COUNTY COMES BACK FOR MORE !
August 1, 2012
It was way back in 1998 that Ian Hamilton, owner and MD of County Glass, came striding on to our exhibition stand at GLASSTEC in Germany.
"Steve," he said to me, " is that what I think it is?"
It was the world's very first ever fully automatic arrissing (seaming) line for processing random sizes and thickness of glass in preparation for tempering. The unique horizontal design was carefully considered for economies of labour and handling, due to the preceding and subsequent operations of glass cutting and tempering also being horizontal.
"It's what I've always wanted," he said. "Is this one sold?"
"No," said I.
"Well, it is now," was his response.
And so Ian became the proud recipient of the very first ever Ashton Industrial automatic arrissing line and washer.
It was installed at County Glass' busy Winchester factory a month later.
The County Glass story actually starts way back in 1952 post war England where from a small workshop in Winchester, Ian's parents Norman and Rose Hamilton began cutting glass to order for local homes and businesses. From those modest beginnings, County Glass has become one of the country's leading manufacturers of double glazed units, toughened safety glass and processed glass products to all market sectors.
The location at junction 9 of the M3 is ideal for supplying the South of England, London and the South East, and Ian proudly underlines their commitment to provide the highest level of service and total customer satisfaction, maintaining the reputation that has underpinned County's tremendous growth and success over the decades.
So… 14 years and an estimated 5 million sheets of glass later, with the line still running every day, Ian has decided it's time to upgrade to the latest model, the new high performance SEAMMAX-X PRO.
So… 14 years and an estimated 5 million sheets of glass later, with the line still running every day, Ian has decided it's time to upgrade to the latest model, the new high performance SEAMMAX-X PRO.It's smaller footprint frees up valuable factory space for further high-tech processing machines to support County's ongoing growth in specialist glass products.
The original line, kept in remarkable condition and pictured here with Ian Hamilton (right) and plant manager Graham Diment, is coming back to Ashton Industrial for recycling.
How about that for a great reference? Thank you Ian, I'm so proud I can hardly get my hat on!
The original line, kept in remarkable condition and pictured here with Ian Hamilton (right) and plant manager Graham Diment, is coming back to Ashton Industrial for recycling.
How about that for a great reference? Thank you Ian, I'm so proud I can hardly get my hat on!