Jan 26 2008
Glasstech, Inc., the world leader in the development of glass bending and tempering equipment, has formed a new business unit to formalize its ongoing activities to meet the solar energy industry’s burgeoning demand for flat and bent glass substrates. The announcement was made by Mark D. Christman, Glasstech’s President and CEO.
Leading the unit will be Michael Ondrus, who has been appointed Director of Glasstech Solar Energy Systems. Ondrus will market the firm’s systems as the ideal technologies for the fabrication of bent glass substrates for concentrated solar power products (CSP) and extremely flat panels for photovoltaics (PV).
“The demand for glass by the solar industry is and will continue to become more significant over the next five years and could, at some point, rival auto industry usage,” Christman said. “And, just like in the automotive industry, the glass substrates used in solar energy will be sophisticated and will require repeatability, tight specifications, innovation and cost effectiveness.”
Ondrus said Glasstech is well suited to meet the demands of the solar energy industry.
“Glasstech has the technology the solar energy industry needs. Attention to extreme detail in the automotive industry has led to the development of highly specialized offerings for the solar industry,” Ondrus said. “Further, who knows glass bending and tempering as well as producing to tight specifications better than Glasstech? The company has been the leading innovator of glass processing systems for more than 35 years.
“And, Glasstech’s personnel have the depth of glass-processing knowledge clients need, whether they are a solar products manufacturer, glass fabricator, solar equipment supplier or turnkey system provider,” Ondrus said.
Glasstech systems produce glass in varying degrees of surface strength – low-stress panels for lamination as well as heat-strengthened or fully tempered glass for single-thickness uses.
“Heat strengthened and fully tempered glass parts can potentially reduce failures in the field, which can mean increased cost effectiveness and reduced operating costs,” Ondrus said.
He said solar-energy versions of several Glasstech systems are ideally suited for use in the expanding sustainable-energy market.
“This is a high-technology industry that is on the cutting edge. It requires high-tech equipment,” said Jay Molter, Glasstech’s Vice President of Marketing & Sales. “Glasstech is the company with the rugged, production-proven equipment, the track record that will help drive down the cost per kilowatt hour of energy produced and bring repeatable processes and tight tolerances to this market.
“Additionally, Glasstech, being a global company, has a worldwide system of support to assist owners when an infrequent problem arises. This is a comfort to clients who know the longer their systems run without interruptions the more efficient and cost effective they will be.”