Vitrum: Thin Glass Meets LSG, ERP, and Dolce Vita in HEGLA’s Latest Innovations

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HEGLA has been offering systems for technical glass for over 30 years. | Photo: HEGLA

Date: 30 July 2025

HEGLA showcases smart glass solutions at Vitrum 2025 in Milan.

Milan alone would be reason enough to travel to the Vitrum trade fair. In addition, there are trends to discover that can transform a mere visit into a real experience. The HEGLA Group is among the exhibitors: on display are solutions for cutting and automatic handling of thin glass, a new laminated safety glass (LSG) cutting system, laser processing options and the glass365 ERP system.

Thin glass, starting from 0.5 mm thick, has been used primarily for technical applications such as displays.

Trend topic: Thin glass in triple glazing

Thin glass is a trending topic in the industry. While triple glazing made of soda lime glass panes has been an established component of energy-efficient buildings, glass as thin as 0.5 mm in the middle position offers new potential. Thanks to its slim design and light weight, existing double glazing can be replaced with triple glazing during renovations. The U-value is comparable to that of conventional triple glazing. The combination also offers advantages in new buildings. The design is narrower and lighter, reducing the load on the building structure and fittings.

Thin glass requires automated and adapted processes due to higher demands on handling and cutting quality.

Homogeneous cutting edge for high edge strength

Up to now, thin glass has been widely used for technical applications. The borosilicate glass typically used for this purpose is more heat-resistant and break-proof than float glass. On the other hand, the demands on handling and edge quality are greater. "A high degree of automation and adapted processes ensure process reliability here," says HEGLA Managing Director Bernhard Hötger. "A special cutting head takes care of everything else, achieving a homogeneous cut edge with high edge strength." After automatic transfer to a harp rack, an insulating glass unit with TPS spacers is then produced on a Glaston line, for example.

At Vitrum, HEGLA is presenting a newly developed cutting system for laminated safety glass that uses automated processes to control the flow of glass. Equipped with optional laser diode heating, it produces maximum edge quality.

System evolution for laminated safety glass

A newly developed cutting table for laminated safety glass is to be exhibited for the first time. "We have combined the best features of AdvaLam and ProLam and taken them to an even higher level", emphasises Bernhard Hötger. "The result is a system that works autonomously in fully automatic mode with maximum throughput and cycle times." In conjunction with automatic glass transfer, a glass flow is created that is system-controlled and specified by the machine. Productivity can be increased by 20 per cent, thanks to optional laser diode heating. With this new development, it is no longer the operator but the machine that sets the cycle.

Added value with laser

Whether it’s bird protection, RF transparency or heatability: laser processing adds value to standard glass. A bird protection pattern can be printed during production or later on the building. The effect is threefold: it makes it impossible for birds to fly through. The pattern interrupts reflections from trees and bushes, for example. As an additional warning, a reflection is created that is only visible to the bird. The finish is applied without damaging the surface. Ceramic particles are transferred to the glass, which remain scratch-resistant, weather-resistant and colourfast for over 20 years.

Using laser printing, BIRDfriend mobile creates a triple-action protective pattern on the glass to prevent bird strikes – without damaging the surface.

Other innovations include laser edge coating. The coating is removed with the highest optical quality without damaging the surface. The 'UC-Stamp line' is also being presented at the stand for the first time. The laser professionals from Halle are presenting a new laser marking system that is lightweight and more compact, designed to make it easier to get started with the technology.

A partially transparent or opaque bird protection pattern is printed on the glass, customised to the customer's requirements, and adapted to the properties of the glass.

The latest generation of ERP

The HEGLA-HANIC is presenting its new 'glass365' ERP system. The Bochum-based specialists have completely redesigned the existing ERP system based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. "This allowed us to transfer the strengths of our programme and our glass expertise into a state-of-the-art software structure," explains Dr Jan Schäpers, Managing Director of HEGLA-HANIC. "This gives us the freedom to focus on our core competence, while our users benefit from modern interfaces and numerous connections to Office 365, for example." The software is device-independent, receives automatic updates, and is scalable to other applications, products and even multiple locations. Add-ons are available in Dynamics App Source. Customer orders, for example, can be transferred to the system via data import or app. Among other things, an activatable AI tool is also available, which reads orders from email attachments in Office 365, for example. After user approval, the data is transferred to the system, and optional evaluations are provided or AI-supported marketing measures suggested. HEGLA-HANIC currently has a new MES/PPS in the starting blocks: anyone who would like further information or is interested in how to respond independently and system-controlled to events in production in the future should stop by HEGLA-HANIC.

The ERP system from HEGLA-HANIC is entirely new and combines modern software structure with industry expertise and knowledge of glass.