Did you find a favorite new product in 2024? If there’s a new glass option, tool or hardware selection now on your must-have list, you are not alone. And it may have made this year’s list of USGlass magazine Readers’ Choice Awards winners.
USGlass magazine readers voted on a selection of products, from glass and metal to machinery and equipment and much more. Voters selected their favorite products via a survey sent to subscribers, and the winners are included in this special section. These winning products received the most votes among the nominees. The products were featured throughout the year in the USGlass Showcase department, the New Products Guide, news sections, show previews and advertisements in the magazine. Product submissions are welcome throughout the year; please email releases to Ellen Rogers at erogers@glass.com.
Architectural Glass
Jumbo Architectural Glass, Glasswerks LA
Glasswerks offers custom-fabricated, oversized glass units up to 130 by 300 inches. The company’s jumbo glass facility is equipped with advanced machinery and has capabilities to produce oversized annealed and tempered monolithic glass, jumbo insulating units, annealed and tempered laminated glass, as well as a variety of bent glass products, including low-E soft coat insulating units.
www.glasswerks.com
Architectural Metals and Coatings
AC-4000 Insulated Glazed-in Panel, Americlad
Americlad LLC of Rogers, Minnesota, successfully tested and met the criteria for its AC-4000 insulated glazed-in panel to meet Florida Building Code for High Velocity Hurricane Zone and Miami-Dade requirements. The company says the AC-4000 Hurricane Panel was tested by Intertek for Large Missile Impact, Cyclic Wind Pressure Loading and Static Air Pressure.
www.americlad.com
Bird-Friendly Glazing
Bird 1st, Guardian Glass
Guardian Bird1st UV glass has a striped pattern that is almost invisible to humans but visible to birds, helping prevent bird collisions with buildings. Paired with select Guardian SunGuard low-E coatings, Bird1st UV glass offers solar performance and may help projects earn LEED Pilot Credit 55 and contribute to Toronto Green Standard Bird Collision Deterrence values.
www.guardian
Components
PHSS Warm Edge Spacer, Technoform
Plastic hybrid stainless steel (PHSS) warm-edge spacers are part of the Technoform family of edge seal solutions for insulating glass units. A matte black finish applied to the spacer’s sidewall reduces the risk of exposed stainless steel at the edge from the spacer, according to the company. The PHSS spacers are composed of a high-performance engineered polymer with thin, low-conductivity, stainless steel wrapping on the back and sides.
www.technoform.com
Decorative Glass
Satin-Etched Selection, GGI
GGI has expanded its architectural decorative and specialty glass solutions, including new satin-etched selections, bronze and grey glass and mirrors. The additions complement its extensive line of satin-etched clear, low-iron, Crystal Light and numerous etched patterns.
www.generalglass.com
Doors and Door Products
Steincraft HP 100 Series Panic Handle, Frameless Hardware Company
Steincraft HP100 Series panic handles with the advanced series Herc-Door frameless door rail are available from Frameless Hardware Co. (FHC). The handles feature a patented unitizing gasket/dual inclined control system that offers efficient installations and accelerated lead times. The system includes a solid, one-piece aluminum housing, UV stable finishes and increased glass bite.
www.fhc-usa.com
Fire-Rated Systems
Fire-Rated Windows, Fyre-Tec
Fyre-Tec’s steel fire-rated offerings include horizontal sliders, single hung, fixed lite, awning/projected and casement. The windows are constructed with roll-formed steel sections with welded corners. All of the company’s fire window frames are listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) under the Door and Window Frames (GVTV) category.
www.fyre-tec.com
Handling, Lifting and Moving
Installation Lifting Solutions, Ergo Robotics
Ergo Robotics designs, builds, sells and rents glass installation equipment for contract glaziers. The company’s VacLift solutions allow users to delicately and precisely lift heavy glass. In addition to flat glass, the company says its equipment can be used to lift various products, including curved and textured glass, architectural metal, curtainwall and more.
www.ergorobotic.com
Interior Glazing
Pure Sonos Sound Control Sliding Door, DormaKaba
The new Pure Sonos from DormaKaba is a sound control manual sliding glass. The design is STC-rated to reduce noise transfer, and the system’s aluminum frame has discreet hardware to enhance aesthetics without compromising functionality.
www.dormakaba.us
Machinery, Cutting Lines
Clean Cut Cutting Table, GED
GED’s CleanCut family of machines includes the rapid CleanCut 1800 Series and the CleanCut 1700 Series cutting tables. The 1800 Series and the 1700 Series include a cutting-only model and an edge deletion and cutting model. According to the company, the lines offer enhanced speed, updated technical features, and increased throughput while maintaining options for selecting a glass processing system. The single bridge cutting table has a proprietary edge deletion head option and offers a flexible system tailored to every user’s needs and budget. It allows for field modifications to add the deletion head if required.
www.gedusa.com
Machinery, Digital Printing
Vitro Jet F Side Kinetix Type Digital Printer, Tecglass
The Vitro Jet F Side Kinetix Type digital printer from Tecglass can process glass sizes up to 110- by 236-inches. The Vitro Jet F Side Kinetix Type is a fully automated multicolor digital printer incorporating the patented Side Kinetix technology. According to the company, this allows the machine to move exclusively during printing on the longitudinal side of the glass.
www.tecglassdigital.com
Machinery, Drilling, Milling, Edging, Seaming
VDM 1636 CN, Bavelloni
Bavelloni America offers the VDM 1636 CN, a vertical CNC work center that handles drilling, countersinking, milling and notch grinding in a single workstation. The work center features a double head and opposing spindles and can perform complex processing cycles in a single working station. According to the company, milling is performed while glass is stationary for great accuracy.
www.bavelloni.com
Flex Edge Edger, Bottero
The Flex-Edge is Bottero’s newest platform for grinding. It can be built with openings up to 9 meters and can be set up for manufacturing to meet customer requirements with up to 17 spindles. It also offers an insert for the finishing unit, allowing the radius corner up to 5mm.
www.bottero.com
Machinery, Insulating Glass
Automatic IG Production, Erdman Automation
Erdman’s high-speed insulating glass (IG) line is designed to help fabricators improve operation efficiencies. Its High-Speed Dura IG can produce units at increased rates compared to a traditional IG line. The total labor for the line is 3-4 operators per 1000 units per shift, according to the company, which results in reduced labor while also reducing floor space.
www.erdmanautomation.com
Machinery, Laminating
Laminating Line, HHH Equipment Resources
HHH Equipment Resources, a Salem Fabrication Technologies Group Inc. division, offers a full line of glass laminating systems. Officials said the company’s automatic laminated glass production line for architectural glass can manage an entire production process. The line features a washing and drying machine, Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) storage and an air convection pre-heating and pre-pressing machine, with a bent glass pre-preheating and pre-pressing machine option.
www.hhhglassequipment.com
Machinery, Laser Etching
Laser Glass Marking, Novanta Photon
CO2 laser systems from Novanta Photon are a clean and flexible alternative to marking glass. The systems can be used to apply permanent marks and codes to various glass types, including architectural glass. Graphical marks, patterns, alpha/numeric codes, expiration dates, barcodes and UPC codes can all be applied to glass with a laser. Its non-contact marking and coding process offers a clean process with no consumables; highly repeatable results; quick code and pattern changes with no tooling changes; flexible, digital controls; fast change-overs; and no glass fragments or silicon carbide residue.
https://novantaphotonics.com/new-laser-glass-marking-sub-system
Machinery, Tempering
RC and FC Tempering Lines, Glaston
The latest generation of Glaston’s RC and FC Series tempering line technologies can be tailored to customers’ specific needs. According to the company, its pioneering automation solutions accelerate operations across all production stages, boosting performance and profitability. The company’s Autopilot takes care of all necessary settings and process adjustments.
www.glaston.net
Machinery, Washing and Coating Machines
FuseCube Express, Diamon-Fusion
Diamon-Fusion International’s FuseCube Express is a high-speed protective glass coating machine. According to the company, the machine applies Diamon-Fusion low-maintenance coating to both sides of the glass in less than 10 minutes and can treat up to five lites per run. The machine can differentiate between glass products, reduce cleaning time and protect against stains. It also has a lifetime warranty.
www.dfisolutions.com
Production and Fabrication Equipment
Stock Management, Material Storage and Handling, Bottero
Stock Management solutions from Bottero are made for material storage and handling and are available in customized gantry or shuttle systems. The company says the gantry system can be equipped with a telescopic frame and patented automatic spacer removal. It is engineered for sizes ranging from regular to super jumbo sheets and can have fixed rack positions or automatic classifiers. The shuttle system manages and stores different types of glass for plants with restricted building heights unsuitable to accommodate overhead loaders.
www.bottero.com/gestione-magazzino
Protective Glazing
SentryGlas® Interlayers, Kuraray
SentryGlas Translucent White interlayers combine the brand’s technical benefits with aesthetic versatility. In tandem, Kuraray has launched the Strength Lab AI, an advanced tool complemented by tutorial videos. The tool can be used to calculate various glazing systems’ static load-bearing capacity and serviceability, including all SentryGlas interlayers.
www.trosifol.com
Quality Control/Inspection
Glass Break and Defect Detector, K-space
The k-Space Glass Breakage & Defect Detection tool combines light sources, lasers, optics and cameras with the company’s advanced software and machine learning. The tool can help users detect cracks, chips or blemishes for every panel, identify any abnormalities along the edge and measure sub-millimeter changes in panel thickness, width, and profile, all in real-time.
www.k-space.com
Façade and Glazing System Intallations – TIE
Architectural Glazing, Binswanger
Binswanger Glass offers complete glass and glazing solutions for a range of projects in both size and scope, from single-entrance doors to entire offices. The company provides project management, engineering and installation for jobs covering a range of architectural projects and services.
www.binswangerglass.com
KlearSky, Kingspan Light + Air
KlearSky metal framed glass skylights from Kingspan Light + Air are designed to integrate natural daylight into buildings to create visual aesthetics while also achieving high levels of building performance. The skylight system offers a wide range of options to suit diverse architectural needs. These include standard configurations such as pyramids, polygons, segmented barrel vaults, single slopes and ridges. In addition, fully customizable shapes are also available.
www.kingspan.com
Railing Systems
AR Series Aluminum Railing Systems, FHC
FHC created its AR Series Aluminum Railing System to allow for design flexibility with various profiles, colors, infill panels and attachment methods. The system is suitable for interior and exterior applications and is available in eight standard, mill aluminum and custom colors. Infill options include glass, cable, picket, stainless steel and custom decorative cast panels. Mounting options are top mount, fascia mount and core mount.
www.fhc-usa.com
Resources
Instaquote, FHC
FHC’s Instaquote is a web-based configurator for designing, quoting and ordering custom architectural glass entrances. Company officials say it calculates precise glass sizes from field measurements, accommodating out-of-plumb conditions. The program integrates with CNC via automatic DXF file generation to simplify fabrication. Officials say the tool quickly provides quotes for glass doors and sidelites, complete with installation sheets.
www.fhc-usa.com
Shower Door Products
OptiShower, Pilkington
Pilkington OptiShower is a durable, on-line coated clear float glass designed to prevent surface corrosion when exposed to water, moisture and humid environments. Shower enclosure manufacturers can further treat the glass for additional functionality, allowing water to slide off the glass quickly for easy cleaning. According to the company, by preventing oxidation of the glass, Pilkington OptiShower allows subsequent treatments to adhere better to the glass and increase durability.
www.pilkington.com
Software
Smart Glazier Connect, Smart Glazier
The Smart Glazier Connect is an E-commerce platform for fabricators. The program is designed to provide instant quotes and accurate, fabrication-ready orders directly through the interface. It offers built-in error warnings to ensure precise specifications and minimize rework. The program can import directly from Showers Online and the CRL software suite, DXF, Excel, GDS WinbidPro and the Smart Glazier Software suite.
www.smartglazier.com/en
Specialty Glass – TIE
Precision Edge® Technology, Pulp Studio
Precision Edge is a proprietary process exclusive to Pulp Studio designed to deliver a high-quality, zero-tolerance finish for both tempered and annealed laminated glass handrails. According to the company, exposed edges on glass handrails are an important aesthetic detail. The company’s high-quality edgework process can give the design a refined and professional look.
www.pulpstudio.com
VacuMax VIG, Vitro Architectural Glass
Vitro Architectural Glass has updated its VacuMax Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG) to deliver improved thermal performance and improved aesthetics. The newest generation of VacuMax VIG is now manufactured exclusively with Solarban 70 solar-control, low-E glass, which the company says allows 79% improvement in U-values and R-values of up to R20. A VacuMax VIG unit comprises two lites of 4mm glass separated by a non-leaded proprietary metal edge seal and a vacuum space. The entire VIG unit has a total thickness of 8.3 mm, slightly thicker than a standard 6mm glass lite.
www.vitroglazings.com
Tools and Supplies
Vacuum Cups, FHC
FHC has introduced its next-generation vacuum cup, a traditional hand-held vacuum cup combined with one-handed operation. According to the company, the new vacuum cup features an automatic, integrated battery-operated pump, eliminating thumb fatigue from manual pumping. FHC says the vacuum is continually monitored and automatically reactivates the pump to provide a continuous hold in case of vacuum loss.
www.fhc-usa.com
Transporation
Glass Racks, My Glass Truck
My Glass Truck designs and offers several different glass rack options. These include options for vans, pickups, interiors and sidekick trailers. The racks are made for both van and truck models, and can be shipped for do-it-yourself installation or can be installed onsite at one of the company’s locations.
www.myglasstruck.com
Windows, Framing Systems and Hardware
Old World Suite Steel Windows, Hopes
The Old World Suite from Hope’s Windows includes hot-rolled steel doors and windows designed for projects that call for classic solid steel aesthetics with old-world style. The line features three-point casement or arrow-shaped profiles for new construction and replacement projects.
www.hopeswindows.com
Window Film
Mirror Shield Film, Peel MirrorSystems
The patented Peel Mirror System mounts to mirrors to maximize public restroom protection from vandalism and graffiti. Comprising hassle-free installation and four readily peelable anti-graffiti layers, this mirror innovation helps eliminate vandalism-induced costs and disruptions. It includes four layers of USA Property Protection’s Mirror Shield and an integrated mounting bracket for easy attachment within minutes, per a company release.
www.peelmirrorsystem.com
To view the laid-in version of this issue in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.