Duncan Saunders, head of production at Selectaglaze, takes viewers behind the scenes to take a look at Selectaglaze manufacturing in a 3-minute YouTube video
The video starts with Duncan, who explains the basics of secondary glazing: “There are five basic styles of secondary glazing: horizontal sliding, vertical sliding, casement, lift out and fixed.
Selectaglaze offer 21 different product ranges with thousands of customisable options
“We manufacture 21 different product ranges with thousands of customisable options. It begins when the components arrive at our factory, where they’re all quality checked. Glass or aluminium extrusions are all designed in-house. We store these vertically for easy picking.
“We receive our glass cut to size, and that minimizes waste. All our systems are available in our standard white. Still, of course, we can also provide a variety of other finishes like the full rail polyester, powder coat range, wood grain and anodised finishes.”
Behind the Selectaglaze manufacturing process
The video then pans to the production team to explore the manufacturing process.
Duncan: “We follow a lean-on-time process so that each project is managed and scheduled for manufacture via our production control screens. The relevant materials are cut to size, prepared via one of our CNC machines, and then completed by hand.
“After the frame components are prepared, the sections are assembled in one of our dedicated assembly areas. To help with the production of our larger and heavier units, our team uses a beam crane and vacuum hoist to help handle and manoeuvre these units during assembly.
“More specialist curved and shaped units also have their own dedicated assembly area. Our surveyor’s laser measures these units so the design team and production engineers can create accurate CAD templates for manufacturing the shapes.
“Most of our aluminium profiles are radius in-house so that we can control and manage the assembly and the quality.”
“Windows are rarely square, so we create specially machined timber grounds and frames to achieve precisely crafted insulation and avoid ugly trims and excessive sealant. After the timber is cut shapes and assembled, it’s sprayed in our spray booth to match the colour of the units.”
30% of aluminium and 35% of glass comes from recycled materials
“Sustainability is hugely important to us. Looking at our components, 30% of our aluminium and 35% of our glass comes from recycled materials. All our timber is certified FSC, and we take great care to optimise our cutting to minimise waste.
“Finally, once everything is manufactured, the units and timber are protected and loaded out, ready for installation by our own dedicated teams.”
