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| A clear vision
for the future |
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RAC Auto Windscreens Head Office in Chesterfield
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Ironically, given that they provide drivers with their view of the
road whilst protecting them from the elements, vehicle windscreens
and windows are a much overlooked item in the context of vehicle safety.
Auto Windscreens was founded in the Derbyshire town of Chesterfield
in 1971, and became part of the RAC in March 2001. The company employs
nearly 1,800 people at over 160 locations throughout the UK and in
2001, RAC Auto Windscreens repaired or replaced over 250,000 vehicle
windows.
The company has been in the automotive glazing business for over 30
years, during which time the use of glass in cars has seen some remarkable
changes. The biggest single change has been the move from front windscreens
being a single sheet of toughened safety glass, to being a laminate
consisting of two pieces of glass and a sheet of strong vinyl interlayer.
What this means to the motorist is that the days of the truly shattering
experience of a windscreen crazing over or smashing into tiny fragments
have been banished to the past. A laminated windscreen can sustain
massive traumatic impact before the vinyl in the middle of the laminate
is pierced by any projectile making contact with the screen.
With a toughened windscreen, drivers were in danger of being killed
by whatever object broke the screen. It is very rare nowadays to see
a screen where the inner glass of the screen has sustained serious
damage and even rarer to see an object penetrate the vinyl interlayer.
Our factory in Chesterfield produces many laminated
windscreens per year
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RAC Auto Windscreens has unique experience of laminated windscreens,
as its own state of the art manufacturing plant in Chesterfield makes
over a quarter of a million front windscreens per annum. The production
process involves the cutting, bending and laminating together of the
two pieces of glass and the vinyl interlayer which forms the finished
windscreen.
RAC Auto Windscreens only uses bonding materials supplied by Dow Automotive
Chemicals, which is the leading supplier to the original equipment
vehicle manufacturers. All RAC Auto Windscreens’ fitters undergo
a rigorous training and development programme to Industry and NVQ
standards to ensure that all glazing operations carried out by the
company meet the necessary safety standards.
As the adhesive system is sensitive to both temperature and humidity,
it may be necessary for cars to be brought to one of the company’s
160 fitting locations throughout the UK to ensure that the quality
of the bond is not compromised.
Finally, in relation to the windscreen, there are three further developments
the have changed the industry in the last decade. First, the move
to laminated front windscreens has seen the increased use of clear
resin, injected into localised damage to save the screen and effect
an almost invisible repair. Second, the windscreens increasingly contain
elements or switchgear, from a simple radio antenna, to a complete
raft of heating elements, or a sensor to operate the wipers in wet
conditions. Finally, the glass or the vinyl interlayer may be treated
with a heat and UV reflective coating to minimise heat build-up inside
vehicles which have ever-increasing areas of glass.
All materials used are the same as those supplied
to the vehicle manufacturers
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In conclusion in relation to front windscreens, it is clear that along
with all automotive technology, the essential piece of glass through
which motorists spend most of their time looking at the road has been
the subject of huge change in terms of construction and functionality.
What of the rest of a vehicle’s windows? The changes to side
and rear windows has been less revolutionary: the vast majority are
still made from a single sheet of curved toughened glass, although
in common with front screens, the size of windows has increased significantly.
Of course, all rear windows in 2003 are heated to demist them in damp
conditions and they now often contain the audio antenna as well. Side
windows may also carry alarm sensors and the majority of opening and
closing mechanisms on front doors are electrically operated.
Because side and rear windows shatter into thousands of tiny fragments
when broken, RAC Auto Windscreens’ fitters need a huge array
of tools and equipment to retrieve all the broken glass from inside
the doors and reconnect the new glazing to its mechanism. The fact
that all vehicles have distinct shaped side and rear glazings makes
stockholding and logistics a vital element of RAC Auto Windscreens’
service offering. RAC Auto Windscreens stores over 10,000 different
vehicle windscreens and related items and these are available for
fitment at any time of day or night by calling 0800 919 700. Increasingly,
all vehicle windscreens are tinted so the proliferation of glass colours
only increases the size of the stock range. Side and rear windows
are usually broken by car thieves either to steal the vehicle or to
steal contents. In 2002, working with the Home Office, RAC Auto Windscreens
launched the Safe Sack to remind motorists to keep their in-car valuables
out of sight.
Laminated windscreen repair is possible by resin
injection
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Most side windows are broken as a result of vehicle
crime |
The “Safe Sack” campaign encouraged
drivers to “Bag it or Lose it”
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