Technical Glass Products

Since 1980, Technical Glass Products (TGP) has been supplying specialized glazing materials and systems for commercial and institutional buildings. Its motto, “one source, many solutions,” reflects a commitment to providing products and services to help solve challenges faced by architects, general contractors and glaziers. The company has two business lines: 1) fire-rated glass and framing, and 2) specialty architectural glazing.

TGP has exclusive agency relationships with Nippon Electric Glass (NEG), Pilkington, and RP Technik to distribute certain glass and framing product lines in North America and the Middle East. The company has offices in Seattle, USA; Toledo, USA; Toronto, Canada; and Dubai, UAE.

 

FIRE-RATED GLASS AND FRAMING

In the fire-rated glass and framing industry, TGP is the recognized leader. TGP works closely with building code officials, designers and manufacturers to identify and develop products for the safety, aesthetics and other requirements of today’s buildings. The company is the sole North American and Middle Eastern supplier of the FireLite® family of clear and wireless ceramic glazing that blocks fire and smoke and can meet impact resistance requirements. In 2013 and 2014, FireLite earned the USGlass Readers’ Choice Award for its ability to meet fire-safety codes without compromising on aesthetics. Other TGP fire-rated products include Pilkington Pyrostop® transparent wall panels – which are both fire and impact-resistant and block heat transfer – the Fireframes® family of steel, aluminum, wood, curtainwall and glazed floor framing; and Neoceram™ heat-resistant glass ceramic for gas and wood-burning fireplaces and stoves.

In addition to its line of fire-rated products, TGP has an in-house design and engineering team that works with architects and designers to meet building code requirements for life safety and a host of other challenges. For example, the company worked with the architects for the Art Insitute of Chicago’s Modern Wing to develop custom fire-rated aluminum frames – the Fireframes® Aluminum Series. The frames allowed for large expanses of fire-rated glazing in the Modern Wing’s classrooms and corridors with sleek sightlines to match the exterior curtainwall designed by Renzo Piano.

For the Fulton Center transit hub, which was heralded by commuters as a “modern gem” in a “New York Daily News” article, TGP’s in-house team pioneered a different design solution. The company achieved a visual match between a fire-rated and non-fire-rated curtain wall system, letting light pour in from the building’s 53-foot oculus in style.

 SPECIALTY ARCHITECTURAL GLAZING

TGP also supplies a range of specialty architectural glass and framing beyond fire-rated products. These include the Pilkington Profilit™ channel glass system – U-shaped cast glass channels in an exterior frame suitable for dramatic lighting effects and daylighting – the line of strong, narrow-profile SteelBuilt Curtainwall® Systems and SteelBuilt Window and Door® Systems, X-ray shielding glass and decorative glass. As with fire-rated glazing, TGP is a well-known expert in specialty architectural glazing. It led the development and certification of a hurricane-rated option for Pilkington Profilit channel glass, which earned a Crystal Achievement Award from Glass magazine for the “Most Innovative Protective Glazing Product.”