products but with a fresh perspective on the market.

“Our commitment to quality, service and OTIF remains the core of the brand. That’s now combined with the strength of Vandaglas, we can tap into the advantages of a pan European IGU supplier and make them accessible to our UK customer base.

“For example, the Vandaglas facility in Austria specialises in extremely large, oversized units and the factory in Berlin produces specialist curved glass, products that in the past would have been outsourced,” adds Nils. “That brings a wider product range to Dualseal and establishes us as one stop shop in the light commercial sector.

“We have already introduced new IT and CRM systems at Dualseal, and we are looking to modernise the website but capital investment is also at the top of the list,” continues Nils. “It’s vital in the glass industry to have a well invested factory, to operate as efficiently as possible and also to ensure the highest possible quality of product so we are continuously looking at how to upgrade our lines and equipment.”

Nils adds that while the outlook for the commercial sector is very positive, rising energy costs and further increases to the price of glass remains a big challenge.

“At Dualseal we remain fully committed to the light commercial sector and despite current conditions, with interest rates rising and energy costs increasing, the market remains buoyant and we are optimistic for the future,” he says.

“With that in mind, glass manufacturing is highly energy intensive and we are planning for further increases in the cost of energy as well as for raw material. I think we could see float glass prices going up in double digit percentages by the end of the year.

“Prior to the acquisition, the company was already in a good place to manage this, but now as part of Vandaglass, we’re in an even stronger position going forward.

“Ultimately, the aim for Dualseal is to grow the business, to expand our unique market position even further,” continues Nils. “That will be achieved through further investment and modernisation, by strengthening our core values and by tapping into the significant resources available to us as part of vandaglas.

“There is also the potential to target growth via further acquisition in the UK,” he concludes. “We’re under no pressure to do so, but if the right company approached us then we would certainly be happy to talk!”