“Interpane is specialized in high performance glass products and high end solutions for architecture. We are partners for the consulting right from the beginning of the planning process of each project. With the wide range of products available, our clients increasingly rely on technical advice. Our consultancy-team supports architects, engineers, planners, processors and institutional real estate developers almost all over the world.” INTERPANE
AGC Interpane is one of the major European glass manufacturers and processors, which offers a wide range of functional glass. The company was founded as “Interpane” in Lauenförde (Germany), by Georg F. Hesselbach in 1971. Today it has production facilities at eleven locations in Europe. The product range includes float and low-iron float glass, high-quality coated products for thermal and sound insulation, solar control and safety, glass for interior and exterior-design as well as glass for solar applications. Since mid-2012, AGC Glass Europe and Interpane have a strategic alliance. The glass specialists complement one another, providing an optimized combination of know-how and technology. This has created an outstanding glass portfolio, giving customers across Europe and around the world faster access to products and services.
Working together as AGC Interpane, the company now offers its customers a wide range of products with even greater variety – for example a complete range of triple-silver-coated glass products. In addition to the standard temperable, coated float glass, a further strength of the alliance are individual cut-to-size solutions for high-end facades with sophisticated functional glass elements. AGC Interpane also supplies a large number of special solutions upon request. These include specific surface treatments, such as partial coatings and screen printing, as well as customized coatings for unique façade projects. In particular, the alliance produces oversized glass sheets – called „Giga Lites“ – for exclusive projects. Float glass coatings up to 18 metres (!) in length are possible. Special transport and start-to-end handling complete the range of products and services.
Project
The Shard, London
Thames. Designed with a double-skin façade, the skyscraper by Renzo Piano houses offices, an extra class restaurant and luxury apartments. This is where AGC Interpane in Plattling (Germany) comes in, due to its ability to produce quantities of glass in exceptional sizes: up to 15 m (even 18 m on demand) and 7.53 m in this particular case for the ground floor units. For the external wall, AGC Interpane supplied 40,000 m² of ipasol bright white solar control glass incorporated in a laminated assembly with extra-clear glass and, for the internal wall, 40,000 m² of iplus super-insulating glass integrated in double-glazing incorporating laminated extra-clear glass. And, additional 12,000 m² of ipasol neutral and iplus, used for the complex double-glazing in the building’s corners and ground floor.
Work in progress
Taking a glimpse on current projects, the future for AGC Interpane shines bright. For Example in New York: Right now, 17 skyscrapers going up in the metropolis are being fitted with solar protection glass supplied by AGC Interpane. The projects involved have attracted international attention and include the World Trade Center, Hudson Yards, the Museum of Modern Art and Hard Rock tower, to name but a few. In March 2016, 29 projects were under way throughout the USA, and this figure looks set to rise.
The architects include Kohn Pedersen Fox, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Richard Meier & Partners Architects, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Foster & Partners, and other eminent architectural firms. So the company’s international business is booming.