Taylor Made Group, the world’s leading supplier of marine glazing systems for pleasure boats, today announced the introduction of new processes that will enable the company to produce very large, chemically toughened and laminated, shaped glass for superyacht builders.
“Superyacht designers and builders are responding to customers’ desires by incorporating bright and airy interiors with panoramic vistas, wind-free alfresco entertaining areas, and the like, as part of their yachts,” said Frank Buckley, managing director of Trend Marine Products Limited, a division of Taylor Made Group, LLC. “These innovative designs are making the specification and manufacturing of glazing solutions much more complex.”
Taylor Made Group has responded to this challenge by investing in equipment and processes that can produce custom-shaped glass panels in sizes up to 8.2ft. x 10.5ft. (2.5m x 3.2m) from the Trend Marine Products facility in the United Kingdom.
Taylor Made Group New Glass-Making Processes for Superyacht Builders
Taylor Made is working under a collaboration agreement with a team from Cambridge University, who is assisting with the technical development of the chemical-toughening process. “We will be able to toughen any shape, including round or conical glass, which almost always suffers from some optical distortion as a result of the roller hearth-shaping process,” said Buckley. “Our new sag-bending system will produce any shape without distortion.”
Additionally, the company is now using an advanced laminate technology developed by Bridgestone, which has important advantages over traditional auto glass laminates for the marine environment. The cured, water-resistant interlayer protects against delamination and significantly reduces IR and UV radiation. This results in lower temperatures inside the boat and helps prevent degradation of fabrics and materials, according to Buckley.
Taylor Made offers a wide variety of complementary products for superyacht designers and builders, including manual and electric aft saloon doors, carbon fiber-glazed sliding panels, large-hull glazing solutions and skylights. All products have been engineered to meet the highest standards and can be specified to meet the requirements of ABYC, ABS, RINA and Lloyd’s or any other certification society on a per-boat basis.
“The wide variety of products, combined with Taylor Made’s experienced design and development departments, means that a truly ‘one-stop shop’ is available for the first time,” said Buckley. “Designers can now specify precision laminated glass panels in large sizes and exotic forms, allowing them a new level of sophistication in their designs, and at the same time satisfy the other glazing needs of their vessel with perfectly matched products from our other lines.”
Buckley noted that the superyacht industry has experienced astounding growth during the last decade, and this sector of the market continues to show impressive resilience in spite of the worldwide economic downturn. “We know from conversations with our current customers that this sort of investment, which extends our capabilities as well as the quality and sophistication of marine glazing products available to builders, is going to pay off for both our company and the marine industry at large.”
About Trend Marine Products
A member of Taylor Made Group, LLC, Trend Marine Products Limited (www.trendsuperyacht.com) has been a steadily growing business for over 37 years, keeping ahead with glazing solutions for yacht builders worldwide. The impressive site in Catfield, Norfolk, United Kingdom currently produces complete boat sets from curved windscreens to complex doors and powered sunroofs for a wide range of boats from sports boats to multi-deck superyachts.
About Taylor Made Group
Headquartered in Gloversville, N.Y., Taylor Made Group, LLC (www.taylormadegroup.com) has more than 100 years of experience as one of the recreational marine industry’s largest, most diversified suppliers to boatbuilders and the aftermarket. The Taylor Made Group includes Taylor Made Products, Taylor Made Systems, Taylor Made Glass Systems, Ameritex Fabric Systems, Trend Marine Products Limited, Taylor Made Glass & Systems Limited, Taylor Made Systems Pacific, Water Bonnet and Taylorbrite. The Group operates 11 facilities in the United States, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico.
