If all goes well, ZG3 Technology soon will be in operation far beyond Washington, Ill.
This story by Steve Stein originally appeared in the Journal Star.
“We’re talking with a domestic manufacturer of format glass about distributing our technology nationwide,” said ZGlass co-owner Doug Rasmussen.
ZGlass, an auto glass repair and replacement business located at 1218 Independence Court in Washington, is home to the patented ZG3 Technology, which turns the labor-intensive job of replacing the heavy windshield on an RV into a much more manageable task.
“It normally takes four to five people to replace the windshield on an RV,” Rasmussen said. “Theoretically, we could do it with one person with our technology. But we do it with two people.”
ZG3 Technology is a system of specialized suction cups, pulleys, cables, and remote-controlled motors that allows two people to safely and precisely maneuver hundreds of pounds of awkwardly shaped glass with minimal strain.
“The technology started out as a prototype to see what we could do, and it turned into our company’s niche,” Rasmussen said.
ZGlass has a full-sized ZG3 system permanently installed on Independence Court for RV work and a smaller system adapted to a van for mobile repairs jobs on cars and trucks.
Word of the ZG3 Technology is spreading in the auto glass industry and among RV owners.
“A guy who lives in eastern Tennessee read about us on our website last year and drove 10 hours to get his RV windshield replaced,” Rasmussen said.