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“We’ve always been an important partner to the large window manufacturers in Finland. Listening to their needs and responding has helped us stay competitive in this market,” Tommi Nousiainen, CEO of PLG in Finland, explains. “We were not specifically looking for a tempering furnace. But when our customers began to require high-quality tempered glass, we moved swiftly ahead with an entry-level Glaston RC model. Since then, we have already been able to upgrade the line twice in response to the rapidly evolving market.” 

Since 1980, PLG has built its long business success in insulated glass unit production on deep customer relationships. “What makes us unique is most likely our flexibility,” Tommi says. “Our customers are king – and are able to tell us exactly what they need.”

At the beginning of 2017, legislation for safety glass used in windows began to change. “Until then, we’d always said that a tempering furnace would be the last thing we’d ever get. We were mostly worried about the expense and having enough business to cover the costs,” Tommi recalls. “We’d been doing fine for 35 years without one.”

Still when the market demands changed and customers reached out, PLG realized that they couldn’t go on without a tempering furnace. “We wouldn’t be able to offer products that met the new legislation – so it became a necessity to invest,” he said.

The Glaston RC Series tempering furnace was delivered in the fall of 2018. Then, PLG began to learn more about the direction their customers were going, what they really wanted from the tempered glass and how to meet those expectations.

As PLG’s customers began to request more Low-E glass, the addition of a bottom scanner enabled the glass processor to produce higher quality glass with less waste. Again in early 2020, PLG responded to growing needs by installing a Vortex Pro convection system with Insight Assistant for more precise control of the convection air.

“We’ve come a long way in mastering the tempering process and further developing our capabilities along the way to be in sync with where the market is going. By adding step by step, rather than buying a line with all the bells and whistles, we have been able to expand on-the-go to match the evolving demands of our customers,” Tommi explains.