Emplas to invest over £1million in new IGU line

Emplas has placed an order for a £1million plus Forel vertical IGU-line. According to the Wellingborough based fabricator, the new state-of-the-art Forel line will not only significantly increase its capacity but will also improve IGU quality. 

Scheduled for delivery in the autumn, the investment will deliver a 45% uplift in capacity on its current 10,000 IGU a week capability.

Ryan Johnson, managing director, Emplas said: “It’s a big investment but we can see the return that it will deliver for us and our customers, not only this year but a long way into the future, through faster manufacture, better quality and greater control of cost.

“I don’t think this year will be quite as volatile as those that we have just been through but stability of IGU supply, the availability of glass and the control of cost, continue to exert a significant influence on the market.

“Our acquisition of Padiham and the investments that we have made to date give us far greater control over each of those factors.”

Emplas’ new IGU line will feature a Forel vertical washer and water treatment plant, plus its patented CR coating remover.

Emplas has also opted for Forel’s Art AS flexible spacer applicator. This automatically applies spacer bar to the edge of the glass sheet with an ultra-high level of accuracy and is designed to deliver an instant and far better bond than traditional spacer systems, maximising thermal performance.

The Forel coupling press then simultaneously couples IGUs while filling them with gas ahead of automatic sealing, delivering a highly accurate final seal on units and significantly reducing the likelihood of failure.

This is preceded by the six-figure investment already undertaken by Emplas in Padiham since its acquisition in 2018. This included new software integrations, a new sealing robot, as well as new handling equipment.

“We remain investment-led as a Group,” continued Ryan. “The market is going to continue to see change and we are making sure that we’re ready for it by investing in our capability across our businesses,” he concluded.

A Forel hosted video of the new line capability is here: https://youtu.be/XoZko7zhy28