Ensuring Safe, Timely Delivery of Jumbo Glass
With our new jumbo magnetron sputtered vacuum deposition (MSVD) coater in Wichita Falls, Texas, now producing glass, Vitro’s transportation team examined how jumbo glass lites will get from our plant floor to your door. With product potentially twice the size as current lites, many details needed to be analyzed.
“Our team in Wichita Falls spent a lot of time determining the flow of the product within the plant,” said Jeff Smith, Manager of Supply Chain and Transportation. “From the coater to glass storage to the shipping docks, we needed to make sure that everything can be safely transported and not run into obstacles along the way.”
The larger sizes also change the way glass gets transported after it leaves the plant. “The introduction of jumbo sized coated glass will change the mix of the Vitro transportation fleet because all of these loads will be made on double drop trailers,” said Smith. “Our primary transportation partners are already working to secure this additional capacity so that it’s in place when the coater starts producing glass.”
The jumbo-sized coated glass lites will require new and innovative ways to secure the glass on the trailers to ensure there is no damage during transit. “That’s something we’re discussing with our major transportation partners,” said Smith. “Making sure that the glass arrives safely, on time, and without any damage is the Vitro transportation team’s top priority.”
