JAM Glass order

Aiming for an (optimised) cut of the glass processing market

(L-R) Malcolm Searle with Chand & Neil Modha of JAM Glass

JAM Glass Ltd is a new start-up aimed at the float and laminated cut sizes and processing market. It has been set-up by Chand and Neil Modha.

Their new factory in Dunstable is 34,000+ sq.feet and is ideally suited for 6 x 3 glass and sited close to the M1 motorway. They are investing heavily in quality equipment and technology from day one. The computer system they have purchased from Clear Thinking Software will plan, monitor and optimise production and link to the Hegla laminated/float table which has 24+ loading positions from a gantry loader, and Remaster. The Remaster will store up to 25 off-cuts from production runs, as well as full 6m x 3m sheets above the table, this will be crucial to JAM Glass in controlling glass waste and their varied range of products.

For instance, if they only have a few pieces of 10mm glass to cut today, which cannot wait, the software will cut it efficiently, then rack the off-cut (which lets say is 3m x 3m). This off-cut can be used in it’s entirety on another batch, and because it's not being handled by men, it's safe and stored without scratching - best of all – no need to cut sub plates into smaller 'manhandlable' pieces for operator off-loading. The Clear Thinking optimisation software can check the Remaster at any time to see which sizes and substances are available and make these the priority for the next optimisation run. This also means the off cuts are also available to the shop-floor for remakes should there be any, without the need to tell the office that they're using any particular piece. As a safeguard, items locked for production runs cannot be freely used by the operator.

The software will barcode every piece of glass and will rack glass together that will go to the same workstation (e.g. for drilling or polishing), barcode reading stations on the shop-floor will enable everyone in the company with a PC to let a customer know exactly where in the production cycle their order is. JAM Glass may want to publish this information to their website later, to further aid customer service, so customers can check the status themselves.

Chand Modha says, "We are pleased to be partnering with Clear Thinking and Hegla. We have done our research, and although their solutions were not cheap, we are convinced that this technology coupled with our commitment to service will give us a significant edge over other players in the market. We were also impressed with their commitment to join together to provide us with a complete and seamless solution".

"We're sure their support and expertise will enable us to fulfill our aims of providing a swift and quality service to our customers."

Article appeared in The Gl@zine - 21st February 06