OFFICINA MECCANICA FOREL (1976)
In 1976 Fortunato Vianello established the company Forel in Roncade (Italy). With a small team, he starts designing and assembling his first machineries for glass processing.
After the first year, customers asked Forel to produce tailor-made tools to meet their specific needs. In 1977 Forel team produced the first cutting table on commission.
THE FIRST VERTICAL PROCESSING MACHINES
Very soon, Fortunato Vianello understood that the future of glass processing was…vertical. At the end of the ’70, it was an absolute novelty. In 1978 Forel has its first real challenge, producing its first vertical washing machine for IG glass. It was soon followed by the first complete vertical line for IG processing: a solution that would soon become the company’s core business.
In the following years, Forel started an impressive growth trend.
The ‘80s were a very positive decade for Italian economy: Forel continued its growth, aiming to reach the most important customers
Forel products were ready to be presented to the international glass business. And the best places to do that were the exhibitions.
In 1980, the first patent was registered. In 1981, for the first time, Forel displayed its machineries in an exhibition (VITRUM, Milan, Italy), and the following year attended at its first international event (GLASSTEC ’82, Dusseldorf, Germany).
In 1983, Forel produced its first profile bender, with original devices, and the following year creates a new model of panel coupling press machine.
During the 1990s Forel’s product range exploded, offering an ever-increasing range of solutions for processing flat and insulating glass.
Among the novelties of this period, there are the Dessiccant loader (1993), the Coating Remover (1994) and the remarkable Vertical Cutting Line for Laminated Glass (1996). Presented for the first time at Glasstec ’96, the Vertical Cutting Line is still one of the best-seller, most appreciate and innovative products of Forel range. Some of the models produced in the ‘90es are still working.
In 1999, the Service dept. was set up to complete the after-sales assistance. By the end of the millennium, after 25 years in business, Forel had become one of the leading international glass processing technology brands, distinguished by its solutions for the assembly of insulating glass and the cutting of laminated glass. Each year, new technologies were developed to enrich the offering, while the list of patents grew.
THE NEW PLANT
As the business gets larger, the plant gets smaller. Between 2004 and 2006 a new headquarter and plant of Forel has built: not just an enlargement, but a complete restyling. At a time when many companies wanted to delocalise, moving production abroad, Forel decided to invest in the local area. The company thus confirmed its intention to be 100% Made in Italy.
CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT
As Forel’s solutions for the production of double glazing and the cutting of laminated glass became more and more successful worldwide, the company was preparing to launch a new machinery.
The PVB laminating line, released in 2007, expanded Forel’s offering into a new area of glass processing and was immediately convincing.
REACTING
Between 2008-2009 market slows down globally. That’s a difficult moment for every company, Forel too. There were two options: defend the company against the market or take it by surprise. Forel took the second option, and developed one of the most important products of actual Forel range: the vertical edging machine art. EM.
BRANCHES ABROAD
In 2015, as the North American market became more and more interested in its machinery, Forel established its first commercial branch abroad. Forel North America started with one office in St. Paul (Minnesota) but just a few years later opened a second office in Toronto (Canada).
SORTING SYSTEM
By the mid-2010s, Forel’s product range had expanded to include four different product categories: IG lines, vertical cutting lines for laminated glass, vertical edge processing lines and PVB lamination lines. In 2016, a new original solution was presented to the market: with the debut of the new Sorting System, the Forel product range also embraced the area of integrated logistics within the glassworks.
Starting that year, Forel’s product range was structured into the current offer, which includes five categories of machinery.
Subsequently, the internationalisation of the company accelerated considerably. Today, Forel products are distributed in more than 70 countries around the world, thanks to a network of over 30 partner agencies. In addition, Forel has opened further offices around the world: Forel Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Forel UK & Ireland (Standsted, Essex).
In the meantime, the product range has continued to grow and become more and more specialised, offering increasingly advanced solutions to meet the specific needs of glassworks.