Technical development manager - Gary Shoesmith

Warm-edge experts Edgetech are gearing up for future innovation with the opening of a new research laboratory.

Situated at the company’s Coventry headquarters, it’s been built to enable Edgetech to develop new products, assist customers in meeting accreditation and compliance requirements, and generally distribute technical expertise more widely throughout the company.

Thanks to parent company Quanex, Edgetech is already blessed with world-class testing facilities in Akron, Ohio – but this is the first time the firm has had the capacity to develop products independently in the UK.

“The demands placed on IGU manufacturers are growing all the time,” comments Technical Development Manager Gary Shoesmith.

“They’re caught in a squeeze between the increasingly stringent standards demanded of them by governments and regulators, and their customers and end-users wanting exceptional performance for ever-more competitive prices.

“On top of that, we’re seeing more and more volatility in the supply chain. Raw material prices have risen, sometimes quite substantially, in the wake of Brexit – and, most pressingly of all at the moment, the silicone shortage is causing headaches throughout the industry.

“At Edgetech, we take these issues extremely seriously – and now, thanks to the new laboratory, I’m spending a significant amount of time and resources on helping our customers respond.

“At the time of writing, I’m evaluating no less than five potential new products, capable of delivering the same outstanding performance the industry has come to expect from us, using materials that are more readily available.”

Managing Director Chris Alderson comments: “This is a major milestone for Edgetech – and with it, we’ll be able to help our customers face up to the challenges of the modern marketplace better than ever before.”