Have you ever wondered how there could be so many different types of glass? Tinted glass, protective glass, shatter proof glass, television glass, and the list goes on. It may surprise you to know that the difference between many forms of glass in the high technology industry isn't due to the manufacturing process. It's not made from a certain type of sand or cooled by a specific brand of heater. It's actually the same glass, but with a special film applied to give it the properties the manufacturer desires. Applied Films is one of the companies that studies these special glass products. If you want to learn more about the process, the films, or the company, you've come to the right place.

Applied Films was founded in Colorado in 1976 and has since become a major supplier of coating machines for flat panel displays, car glass, and web packaging. Over the years the company has joined forces with many others, including the Donnelly Coated Corporation of Michigan and the Nippon Sheet Glass Company of China, meaning there are case erectors moving Applied Films products all over the world. By 2001 the company was worth over 100 million dollars and was selling stocks publicly on NASDAQ.

So what do glass films do? Applied Films' bread and butter is the flat panel display. The coatings used on this type of glass are mostly to give glass electrical properties that allow it to function as a liquid crystal display. Glass on its own is inert, so in order to be used in electronics it would need a metallic film. Though the term flat panel display is commonly associated with televisions, flat panel displays are used on many consumer products, from cell phones to the computer that tracks supplies. Some items you might have in your home with Applied Films coatings on them include calculators, computer screens, video game screens, electronic measuring devices, and electronic organizers.

Glass films are used for more than just electronics, however. If you went to have your windshield replaced, the glass they use might have an Applied Film on it to make it reflect sunlight. These films are so thin that you might not even realize that the glass has anything on it. In fact, they're so thin that Applied Films is able to use their coatings on very thin plastic wraps and product packaging. If you've seen tinted shrink wrap, that's what it is. Its purpose is to help products stay viable longer on the shelf.

There are many more applications for glass films than most people are aware of, especially now with the technology market booming and a lot of interest being generated by solar energy, which requires coated glass to be generated. To learn more about how glass films are produced and applied, what sort of windows would need glass coatings, and what other companies Applied Films is in competition with, check out the articles we have available on the subjects of glass, glass films, manufacturing, technology, and business.

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