QINGDAO Hengda Glass Technology Co. Ltd. is set to become a world-class glass maker. Although Hengda, founded 20 years ago, is the No. 1 company in Qingdao in glass processing and equipment and one of the Top 10 Creative Brands in the Chinese glass industry, most people outside the industry have barely heard of it. In 2006, the company was approved to open a vacuum glass production line, which was the only line financially supported by the Central Government. The project is now in operation and can produce vacuum glasses covering an area of 400,000 square meters a year. The market share of its vacuum glass is No. 1 in China and No. 2 in the world. Although the vacuum glass was first developed by a Japanese company, Hengda has discovered the high market value of the product. “The company has invested large amounts of money in technology development and finally developed high-end products with independent intellectual property rights,” said an official from the city’s economic and trade commission. During the past 10 years, the company invested more than 40 million yuan in technology development and got nearly 20 patents in product, techniques and equipment. In 2010, the company also received national support in two projects and a new safe vacuum glass project was also launched at the beginning of this year. It has also participated in making the world’s first industrial standard for vacuum glass and the world’s first standards for photovoltaic vacuum glass and vacuum glass production machines. Compared with regular glass, the vacuum glass has better functions in heat insulation, heat preservation and sound insulation, said Liu Chengwei, president of the company. At present, the company’s flat vacuum glass is widely used in the making of doors, windows, freezers, cars, ships and photovoltaic solar-energy power plants. The company attended an international glass exhibition held in Germany in 2004, becoming the world’s first company to attend the fair with vacuum glass. The products have helped the company gain cooperation deals with international giants. The company has worked on developing photovoltaic vacuum glass which can help generate electricity, save energy and reduce noise. (Wang Yuanyuan, Lin Gang) | 