What Can Window Film Do for Manufacturing Plants and Warehouses?

In manufacturing plants and warehouses, window film is used to cut heat and glare in offices, lobbies, break rooms and shipping offices; to treat skylights and clerestory glass; to add privacy between offices and the floor; and for safety and security film at entrances. When the inside of the glass is hard to reach, exterior film is often the answer. Industrial glass needs extra checking first, because wired glass, skylights, plastic glazing and very large panes fall outside the usual film to glass approvals.

Key points

• Much of the industrial work is solar control in office areas: front offices, lobbies, dock and shipping offices, and break rooms facing the sun.
• Skylights and clerestory glass can be filmed, but Solar Gard does not provide glass breakage coverage for interior film on skylight glass, and exterior film warranties are shorter on sloped glass.
• Exterior film is often used where interior access is limited. Exterior warranties vary widely: Solar Gard Sentinel Plus and 3M Prestige Exterior are both covered for 10 years on vertical glass, while Madico lists 3 years for its exterior films.
• Wired glass, polycarbonate and plastic glazing, and very large single panes are excluded from Solar Gard’s glass breakage coverage, and installations over 2,500 square feet need written approval.
• Plant work follows the facility’s rules: safety orientation, PPE, lift rules, forklift traffic and shutdown windows.

What does window film do in a plant or warehouse?

The same things it does in an office building, aimed at the spaces where people sit:

• Heat and glare in office areas. Front offices, lobbies, training rooms, dock and shipping offices, and break rooms with west or south glass.
• Skylights and clerestory glass. High glass over production or warehouse floors that lets in heat and glare along with daylight.
• Privacy. Frosted film on interior glass between offices and the production or warehouse floor, or on warehouse windows.
• Safety and security. Safety film to hold broken glass together, and security film with an attachment system at entrances and ground floor glass. We explain the difference in What Security Window Film Can and Cannot Do.
• Exterior film where the glass or the building calls for it.

How is heat and glare handled in plant offices?

Usually with solar control film on the office and lobby glass, chosen for how dark or reflective the building owner will accept. For AIT Logistics in Palatine, we used exterior Solar Gard Sentinel Plus DX 15 on the north side because interior access was limited, and interior Panorama Slate 10 on the west side, after a mockup on the glass. The project is described in the AIT Logistics case study. For how film choice affects heat, glare and the view, see Can Window Film Fix Hot Spots and Glare?

Can skylights and clerestory windows be filmed?

Often, yes, with more checking than vertical office glass, because manufacturers treat skylights differently. Solar Gard’s film to glass guide and warranty make several points that matter here:

• Glass breakage and seal coverage is not available for any interior film applied to skylight glass.
• Its warranty covers exterior Sentinel Plus films for 10 years on vertical glass and 5 years on sloped glass.
• Polycarbonate and other plastic glazing, found in some warehouse skylights, is excluded from glass coverage.

Because of that, skylight work is often done with exterior film. At Scot Forge in 2024 we installed Solar Gard Sentinel Plus DX 5 and DX 15, both exterior films, on skylights over three areas of the plant.

What should you know about industrial glass before filming it?

Industrial buildings often have glass that office buildings do not, and some of it changes what the manufacturer will cover. Solar Gard’s guide excludes these from its glass breakage and seal coverage:

• Textured or wired glass.
• Plastic or polycarbonate glazing.
• Single panes larger than 100 square feet, insulated glass units larger than 40 square feet, or any glass with an edge longer than 10 feet.
• Glass 3/8 inch thick or thicker.
• Glass with framing gaskets or sealant that are no longer resilient, or metal framing with no gaskets or seals.
• Any building with a history of glass breakage or seal failure.

An exclusion does not always mean the glass cannot be filmed. It means the manufacturer will not cover glass breakage or seal failure on that glass, which should be weighed before choosing a film. Solar Gard also requires a written film to glass application and approval for any installation over 2,500 square feet. We check the glass, the framing and the film before recommending anything; the reasons are in Will Window Film Crack Your Glass?

When is exterior film the right choice?

When the inside of the glass is hard to reach or should not be touched: glass behind racking, equipment or production lines, high glass over a working floor, skylights, or rooms that cannot be disturbed. Exterior window film can also reduce solar heat gain before sunlight passes through the glazing system.

The trade off is the warranty. Manufacturers treat exterior film differently:

The full warranty comparison is in What Does a Commercial Window Film Warranty Cover?

How does installation work in a plant or warehouse?

Around the plant’s rules and schedule. Plant and warehouse work can require a site-specific safety orientation, PPE, lift rules, coordination around forklifts and production areas, and shutdown or restricted work windows. We follow the facility’s site rules and schedule around operations. High glass usually means a lift, which affects both the schedule and the price; we explain what moves price in What Commercial Window Film Costs, and what to expect on the day in Can Window Film Be Installed While a Building Is Occupied?

We do not subcontract installation; our own crews do the work.

What industrial work have we done?

• AIT Logistics, Palatine: exterior and interior solar control film on office and lobby glass, 2024. See the case study.
• Scot Forge: exterior Sentinel Plus DX 5 and DX 15 on skylights, 2024.
• Claussen pickle plant, Woodstock: Panorama Slate 10 at the entrances and hallway in 2020, Sentinel Plus DX 5 in the plant manager’s office and lobby in 2023, and TrueVue 5 in the east dock office in 2025.
• World Class Distribution: Sentinel Plus DX 5 in shipping offices, the dry warehouse and the receiving break room, 2025 to 2026.
• Werner Co.: solar control film in the entryway and front offices, 2019 to 2024.

What is the next step?

List the spaces where people complain: the hot office, the glare on the dock office monitors, the break room no one uses in the afternoon. Note any skylights, wired glass or plastic glazing, and the site’s rules for contractors. On a free assessment we look at the glass and framing, check each film against the manufacturer’s guidance, and plan the work around your operations. See our solar control window film service, or request a free assessment.