Bytów, a city in the North of Poland, less than 100 kilometres south of Gdansk, may as well be called the European Mecca for windows. It is home to DRUTEX, a company that has built up its reputation in the window industry by consistent investment in state-of-the-art engineering and technology. Until 1994, the company’s main area of business was metal processing for wires and fence nets. That year, the company installed its first production line for PVC windows and one for laminated glass. In 1999, DRUTEX started the production of aluminium doors, windows and façades. Three years later it launched the production of wooden windows and doors, and in 2007 the production of PVC profiles using its own mixing plant. Today more than 2,000 employees contribute to and realize DRUTEX’ ambitious goals.
The cooperation between DRUTEX and LiSEC started in 2000 when DRUTEX bought its first production line for insulating glass. “All five LiSEC machines we have in our plant run like clockwork. They are all precise and of high quality”, says Grzegorz Płaksa, Production Manager, speaking about the impressive production facilities. DRUTEX is equipped with the most modern glass processing solutions from LiSEC including software tools such as GPS.prod for dynamic production optimization and a full software package that enables interaction and communication between machines.
In total, DRUTEX has five LiSEC insulating glass production lines.

Ambitious goals, ambitious brand ambassadors
The ...

Bytów, a city in the North of Poland, less than 100 kilometres south of Gdansk, may as well be called the European Mecca for windows. It is home to DRUTEX, a company that has built up its reputation in the window industry by consistent investment in state-of-the-art engineering and technology. Until 1994, the company’s main area of business was metal processing for wires and fence nets. That year, the company installed its first production line for PVC windows and one for laminated glass. In 1999, DRUTEX started the production of aluminium doors, windows and façades. Three years later it launched the production of wooden windows and doors, and in 2007 the production of PVC profiles using its own mixing plant. Today more than 2,000 employees contribute to and realize DRUTEX’ ambitious goals.
The cooperation between DRUTEX and LiSEC started in 2000 when DRUTEX bought its first production line for insulating glass. “All five LiSEC machines we have in our plant run like clockwork. They are all precise and of high quality”, says Grzegorz Płaksa, Production Manager, speaking about the impressive production facilities. DRUTEX is equipped with the most modern glass processing solutions from LiSEC including software tools such as GPS.prod for dynamic production optimization and a full software package that enables interaction and communication between machines.
In total, DRUTEX has five LiSEC insulating glass production lines.

Ambitious goals, ambitious brand ambassadors
The latest investment made by DRUTEX is proof of its eagerness to grow and to drastically expand its business. The company has just finished the first phase of a huge multi-million project called the European Wood-work Centre. Through this investment, DRUTEX will double its production capacity at a stroke and estimated 1,000 new jobs will be created in the region. The 28,000 square meters production hall was finished in July this year. Bogdan Gierszewski, Production Director: “The new hall is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery for the manufacturing of PVC windows, as well as with lines and machines for glass processing and tempering. Also here we opted for LiSEC glass processing machines and software.” The LiSEC lines and machines installed include a FlyOver loading system, which can move diagonally above the storage racks when empty. This process allows minimum cycle times, as the suction cup bridge does not have to move out from in between the racks after each cycle. Further LiSEC machines installed include a washing machine, sealing machines and glass cutting tables. The LiSEC solution is designed to handle large size glass sheets of up to 5,000 x 2,500 millimetres and includes the newest machines, thus enabling DRUTEX to set the pace within the industry.
DRUTEX’ growth programme is supported by a multi-channel marketing campaign in which soccer players such as Lahm, Piro and Blaszczykowski become brand ambassadors. With TV spots and advertisements in industry magazines, DRUTEX targets the German, Italian and Polish markets.

Trends are a matter of reaction time and speed
Bogdan Gierszewski is convinced: “Trends on today’s building elements market are set by customers, their needs and their preferences.” Every manufacturer who wants to grow needs to reply to these trends accordingly. “However, only a few are flexible enough to react in time and can even exceed expectations,” he adds. The major trends according to DRUTEX are energy efficiency and sound proof technology; investors and individual customers paying a lot of attention to both these issues. “That is why high quality glass is so important and why we invest more and more in technological solutions and equipment. I am sure that through intense cooperation with partners such as LiSEC we can learn from each other, expand our mutual knowledge in modern glazing technology and thus provide customers with products that exceed their expectations.”
“What we appreciate most about LiSEC is its dynamics in development and its ability to respond to customers’ needs. DRUTEX is well-known for its reliability and speed of action which is a result of strong and fast management, our own modern transport fleet and therefore also the shortest delivery periods of our goods. We deliver products in only seven days within Europe whereas the standard is 30 or 60 days! In our case we also talk about a pro-investment policy which enables the development of solutions and technologies that are crucial for th e production of windows,” explains Leszek Gierszewski, Chairman of the Board at DRUTEX.

DRUTEX facts
Founded: 1985
LiSEC customer since 2000
Turnover: 130 Mio
Euros (2013)
Daily capacity: approximately 5,000 windows/day
Number of employees:
over 2000
www.drutex.eu

About LiSEC
LiSEC, with headquarters in Hausmening/Amstetten (Austria), is a globally active group that has provided innovative individual and complete solutions in the field of flat glass production and finishing for more than 50 years. The business activities encompass machines, automation solutions and services. In 2013 the group generated a total turnover of around EUR 200 million with around 1,600 employees and over 30 sites, and an export quota of more than 90 per cent. LiSEC develops and manufactures glass cutting systems and sorting systems, individual components and complete production lines for insulation and laminated glass production. With reliable technology and intelligent automation solutions LiSEC sets the standard in quality and technology, contributing significantly to the success of its customers.

LiSEC at glasstec 2014
Reliable and economic solutions for flat glass processing ranging from industry climbers to operators of high-end complex production lines. LiSEC will present new solutions for the glass processing industry at glasstec, both at systems level and at automation level. “This time, we have decided to emphasise the core elements of systems, and in particular to emphasise the components that make up the solution or which make it unique, alongside lines that will be operating at the stand,” explains Alexander Kronsteiner, Head of Product Management at LiSEC. In this way, we will be able to explain our innovations to our visitors in more detail. We therefore offer insights into the topic of mechatronics for the first time via our “mechatronics insight” presentation. Peter Holzinger, Managing Director and Head of Sales: “The LiSEC stand design for the 2,000 square metre presentation area is designed in a way that will enable us to show the path from industry climbers (base product range) to corporations with high-end integrated production lines; we will pick up each visitor from wherever they are at the moment.”

Base – engineered by LiSEC
LiSEC will present a new product range at the 2014 glasstec trade fair. The series is called base and comprises lines and individual machines for emerging markets, i.e. small to medium-sized companies and growing flat-glass processing businesses in high-growth markets. Othmar Sailer, CEO of the LiSEC Group: “LiSEC is very successful in the high-end segment. We now want to offer our technology and experience in other segments as well.” Besides two production lines (an insulating glass line and a glass cutting line), the base series from LiSEC also includes other machinery like break-out tables, washing machines, assembly presses, bending machines, automatic butyl application machines, etc.; everything that is required to cut flat glass and further process it into insulating glass. Sailer: “Products in the base range provide LiSEC quality at an affordable price. Our goal is to grow with new customers in new markets or market segments and make our operational know-how available to a larger market. The cardinal rule here: We are successful thanks to satisfied customers in every segment.” The machines in the base series distinguish themselves through their heavy duty design and easy operation, and they are also designed to be easy to install. The commercial effectiveness of the series does not stop there: Spare parts are low-cost and service and maintenance work can be completed easily in most cases. Sailer: “We’re consciously introducing this product line under the LiSEC brand, since if LiSEC is written on it, this guarantees a high price-performance ratio throughout the product’s life cycle. This also applies to base products. In terms of quality and performance, we are uncompromising; the additional claim ‘engineered by LiSEC’ makes this point clear.”

CleanSeal: Quality is there - now on every corner
LiSEC has re-engineered the vertical sealing machines of the VFL series, and the result is clear. With the new VFL system, dubbed “CleanSeal”, even less effort is required overall to eliminate or prevent contaminants, and the sealing quality of the corners is considerably improved. This results in significantly reduced production times.

Washing, drying, etc.
LiSEC washing machines now feature automatic infinitely variable brush adjustment, which allows them to maintain consistent contact pressure on the glass sheets at all times. Consistent contact pressure ensures that the glass sheets are not scratched, which is especially important for coated glass sheets. This far gentler operation extends the service life of the brushes, while also providing the optimum cleaning effect. For the new generation of washing machines, LiSEC engineers have developed a new drying system which allows the sheets to be dried even faster than before. Alexander Kronsteiner, Head of Product Management at LiSEC: “The new drying system works so well that it is possible to install a quality scanner immediately after the drying station.” Until recently, the main washing station and the drying station in LiSEC washing machines were two separate elements that were integrated at the customer’s location. With machines from the new series, these have been combined into a single module consisting entirely of stainless steel, which saves more than just space. Since seals between the two elements are no longer required, this solution is also cleaner overall.

Perfectly moulded sealing without stress: high-quality processing of thermoplastic spacers with LiSEC TPA
The core of this concept is formed by a newly developed system called TPA, which stands for ‘thermo-plastic applicator’. This involves a fully-automatic system for applying thermo-plastic spacers directly on the glass sheet. “During the development of this system, three things were very important to us,” explains Alexander Kronsteiner, Head of Product Management. “First of all, we recognised from the start that this could never be an independent system, but rather that the direct application of TPS would require a well thought-out production process in advance. Secondly, the stability of the system is very important to us, and finally, we enable a visually undetectable sealing, a nearly ‘endless’ application of the spacer.” The LiSEC TPA system enables sealing during the application of TPS that is hardly visible when integrated on the one hand, and that also ensures that the spacer is applied absolutely gas-tight on the other. To do so, the spacer material is pressed carefully into a mould chamber at the sealing position in a single step.  In order to make this approach perfect in reality, LiSEC offers the solution as a line concept. This is most suitable for process steps like assembly, gas filling, and pressing, which have special requirements during TPS application. In this case, LiSEC’s patented system plays a special role, whereby the gas is filled without swirling from below and without the need for bending the glass sheets. Alongside these highlights, innovations and further developments of the LiSEC systems for flat glass processing and glass tempering will be presented. Furthermore, LiSEC will also display new solutions for automation. These allow to simplify our customers’ processes or to provide more and more precise information about the production sequences and the production quality.