# Sustainability built into construction

> How Tribelt and German producer Glapor extended furnace belt life for cellular glass insulation made from recycled glass, and shared sustainability goals.

- URL: https://tribelt.jorisjonkers.dev/en/cases/glapor
- Adapted from the official page: https://www.tribelt.nl/en/cases/glapor
- This is a student test site for a university project on digital strategy, made with Tribelt's permission. It is not Tribelt's official website, which is tribelt.nl.

## The customer

Glapor is a German company that produces and sells cellular glass (foam glass) products for construction and civil engineering. Its insulation materials are made from recycled glass: glass fragments are fused on a metal belt that passes through a high-temperature furnace. Glapor and Tribelt, the Dutch metal conveyor belt manufacturer from Haaksbergen, have worked together since 2019 on belts that make this process more reliable while keeping the environmental footprint low.

Glapor's purchasing manager, Klaus Dietz, says the company chose Tribelt for its long experience, the quality of its advice and its dependable delivery, and that the proposed solutions and the quality of the metal belts were what convinced them.

## The challenge

Glapor wanted a better belt for its furnace line: one that would cause less downtime and last longer. A key factor was Tribelt's effort to understand Glapor's process and the specific problems it brings. The two companies worked closely to develop a solution that streamlined production. According to Dietz, that cooperation clearly lengthened the life of the production belts and made the installations more reliable.

## Sustainability on both sides

Both companies have made sustainability a priority. Better processes mean fewer unnecessary trips and a lower CO2 footprint. On Tribelt's side, measures include recycled materials, recycled packaging and new steels with higher tensile strength, which extend belt life.

Glapor runs CO2-neutral production and generates electricity with its own solar park. Dietz points out that the company applies its green values everywhere, from reusing transport crates to offering charging points for staff, and that it expects its suppliers to share that commitment.

## Results and outlook

Besides better product quality, the more efficient belts have helped Glapor enter new markets. Its projects range from accessible railway stations in Paris to innovative pavements in Amsterdam, and Dietz credits the partnership with Tribelt for widening the company's reach.

Rahmi Erkan, Tribelt's field representative for southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, explains that Tribelt keeps a close eye on the market and on new materials to keep improving its belts. He sees the Glapor partnership as proof of what companies can achieve by working together on shared values.

The case shows that technical quality and environmental ambition can reinforce each other, and it serves as a model for future projects with other customers. More applications are described on the [recycling](https://tribelt.jorisjonkers.dev/en/sectors/recycling) sector page.

[Read the full Glapor case on tribelt.nl](https://www.tribelt.nl/en/cases/glapor)