Hills Glass has highlighted the importance of rapid aftersales support after a production issue with its Yuntong toughening furnace was resolved with support from Flat Glass Solutions.
Hills Glass, based in Stoke-on-Trent, has operated for 75 years supplying glass products to the home improvement, furniture and construction sectors. The company invested in a Yuntong toughening furnace through Flat Glass Solutions 11 years ago.
“Over the years the furnace has performed consistently well, probably helped in no small part by me using my own engineering skills to keep it maintained,” said Simon Hill, Director at Hills Glass. “But we recently had an issue that demonstrates exactly why working with FGS is key to safeguarding consistent production processes – and it all comes down to communication.”
Hill explained that the issue occurred during a busy production period, making it important to identify and resolve the fault quickly.
“One morning recently we had an issue that went beyond my own engineering know-how. With an order book of clamouring clients and a machine that literally burns money standing idle, it was vital to understand what the problem could have been, and learn how to rectify it as quickly as possible.”
Hill contacted Gary Dobson at Flat Glass Solutions’ UK office, supported by Catherine Li from the company’s China office. According to Hills Glass, the problem was identified within an hour and a solution communicated so production could resume quickly.
“In short, FGS’ response saved me a whole load of grief,” said Hill. “At 9am I thought I was going to have a headache of a day. By 10am it was all sorted.”
Oz, Managing Director at Flat Glass Solutions, said: “The complexity of Simon’s problem was solved swiftly and simply, and is a credit to the knowledge and open communication skills of Catherine working alongside our Chinese partners Yuntong.
“We are committed to providing an aftersales service that supports customers and helps minimise downtime. The resolution of Hills Glass’s furnace issue demonstrates how potentially complex problems can be resolved quickly and thoroughly.”
