TuffX focuses on producing a range of high value, high performance products that require skills and investment to produce.
When it comes to making glass units above people’s heads, TuffX Processed Glass can pretty much offer any size, shape and performance you might need. Oh, and in several colours too. What it won’t do is ‘bog standard’.
Around ten years ago Graham Price and John Tierney, the main drivers behind glass processors TuffX, decided that enough was enough: anticipating the crisis facing many standard IGU producers currently, they decided that they would no longer mass produce bog standard, pile ‘em high/sell ’em cheap window glass units.
Instead, they set out to focus on producing a range of high value, high performance products that require skills and investment to produce, but for which the competition would be relatively scarce. And it turned out to be the right thing to do.
In making that crucial decision, TuffX not only prospered but, actually, it has become the trendsetter for overhead glass: conservatories, of course, but also in a range of other overhead glazing applications including roof lights and lanterns. All are characterised by utilising IGUs that are almost infinitely customisable, in terms of applications but also, in respect of aesthetics too.
TuffX’s first major departure from standard units came in the form of the company’s now established Ambience range, which effectively changed the way that conservatories performed and as a consequence, significantly extended their versatility and use too. By skilfully combining advance glass types into insulated glass units, the performance attributes could be adapted to suit the conservatory. Roof units could be specified to account for location, temperature control, maintenance, aesthetics and durability.
Furthermore, a range of colours could also be specified which, apart from offering specific performance criteria, could also be matched aesthetically with the conservatory, host building and environment. The potential number of combinations is enormous. Other producers now also offer a range of performance anaesthetic options. But TuffX remains the only processor in the UK able to offer units of up to 4 metres in 4mm glass, thus reducing the use of muntin bars for an uncluttered appearance.
John Tierney explained the route to the company’s success: “We are one of the UK’s oldest glass merchants and processors, having begun in 1947. But despite this history, we came to a point when we realised that we were working harder but actually for less: a great deal of our business was making insulated glass units…standard units and lots of them. But despite the volumes we were making less and less money as the market was flooded by cheap units.
“We were already making conservatory glass units and, with the new high performance glasses coming n to the market, such as self-cleaning, solar control and others, we decided to focus on IGUs that offered benefits in performance and in due course, appearance and size. Looking back it was the only way we could have gone.”
TuffX has developed a niche for itself in the production of overhead glass products, as the firm now also manufacturers a range of roof lights in a number of variants, including fire rated, walk on glass units. TuffX roof lights are supplied with frames and are ready to install.
“Of course, most of our production is in conservatory glass and roof lights but we also have a range of balustrades and some of our finest work continues in the special projects for which we manufacture some extraordinary one-off architectural installations,” explained John. “Of course, as well as a highly skilled workforce our investment in technology to be able to achieve what we do is quite mind-blowing. This year alone we have spent more than half a million pounds, with a new Bottero cutting line that will boost output by a third.
“This machine is extraordinary. It automatically loads, cuts, grinds, marks and breaks out glass sheets up to 25 mm thick. And then it adds a label. It’s amazing to watch.”
The Bottero – a Modulinea 363EV)-J model – was the third cutting line installed by TuffX and hot on the heels of £300,000 spent on a Bovone ELB 12 HD straight line edging machine, a Delta Radius corner grinding machine, and a Schiatti drilling machine. Add to these new vehicles and people and that a similar spending round took place last year, and one develops an idea of how hard TuffX works to stay at the top.
“Yes, it is intensive in every sense,” says John, “but we are a market leader producing products that have real added value. And just as importantly, which very few companies can emulate.”
Back to Features Next Feature