“When we saw the CHAMP 25 a few years ago, we knew this was the future we should pursue for our next round of capital expenditures,” says Dan Wright, CEO of Paragon Tempered Glass.

With his colleague Wes Brigner, Director of Manufacturing, they oversee two Paragon plants with 30-year-old Bystronic glass pre-processing equipment and Glaston tempering lines.

“Not only would the line give us the speed and capacity we needed, we also knew our relationship with Glaston would be excellent and the quality would be of the highest calibre,” Mr Wright adds.

Paragon purchased their first CHAMP 25 in October 2019. Although COVID-19 slowed the process, the line was installed in September 2021.

The new line incorporates four different processes – robotic loading, cutting, grinding and drilling with two sets of drills. Earlier, this would have taken four separate pieces of equipment.

Now the line combines all processes into one and is tied into the company’s digital printer.

CHAMP automates the processes, significantly improving yield and quality. At the same time, it helps Paragon focus on what they’re best at – fabricating a high volume of high value-added parts.

“Our operators are really excited about the CHAMP line, as they see this as the future. Especially at the Ohio plant, our people have adapted over the years to many changes and expect the best. They also know we share the business profits with our workforce. They understand that the better we do, the better they do, too,” Mr Wright says.

 www.glaston.net

Image: Dan Wright, CEO of Paragon Tempered Glass with colleague Wes Brigner, Director of Manufacturing