Blast protection for chemical giant

Cube Glass has won another substantial contract in the petrochemical industry, which is likely to speed its entry into new sectors and increase it product range, the company said.

In a “highly technical project”, it supplied and fitted blast resistant windows, framings and doors to a new-build development for Versalis, the Italian chemical producer at Grangemouth, Scotland’s only oil refinery.

As part of the regulations surrounding safety at the complex facility, buildings situated within 50m of the fence line are required to have blast protection.

Cube Glass was instructed by Maxi Construction on the £65,000 project for Versalis, which produces synthetic elastomers and lattices for the automotive industry.

The Cumbernauld-based company sourced its blast resistant products from Schueco.

Gary Thorn, Cube Glass founder and managing director, said: “This was a new kind of project for us and we had to attend a Schueco course and be examined in order to be Sabre (Schueco Approved Blast/Bullet Resistance Expert) approved.

“We used AWS90XR blast resistant tilt before turn windows that were rated EXV(25), which is the equivalent of an exploding vehicle 25m away. We also used the ADS90XR blast resistant doors, again rated to EXV(25).

“The glass on both these items was procured through Vetrotech, with whom Schueco does its testing, allowing us to provide a fully approved and certified window. We also used Senior SPW600e windows on the opposite elevation from the side requiring blast resistance.”

Cube Glass is set to secure sales this year of around £2.75 million. It has 14 direct employees and 12 sub-contractors, and expects this number to increase this year.