Guardian Industries Corp. Expands its Science and Technology Center

May 28, 2015, Luxembourg – Guardian Industries, a leading supplier of industry-leading commercial, residential and interior glass products, has expanded its global Science and Technology Center (STC) in Carleton, Michigan, USA, demonstrating the company’s latest advanced architectural glass products and innovations.

The STC is one of Guardian’s driving forces behind its commitment to innovation that creates value for its customers and delivers products that improve people’s lives.

With this 27,000-square-foot addition, the STC can accelerate the rate of product design and development. Highlights include a full-size vacuum coater; a glass product showcase wall; an electrically wired, full-scale demonstration wall for advanced glazing technologies; and upgraded and expanded laboratory space.

Of particular note on the addition is the cutting-edge curtain wall designed to achieve net zero energy results using Guardian’s high performance commercial glass products, SunGuard SNX 51/23 and SunGuard Spandrel HT, and building-integrated photovoltaic panels.

“This high-performance building is a working demonstration of Guardian’s commitment to advancing glass technology,” says Sheldon Davis, Vice President, Research and Development, Guardian Industries Corp. “We have built the exterior walls using our next-generation low-E glass – SunGuard SNX 51/23 – along with electricity-generating photovoltaic glass. There are very few buildings today with this kind of facade technology.”

Fabricated by independent Guardian Select® Fabricator Thompson I.G., the building features thermally broken curtain wall, energy-dense vertical wall PV, rooftop PV and high performance glass to tune the performance per elevation: Guardian SunGuard SNX 51/23 contributes 51 percent visible light transmission and a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.23 to that performance. No other commercial glass on clear float produced in North America today offers this much light with so little heat.

"This investment in our research facility represents a global commitment to the further development of high performance coatings on glass.” says Lance Altizer, Marketing Director, Guardian Europe. “It enables faster development cycles and global product transfers to meet the ever-changing requirements of the glass industry. We are excited about the potential of this facility to drive innovation for our European customers."

For more information on Guardian glass innovation, visit www.guardian.com/europe/index.htm.