Buy New or Retrofit? The Decision Process for Tempering Furnaces

Buy New or Retrofit? With today’s high interest rates, a 55% tariff on Chinese tempering systems, fluctuating tariffs on European systems, the mass confusion on imports and the potential for a big "surprise" when it hits the US border, supply chain delays...the cost of buying new furnaces has never been higher. That’s why more fabricators are asking the right question:

Does it make more sense to buy a new furnace, or retrofit the one that I have?

What Refurbishing Really Means

Blowers & Fans: This is where ROI starts. Replacing outdated steel impellers with carbon-fiber fans makes furnaces quieter, cooler, and more efficient. They cut energy costs, improve airflow for Low-E and high-stress glass, and eliminate the risk of catastrophic failure. For many customers, this single step pays back in months.

Convection Upgrades: Add top-convection systems so older furnaces can reliably run today’s standard Low-E glass.

Control Modernization: Install PID temperature control with remote diagnostics and matrix heating modules for tighter curves, reduced scrap, and lower energy bills.

High-Stress Capability: Upgrade quench and chiller beds to enable high-stress glass production that older furnaces could never achieve.

Mechanical Systems: Overhaul blowers, burners, combustion systems, rollers, bearings, drive systems, conveyors, insulation, coil ceramics, and roller blocks — restoring strength and extending furnace life.

The ROI That Matters

A new furnace can cost well over a million dollars and take several months or possibly a year or more to arrive, set up, and train on. A furnace retrofit, by contrast, can be completed in just weeks, at a fraction of the cost - earning dollars quickly - while delivering: New product capability (Low-E, high-stress), Energy savings with PID controls, matrix heating, and carbon-fiber fans - Extended lifespan of your existing furnace - Immediate uptime protection.

In order to address these concerns, IGE has built a team of more than 20 veteran furnace technicians - with backgrounds from LandGlass, NorthGlass, and leading European builders - who are refurbishing furnaces across the USA and Canada right now, saving fabricators hundreds of thousands of dollars:

Welcome to the world of IGE's "Furnace Force."

At IGE, we also supply some of the most advanced new tempering equipment in the industry - the highest technical quality and innovations from our world-class partners. But our priority is your bottom line. That’s why we ask fabricators to rethink retrofit before signing a million-dollar+

check. IGE's Furnace Force doesn’t just fix equipment — we protect profits.

So before you buy new, do the math. Retrofits often pay for the

mselves in months, not years.