“Choosing to work with ISC was an easy decision,” says Chad Simkins, Vesuvius’ Commercial Manager for Fused Silica business in North and South America. “Vesuvius is an industry leader for glass manufacturers; ISC is an industry leader in sales for the window, door, and glass industry. It’s a natural fit.”

When he moved to Vesuvius, Simkins evaluated the weakness in sales for the American market, then evaluated rep companies. He realized that no one company represented all companies within the glass industry – except for ISC.

It also helped that he had worked with ISC’s President, Jim Hornung, at his previous job.

“The strength of ISC,” says Simkins, “is the depth of their technical knowledge and the fact that all the U.S. glass manufacturers are their customers already. It means ISC is ready to grow our business. They’ve been in business 46 years; their sales reps are all people from within the glass and window industry.”

As part of the partnership, ISC sales reps will provide guidance and advice to glass manufacturers with regard to tempering ovens and rollers. According to Simkins, hundreds of glass manufacturers in the United States run ovens with little to no support or training.

Says Hornung, “ISC sales reps already do line audits for other suppliers, so we’ll be a bridge between Vesuvius and their customers. For example, if a glass manufacturer has a technical issue with a tempering oven, process or rollers, and it’s something we can’t solve, we can directly reach out to a Vesuvius engineer or tech support person and get the issue resolved pretty quickly.”

“The partnership with ISC is a natural good fit for everyone,” sums up Simkins. “ISC has long-standing relationships with its existing customers. Now they can provide advice to glass manufacturers on how to improve tempered glass oven performance and glass quality, as well as guidance on correct roller size and end cap needed based on OEM specs.”