Plasterboard sheets (GKL) currently serve as a ubiquitous finishing material. With the help of them they close up slopes, level walls, build partitions, restore the geometry of the premises.
Such designs do not need subsequent special processing and can be operated in their original form. But for outdoor work, even moisture-proof drywall is not suitable. Therefore, they developed an analogue - glass-magnesium (glass-magnesite) sheet (LSU), resistant to environmental influences.
The product, having appeared on the building materials market, quickly gained popularity, and this is not surprising. It can be used with equal efficiency both in ordinary rooms (dry), and in those that are characterized by high humidity: in bathrooms, toilets, in kitchens, in pools, boiler rooms, etc.
Business opportunities
If you believe the statistics, in Western Europe and the United States up to 70 percent of all finishing and repair work is performed using glass-magnesite sheet. The same trend is emerging in our country, but the domestic market is still not so saturated with this material. Therefore, the production of LSU in Russia is a very profitable business: there is little competition in the segment, but the sales market is so great that there will definitely not be any problems with the sale of products.
Characteristics and properties
Glass-magnesium sheet has many advantages compared to drywall. This is a universal material for surface finishing for internal and external works. LSU is made of wood chips, fiberglass and magnesite, connected mechanically.
The result is a white plate (there is a slight shade of ivory) up to two centimeters thick with one smooth side and the other embossed (due to fiberglass reinforcement). If the smooth side is used as the front side in the room, then it can be decorated with wallpaper, film, veneer, and if embossed - with plaster, any painting, trimmed with ceramic tiles.
Advantages of LSU compared to GCR
- Strength. The glass-magnesium sheet is more elastic, lighter, more resistant to impact, but at the same time has a good density.
- Moisture resistance. LSU does not absorb liquid, does not warp, does not deform under the influence of moisture, and after a long content in water when dried, restores quality and shape.
- Thermal insulation. The material has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity.
- Fire safety. Glass-magnesite sheet withstands significant thermal loads and is non-combustible.
- Soundproofing. LSU perfectly absorbs sound.
- Profitability. A sheet with a thickness of eight millimeters can replace a 25 mm layer of drywall. The use of LSU saves money and time.
- Environmental friendliness. The material does not emit toxins (including asbestos), is environmentally friendly.
- Convenience in work. Due to their flexibility and lightness, glass-magnesium sheets can be used in complex architectural compositions (LSU edges do not crumble, do not break during installation) and can be used as a finishing layer even without decoration (pasting, plastering, painting, etc.).
Equipment for the production of LSU
The technological line is not very complicated, which, of course, will please entrepreneurs.Apart from the tape rolls, only three main units are used:
- Shaper - the machine itself, in which the production of glass-magnesium sheet occurs. The device is a complex of molding plates - special plastic molds filled with a prescription mixture and connected into a single unit.
- The platform for mixing raw materials is an automatic mixer equipped with a dispenser into which the starting materials are poured. Then they are portioned served in the mixer, where they are homogenized (brought to the desired condition).
- An automatic cutting machine is an apparatus where dried LSU billets are fed in batches with the aim of cutting them to predefined sizes.
Also, the equipment for the production of glass-magnesium sheet must include drying chambers, waste processing machines and other units.
Production of LSU
To make the essence of technology more understandable, we break the whole process into intermediate stages.
- First, raw materials are prepared (mixtures are prepared according to the recipe).
- The sheet is formed (prefabricated).
- Then lamination of the material is carried out (grinding on one or both sides). This is an optional action, because during the finishing work, as a rule, the surface of the sheet is additionally decorated.
- Flushing is carried out (the dust and other foreign particles remaining after lamination are washed off).
- Drying is carried out (with or without drying chambers).
- An uneven edge is trimmed.
- The chamfer is removed (LSU is given the geometrically correct appearance).
- Sheets are being packaged.
Cost of equipment
The line of the minimum configuration, including only the former, the cutting machine, one unloading cassette and one bath of strength, will cost from three million rubles. In this embodiment, drying chambers are not provided, so drying will have to be carried out in a separate specially equipped room.
The process takes 30-50 hours at room temperature. Also, the line does not include a platform for mixing raw materials, and the bathtub and discharge cassette are present in a single copy, so if necessary they will need to be ordered additionally. The production of glass-magnesium sheet will be carried out at a rate of 1 SML per minute.
A medium-sized line requires a larger area, as it includes a larger number of units. In addition to the equipment provided for in the previous line, this includes dispensers, a vibrating screen, a waste crusher, conveyors, mixers.
Such a technique will cost about one and a half times more expensive than in the first case (about 4.5 million rubles), but in terms of technology it is more perfect. Firstly, due to the presence of a waste crusher, the production of a glass-magnesium sheet will become waste-free, secondly, due to the presence of dispensers, the finished mixture will automatically be fed into the hopper, and thirdly, conveyors will mechanically mix the mixture. Performance, of course, will increase.
If the funds allow, you can purchase a full-line line, which actually represents a whole factory. It will cost between 8-9 million rubles.
Industrial premises
To place the necessary equipment and materials, you need a workshop with four rooms, these are:
- the room itself, where the production of glass-magnesium sheet will be carried out;
- a warehouse where the components will be stored and the mixture is prepared;
- room for drying the material;
- warehouse for storage of finished products.
To accommodate a weekly supply of raw materials, you will need a warehouse with an area of 100-120 square meters. The production workshop where the production line will be located should have an area of at least 200 square meters (width at least 5 meters, length - 40 meters).
An area of 100 square meters is enough for the room in which drying will take place, provided that it works in one shift (in 2 shifts - 200 sq. M, in 3 shifts - 300 sq. M). The finished product warehouse may have a fairly small area - 100-150 square meters.
Staff
To work in one shift, you will need:
- Two working sites for the preparation of the mixture.
- Five workers on the line.
- Four people on drying and trimming sections.
- One truck driver, simultaneously serving as a storekeeper.
- Two loaders.
- One master (shift supervisor).
A total of fifteen people per shift. The salary of unskilled workers in the country as a whole is from 20-25 thousand rubles, the loader driver and foreman will need to pay from 35 thousand rubles and above.
Finally
So, a truly universal material is glass-magnesite sheet. Its use in interior decoration can significantly simplify repair work, so the popularity of such material is only gaining momentum. Even when working in one shift, the cost of starting a business can be recouped within six months. We hope that the information presented in the article helped you understand how to open your own LSU production. Good luck!
