Sustainable success through continuity: modern insulation with Sager
Many companies’ histories swing between euphoric growth and sobering setbacks. Sager AG is an exception to this. Since its foundation, the insulation specialist has set its store by continuity. And that includes its relationships with suppliers.
The history of the family-owned Sager AG, which specialises in the manufacture and sale of insulation materials, began with a remarkable innovation. With Sagex, the company then known as Sager + Cie launched a product that revolutionised thermal and sound insulation. Within a few years, Sagex achieved an incredible brand awareness of almost 100 percent, far beyond the construction industry. The product name even became the generic term in Switzerland for material made of polystyrene.
The first polystyrene extrusion in Switzerland
This success came from the entrepreneurial initiative of the brothers Herbert and Kurt Sager, who acquired a dilapidated cork factory in Dürrenäsch in 1949 and turned it into an efficient production facility for insulation materials. In 1952 they started extruding PVC profiles and three years later introduced polystyrene extrusion technology to Switzerland, becoming the country’s first supplier to produce polystyrene insulation boards.
Anticipating the future of energy with insulation expertise
Today, Sager occupies a leading position in the Swiss insulation market. This is thanks to constant improvement and refinement of existing products, combined with the innovative spirit inherited from the company’s founders. In addition to Sagex, the two other mainstays of the business are the production of Saglan glass wool and the manufacture of Pipelane pipe insulation. Saglan is characterised by excellent acoustic absorption and thermal insulation With this insulation material, Sager makes an important contribution to achieving energy standards in the building industry and sets the pace for an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient future.
Reliable slide gate valves from Schubert & Salzer
Making glass wool is a very hot process. Recycled glass, quartz sand and other minerals are heated to 1,400 °C in a glass furnace. This mixture liquefies into glass threads, which are spun in a centrifuge, impregnated and then frayed in a felting chamber. The material becomes solid in the curing oven. The fraying takes place using process air which is automatically and precisely metered using slide gate valves from Bachofen’s technology partner Schubert & Salzer. Marc Loosli, Head of Maintenance: «We don’t know of any product more suitable for our application, and we also use these automatically controllable valves in our new plant. In addition, thanks to their robust and compact design, they are ideal for use in the harsh environment of our production.»
Long-term partnership with Bachofen
The relationship between Sager and Bachofen is just as robust: Bachofen has been a supplier for around 20 years. Marc Loosli: «The consulting and technological expertise of the Bachofen specialists is excellent. This has never changed throughout years of cooperation. Continuity has always served us well, and that includes our suppliers.»