The strength of steel is well known, as well as the corrosion-resistant properties of glass. Combining the two to produce a glass-lined steel surface (often referred to in the industry as ‘glass-lined steel’) creates material that is both strong and corrosion resistant, but the engineering challenges to produce this material were considerable. While glass has poor conductivity, steel is just the opposite. The two could be combined in a manner where the impact of glass on the overall heat transfer is minimized while taking advantage of its very high chemical resistance and ease of cleaning. But at the same time, using steel to provide structural strength, durability, and cost savings results in a construction material that has the best of both worlds.
This challenge of bonding glass to steel was overcome almost 150 years ago. The technology has been further improved and refined in the 21st century to overcome a wide range of process, operational, and cost issues.