By Christine L. Romero The Arizona Republic
Going to great panes

ACE/Security Laminates™ treats windows for safety, UV block

This group of Valley businessmen loves nothing more than to take a baseball bat to this piece of treated glass to prove it won't shatter.

If the dealers of ACE/Security Laminates™ had a crowbar or a loaded gun, they would try those just to prove that nothing could get past the regular glass, which they have coated with a laminate that is credit-card thin.

The Ace Security window coating long has been used to protect the windows of some local police departments and federal buildings, including the CIA and FBI.

The 12-year-old privately held Canadian eompany began offering its product in Arizona less than a year ago through a handful of independent Valley dealers and two in Tucson. It exports window laminates to more than 40 countries, including China and those in South America and Africa, where it is widely used on government buildings.

Tempered-glass windows, like those on most cars, typically will crumble to the ground or send potentially harmful shards flying in the air.
"We work well with alarms," said Jim Lowe, an Ace Security dealer in the East Valley, "but alarms won't stop your stuff from walking out the door."

Now, ACE/Security Laminates™ is gaining popularity among businesses that deal with break-ins, such as liquor stores and small retailers.
The product also is catching the attention of Valley homeowners who live on golf courses, because golf balls can shatter costly windows. And the attention of other homeowners, too, as it offers protection from ultraviolet rays to shield valuables from the harsh desert sun.
ACE treatment costs about $100 per window.

One sunny afternoon, the group demonstrated the product's attributes by hitting a test window at least a dozen times with a bat and then chucking a heavy rock at it. An average smack to the glass with a baseball bat did nothing.

Eventually, they got the glass to start breaking, but the film held it together, still making it impossible to get past the barrier.
"Criminals are basically lazy people," said Larry Walker, an ACE Security dealer in central Phoenix.
"They don't want to work that hard."

Makers of high-end cars, such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln and Cadillac, are taking notice and putting the theft deterrent on some of their newer models.

A messy burglary a few years ago got Andrew Costanzo, co-owner of Tempe's Irish Gift House, thinking more about security, even though he already has a window alarm and uses other security measures. The store installed the ACE window treatment about a year ago.
"It's part of our security setup," Costanzo said. "It is possible that maybe; somebody has tried to break it and (went on) to find an easier target."

The laminate's UV protection has helped save merchandise that wasn't even in direct sunlight, he said.

"We didn't want to put anything up like bars or roll-down steel doors," Costanzo said. "We want the place to look inviting. We figured anything else (besides the laminate) would distract."

ACE/Security Laminates™
-A thin coat that keeps windows from shattering and provides added protection fro ultraviolet rays.
-Valley dealers: Larry Walker and Dennis Riggs, central Phoenix; Ron Daley and Jim Lowe, East Valley; Bill King, West Valley.

- Central Phoenix: (602) 230-2472

- East Valley: (480) 726-8721

- www.smashandgrab.com

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