Community and Place

A Brief of Cardinal Glass and the Importance of Location

 

 Tempering Plant:

At Cardinal Tempering Plants, employees gather to produce large quantities of tempered glass products. Tempered glass products go through a special heat treatment process. This process includes processing each piece of glass through a large furnace and then super cooling it to increase its overall durability. A tempered product is designed to reduce the risk of serious injury in the event that the glass breaks and it is commonly used in commercial and residential applications.

Float Glass Plant:

The largest of all plants, float glass plants produce large sheets of glass at various thicknesses ranging from 1.6 millimeters to 7 millimeters. This is accomplished by the use of large mechanical racking machines that handle large sheets of glass which requires little to no human handling thus providing a safer working environment for employees.

Research and Development:

At Cardinal’s research and development sites various technological advances are made that provide better products. In order to maintain Cardinals top of the line products new strategies and ideas are implemented each day in order to stay on top of the market and keep Cardinal Glass the gold standard for glass products.

Coated Glass Plant:

At coated glass plants, special metals are fused to glass to create more energy efficient glass products. Primarily used in residential applications, coated glass products provide better heating and cooling efficiency within commercial and residential buildings. The coated process is possible due to a specially designed machine that uses metal particles to coat glass. These machines are closely monitored for various complications and potential out of specification defects that may occur during the coating process.

Analysis:

The definition of “place” to my community is better understood through a business viewpoint because my community essentially revolves around a business, the two go hand-in-hand. It is no secret that much the same as real estate, location is the key for any place to thrive. This is why Cardinal Glass has built various plant locations in strategic locations to provide the most beneficial effect for the area. By integrating area needs with business needs, Cardinal Glass has erected many plant locations throughout the country. All of Cardinal Glass’ facilities work with each other to provide the best product possible for the consumer, and though Cardinal Glass does ship products across the globe it is a relief to know that this company has no intention of shipping jobs.

The loss of place for my community would be detrimental to the growth of the business. Without a business’s employees it is nothing. In our current economic struggle lots of businesses have taken hard hits. Some even so much that they have been wiped off the map all together. Though Cardinal Glass has taken a hit in the amount of product it is selling that has not stopped it from running. The need for top of the line glass products is still in demand on a smaller scale yet since the construction of new residential areas have all but stopped the volume of the demand has decreased. Less than a decade ago Cardinal Glass was setting up to produce solar energy products. However, since the decline in the market for this type of advancement has decreased the ongoing production of the product has as well.