Project Feature: Customizing 686 Shower Enclosures for a Romanian Apartment Project - How Did We Achieve Zero Damage During Overseas Shipping?
Early this year, we received an inquiry from a Romanian developer. They were finishing the interiors of a new apartment building and needed Shower Enclosures in two sizes. This was not a hotel project, but rather a mid-to-high-end residential development for tenants, with a design requiring a clean, modern aesthetic and a very tight deadline.
The specific quantities are as follows:
● Walk-in shower enclosures: 481 sets, dimensions 700mm wide × 2300mm high
● BathTub Shower Enclosures: 205 units, dimensions 550mm wide × 1700mm high
A total of 686 custom-made units were shipped in a single full container load.
Below is an overview of how we handled this project, what we ultimately delivered, and several key lessons we learned from the experience.
Customer Needs – Seemingly Simple, Yet Full of Hidden Details
The developer’s interior design team has finalized the bathroom layout. They prefer a minimalist, frameless style to make the small bathroom appear more open and airy. However, implementing a “frameless” design involves several strict requirements:
● Walk-in partition (700 × 2300 mm): One side rests against the wall, the bottom reaches the floor, and the top and the other side are completely frameless.
● Bathtub partition (550 × 1700 mm): One side rests against the wall, the bottom is secured to the edge of the bathtub, and it also maintains a minimalist appearance.
● Both partitions must have a unified style,therefore, the hardware materials and surface finishes must be completely consistent.
Initially, the client provided only the two drawings shown above and asked us to offer engineering recommendations. We therefore initiated our “step-by-step drawing approval process”—a phased communication mechanism that later proved to be key to preventing production errors.
Our Solution – Achieving a “Nearly Frameless” Visual Effect
After carefully reviewing the architectural drawings and on-site measurement data, we submitted a solution that balanced aesthetics, safety, and manufacturability:
Components and Specifications
Frame Treatment: Brushed stainless steel profiles are used only on the side adjacent to the wall and at the base (or bathtub edge); the top and open sides are completely frameless, creating a transparent glass effect.
Top Mounting: Custom brushed stainless steel telescoping brackets are mounted on the wall opposite the partition to provide structural support while maintaining a clean visual appearance.
Glass Configuration: 8mm-thick clear float tempered glass. For a height of 2300mm, we insisted on using 8mm rather than the conventional 6mm to ensure bending strength and safety.
Inner Coating: The inner surface of the glass is sprayed with an easy-clean nano-coating, which effectively reduces the buildup of limescale and soap scum, thereby reducing the frequency of daily cleaning.
Outer Protection: An explosion-proof safety film is applied to the outer surface of the glass to prevent shards from flying in the event of accidental impact, which is a mandatory safety requirement in rental apartments.
We prepared detailed fabrication drawings, and the client provided two rounds of feedback regarding the bracket positions and glass edge finishes (ultimately changing the flat edges to rounded corners for a softer feel). After the drawings were finalized, production officially began.
Key Challenge – How to Solve the Problem of Glass Breakage During Ocean Freight?
This is the most challenging aspect of the project. 686 pieces of 8mm tempered glass, up to 2.3 meters tall, are loaded into 40-foot high-cube containers for transport across the Eurasian continent. Edge impacts and container vibrations during transit are the primary causes of breakage.
Based on past experience, our original solution—standard wooden crates with foam padding—resulted in a breakage rate of approximately 3% to 5%. For this shipment, that would mean at least 20 to 35 pieces breaking—which was unacceptable to the client, as the apartment delivery date was already set.
To address this, we redesigned the entire packaging solution:
1.The stainless steel frames on both sides of the screens were pre-assembled to increase the strength of the glass panels.
2.The two frameless corners of the screens were protected with plastic corner guards to prevent damage to the glass panels from external impacts on the sharp corners.
3.All four edges of the screens were wrapped with EPE foam corner protectors, and the glass panels were also wrapped and protected with thin EPE sheets.
4.Export-standard five-layer corrugated cardboard boxes were used as outer packaging, with honeycomb cardboard added to the bottom and top of the boxes for cushioning.
5.After packaging was complete, the outer boxes were secured with strapping to make the entire package more compact and sturdy.
We also conducted drop simulation tests at the factory—we tilted a fully loaded pallet rack 30° and released it, and the glass remained intact.
When loading containers, the items are placed upright and arranged neatly, with safety ropes and protective netting added at the rear.
Final result: When the container arrived at the warehouse in Bucharest, all 686 pieces of glass were intact—not a single one was broken! The client’s logistics manager went out of his way to take photos on site and send them to us, giving us a thumbs-up. That week, our entire team felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
Lessons Learned – 5 Key Considerations for Custom Shower Enclosures in Apartment Projects
If you are a developer, general contractor, or procurement manager planning a similar project, please keep the following points in mind:
1.Height is more critical than width. A 2,300 mm tall enclosure must use 8 mm or thicker glass, and reinforced brackets must be added at the top; standard 6 mm glass cannot be used as-is.
2.Nano-coating is not just a gimmick. In rental apartments, where cleaning frequency is limited, an inner nano-coating can reduce the effort required to clean water stains by over 70%, allowing the cost to be recouped in just a few months.
3.Which side should the safety film be applied to? We choose to apply it to the outer side (i.e., the side facing the bathroom), as impacts from towel racks, bottles, and other items most often come from this side; the inner side is reserved for the nano-coating, which comes into direct contact with water.
4.Drawing confirmation is not a one-time process. We follow a three-step confirmation process: “Draft → Structural Review → Final Draft.” During this process, we identified two dimensional errors (installation openings were 5 mm too narrow), which were fortunately corrected in advance. It is essential to require clients to provide on-site measurement data.
5.Packaging is a design consideration, not an afterthought. For high-volume glass orders, the cost of investing in custom steel frames is negligible when spread across each unit, but the resulting zero-breakage rate and on-time delivery are far more cost-effective than replacing broken pieces or reshipping them.
This Romanian apartment project is a source of pride for our team. It proves that as long as engineering, packaging, and communication are handled properly, even 686 custom orders can be delivered flawlessly across vast distances.
If you are planning a hotel renovation, bulk apartment fit-out, or commercial building project and need OEM custom shower enclosures—whether frameless, semi-frameless, or traditional framed—we have proven delivery capabilities.
Please send us your drawings (in PDF or DWG format), and we will provide a free feasibility assessment and budget estimate within 48 hours.
Final Note: We also offer remote installation guidance via video call. For this Romanian client’s first installation, we specifically arranged for an engineer to participate in the initial on-site installation meeting to provide real-time guidance on bracket positioning. This level of support reflects our commitment to every order, as we view each collaboration as the beginning of a long-term partnership.