KAB Allglass from Hamburg: The only ESG manufacturer in Hamburg

07/28/2023 | Print view

The story begins in 1989 when a Hamburg businessman and a glass manufacturer from South Africa jointly found KAB Allglass GmbH. Today, Allglass is in other hands, with the Grnjak family also involved and active as glass traders, refiners and ESG manufacturers.

"The idea of also offering glass from South Africa in Germany was the starting signal for Allglass", remembers Managing Director Darko Grnjak in an interview with GLASWELT. From 2000 onwards, the company then concentrated on expanding its own European supplier network and general glass wholesaling.

Customers in Hamburg – and far beyond

The variety of glass products and services offered distinguishes KAB Allglass.

In 2009, the company separated from its South African partners for reasons including the long delivery routes of the glass from the southern tip of Africa to northern Germany. This was also accompanied by a strategic orientation towards the company's own glass processing. In 2013, the company relocated to a new site in Hamburg, at the same time as investing 2.5 million euros in processing and safety glass equipment.

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Today, Allglass is an established glass wholesaler for commercial customers in northern Germany and beyond, employs around 40 people and offers a comprehensive range of diverse glass, including a wide range of associated fittings.

Alexander Grnjak is responsible for technology at KAB Allglas. Here you can see the mechatronics engineer with the Glaston furnace, the heart of the ESG production.

Allglass supplies craftsmen and fabricators from Hamburg, in Schleswig-Holstein and in Denmark as well as in other Scandinavian countries.

"Modern machinery is the key to our success".

In addition to ESG production, glass processing is another important pillar of the company (www.kab-allglass.de). Alexander Grnjak, the son of the company's founder, who is responsible for the company's technology: "A modern machine park is the key to our success. Therefore, we will renew all glass processing machines in the course of the next five years. Recently, we completely renewed our operating software."

With the modernisation of the machines, the company will be able to manufacture even more efficiently and faster, says Alexander Grnjak.

In conversation with Darko and Alexander Grnjak

Managing Director Darko Grnjak and his son Alexander run the business of KAB Allglass.

GW-News: What distinguishes your company?

Darko Grnjak: Our credo is: "Quality delivered fast". We want to provide our customers with high-quality products quickly and reliably. And that also includes ESG. Today, we are the only manufacturer of ESG in the region and have made a good name for ourselves because of our quality.

GW-News: How did it come about that you decided to manufacture ESG yourself and what equipment do you work with?

Darko Grnjak: About ten years ago we decided to produce our own ESG. On the one hand, we wanted to be able to determine the quality ourselves, and on the other hand, we wanted to be independent of suppliers, among other things with regard to delivery times. Looking back, I can say that was definitely the right decision.

Alexander Grnjak: We produce using an ESG oven from Glaston in two-shift operation, which has been running reliably for years without failures. At the same time, our production has increased in recent years, so that we are currently well utilised.

GW-News: What are the advantages of having your own ESG?

Darko Grnjak: Customers can rely on high quality and receive their glass faster. And if it has to happen really fast, we can also deliver the ESG within 24 hours.

GW-News: What other products do you offer besides ESG?

Darko Grnjak: We offer a variety of glass types, besides safety glass we have coloured glass, ornamental glass and mirrors in our range as well as other glass types. Furthermore, we also offer glass systems or provide support in planning as a service.

GW-News: What does that mean in detail?

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Alexander Grnjak: When craftsmen order their glass from us, our team supports them with questions about suitable accessories, such as glass fittings. We also supply these on request. For example, the craftsman can get a complete glass shower from us, with all the connecting elements, handles, etc. This is very popular. This is very popular.

In addition to the glass products, Allglass also supports its customers from the trade with advice on planning and offers accessories such as glass fittings.

GW-News: How do you process the glass?

Alexander Grnjak: The glass is processed with our two CNC centres from Bottero, which carry out many processes fully automatically. This enables us to produce quickly and efficiently.

GW-News: What about your delivery?

Darko Grnjak: We deliver our glass products with our own vehicles. These trucks also have a crane on board to place the goods exactly where they are needed. We also deliver directly to the construction site on request.

GW-News: Who are your customers?

Alexander Grnjak: Our customers are very diverse. We work with glass builders, glaziers and metal workers, as well as carpenters and interior designers and other craftsmen.

Darko Grnjak: Yes, our customer base is broad and we are proud that we have built up many long-term partnerships due to our high-quality products and good customer service.

GW-News: What makes KAB Allglas strong?

Darko Grnjak: We offer our customers the products in very good quality and at a fair price and we also deliver them quickly.

GW-News: What are your plans for the future?

Darko Grnjak: We would like to further expand our offer. To do this, we will continue to develop the company and optimise our production. To this end, a number of investments are planned for the coming years.

The interview was conducted by Matthias Rehberger