Official inauguration
Following a multi-month production ramp-up phase, the line was officially inaugurated on 26 April in the presence of local authorities, customers and AGC representatives.
The addition of this new line will make Osterweddingen into a fully integrated plant where the standard and extra-clear glass produced by the existing float line can be directly processed into added-value products on the coater and on the new laminating line. With this high-capacity state-of-the-art laminating line, AGC has a flexible tool capable of producing the full range of laminated products in sizes ranging from DLFs (half Jumbo size) to Custom sizes and even Jumbo XXL sizes (up to 7 metres) – with or without high-performance coatings.
An investment that meets customer needs
AGC’s Architectural Glass Division is seeing growing demand for ‘wellbeing’ in buildings. Customers are increasingly looking for safety, security, acoustic comfort, daylight and high-performance glazing. To ensure that its production capacity is in line with customers’ growing and increasingly sophisticated needs, AGC decided to invest in Germany, which is not only the EU’s biggest market, but which – thanks to recently updated German standard DIN 18008 – offers significant growth potential for laminated safety glass underpinned by solid fundamentals. AGC’s Osterweddingen plant is strategically located in the heart of Europe, delivering additional laminated glass capacity to the German-speaking market (Germany Austria and Switzerland) as well as the rest of Europe.
Osterweddingen’s fully integrated plant takes the sustainable approach even further, since the new laminating line will also help to optimise truck transport across Europe, thereby reducing AGC’s carbon footprint by preventing 1,100 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The plant is also slated to start producing Low-Carbon Glass in the months ahead.
This investment in a brand-new laminating line in Germany confirms our strong commitment to continue delivering a worldclass customer experience while pursuing our ambitious sustainability targets. In response to customers’ growing demand for wellbeing in buildings and anticipating an upturn in demand for glass, we inaugurated this new line at our integrated plant in Osterweddingen, Germany and we are stepping up laminated glass production capacity at our plant in Cuneo, Italy.
