ESG was established in 2003, but it is more recently that the company has developed into a leading independent glass processing specialist. ESG began as the toughening operation for sister company Village Glass. Both companies are located in Witham, Essex, & owned by Perry Hubble. At the start, ESG's main business was supplying tempered 4mm glass for Village, which manufacturers an extensive range of sealed units for the domestic commercial markets. The growth of both companies has led to a change of strategy: As Village Glass grew it made sense for the sealed unit manufacturer to have its own glass tempering facility, leaving ESG free to develop opportunities for processed glass, mostly in the commercial sector. ESG supplies a range of large & thick glasses, including toughened glass, laminates, fire resistant glass & other products, often at short notice. Common jobs are balustrade panels, large architectural glass peices, glass for shopfitting and shower screens. The standard lead time is five days but a 24 hour turnaround is often achieved on request. The company operates from two adjoining industrial units totalling 30,000 square feet. In most cases, ESG has exercised a policy of buying machines in twos-one for each side of the factory- to ensure high input and minimal downtime. "As we've grown we have found bottlenecks in our operation "explains, Graeme Brouder,Key Accounts Manager. "If everything stopped working next door we could still do everything". No machinery at ESG is over three years old. All glass is cut from jumbo sheets using a Helga cutting table while a Lisec table handles 4mm and laminates. Drilling,edging,CNC processing, toughening, heat soaking,sandblasting and glass painting are amoung the glass processes undertaken. Laminating is done using both PVB and EVA interlayers.
