Bystronic supplies machines to Cladtech, UAE

The production facilities at Cladtech in the Arab Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah are characterized by spacious premises and a quiet working environment. As in all Arab emirates, there is a lot of sunshine, sand and, above all, plenty of space. The company uses this space, amongst other things, for glass processing using machines from the Bystronic glass group, according to a Dec. 2 release.

On a tour of the company's premises on the edge of the Arabian Desert, the modern buildings of Cladtech catch the visitors' eye. On the right-hand side of the hall, they accommodate the glass processing plant, including numerous state-of-the-art machines and installations from the Bystronic glass group. The glass plates are transported directly from the lorry to the automatic glass storage area and loading unit then from there on to the SMFR cutting table, which facilitates both shape cutting and edge deletion. Residual glass plates that are not required are stored temporarily in the residual plate storage. Following the automatic X, Y and Z breaking process, the first sort sorting system automatically places the cut glass in harp racks.

Individual planning perfectly coordinated

Cladtech International is part of a Saudi Arabian investment group consisting of more than 400 individual companies. "In order to independently supply the group with all the necessary material without any delays or planning risks, it was decided in 2006 to enter into the glass processing business, amongst others," said Henrik H. Christiansen, president of Cladtech, in the release. Arif Khan, manager of the Glass Sales Division adds: "As we designed the construction of the new hall in conjunction with the Bystronic glass machine concept, the premises are perfectly tailored to our needs and also offer enough space for a projected second expansion."

Quality and service are the key factors

Glass edge processing is performed in parallel to the cutting area. The first arris from Bystronic glass arrises glass plates automatically. This is followed by a hardening furnace, which is indispensable in the Middle East as fitted glass must be hardened due to the heat. After being prepared in this way, the glass plates now are further processed into laminated safety glass on the adjacent compact lamiline or pressed in the integrated climate chamber to form insulating glass units. In the glass processing area with almost 12,000 square meters of floor space, 29 employees produce about half a million insulating glass units per year--this is approximately equivalent to 900 square meters of insulating glass per shift.

"As we mainly handle large-scale projects, process large quantities of high-performance glass and value high quality standards, it was important to us to set up a fully automated production plant," saidChristiansen,in the release."By manufacturing with these high-quality systems, we distinguish ourselves considerably from our competitors, who manufacture mainly using semi-automatic procedures. For example, we are the only company in the Middle East offering automatic gas-filling and pressing of insulating glass units.”

The quality of the products also was a key reason in our decision making process to invest in machines from the Bystronic glass group. "The systems from the strong Bystronic glass brand are perfectly suited for the production of large quantities," Khan said in the release, after approximately one year’s experience in the glass production at Cladtech. During the tendering phase particularly and at the later stage of the project, the company had special requirements for personal support from an experienced team. "Bystronic glass not only advised us on the design of systems individually tailored to our requirements but also supported us during the entire plant design," he said in the release. “From the start, we felt in good hands with Bystronic glass, which remains unchanged today. We are completely satisfied with our decision."

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