The $37-million investment ($30 million Euro) includes a new 38,000-square-foot (3,530-square-meter) building that will house the technologically advanced magnetron coater. The addition of the coater will enable the plant to produce ClimaGuard™ N and ClimaGuard™ Premium -- both residential low-E products. ClimaGuard is already the market leader in Europe with more than 20 million square meters sold this year. The new coater will coat up to six million square meters of glass per year.
“Southeast Europe, particularly Hungary and Romania, has seen an increase in commercial and residential construction and with that, the need for high-quality energy efficient windows has grown as well,” said Guardian Glass Group president Russ Ebeid. “With ground-breaking advances in research, Guardian continues to meet the needs of its customers and develop products for future applications in emerging glass markets.”
The new coater will begin production in the fall of 2007 and create 50 new jobs at the plant.
Guardian opened the Oroshaza plant in 1990, and in doing so, became the first foreign company to invest in a new float glass facility in Eastern Europe.
Guardian is a diversified global manufacturing company headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, with leading positions in float glass, fabricated glass products, fiberglass insulation and other building materials for commercial, residential and automotive markets. Through its Science & Technology Center, Guardian is at the forefront of innovation including development of high performance glass coatings and other advanced products. Guardian, its subsidiaries and affiliates employ 19,000 people and operate facilities throughout North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Visit www.guardian.com.