The decision to expand into laminated glass arises from KGa’s commitment to being a one-stop-supplier, offering annealed, tempered, monolithic tempered and now laminated glass to our customers. In addition, adding laminated glass to our services will allow KGa to provide shorter lead-times to our clients.
Laminated glass is a type of safety glass that does not shatter when broken, thus reducing the risk of being cut or injured by shards as the glass holds it’s shape when broken. This is due to the interlayer, typically polyvinyl butyral (PVB) that is sandwiched between two or more lites of glass.
While initially developed for use in automobile windshields, the popularity and demand for laminated glass continues to be on the rise due to its many benefits including increased security, reduction in noise transmission and the protection it provides from weather related damage.
- Increased security – the PVB interlayer is designed to keep the glass intact, even when the individual glass lites are broken. By using different thicknesses of glass and interlayers, many increased performance characteristics can be achieved. These benefits range from increased protection from unlawful penetration in shop-fronts to more effective balustrade protection in which a glass railing will remain in place even in the case of glass breakage.
- Reduced light transmittance– All PVB interlayers filter 99.9% of UV energy, making laminated glass useful in protecting delicate surfaces from sun damage.
- Reduced noise transmission – Laminated glass is an excellent acoustic barrier and is increasingly being used in office interiors and other locations where sound transmission through the glass could be a problem.
- Protection from natural disasters – Many coastal areas now have building codes that require laminated to be specified for use in exterior window glazing in the response to the risk of airborne debris during storms. In these installations, while the laminated glass will break, these types of windows will remain sealed to the outside and protect the interiors of buildings from water damage.
Laminated glass is a versatile material that can provide many benefits. KGa is proud to be able to offer laminated glass fabrication to our contract and fabrication customers
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