Asian Glass - AG19-3

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AG19-3

SEE US AT:

CHINA GLASS

2019, BEIJING

Inside:

ASEAN glass packaging The pressure on plastic Middle East container glass Sphinx in focus

PLUS!

news, views, analysis and much, much more!

Our conveyor chain transports glass around the world.

All Pennine Conveyor Chains : www.pennine.org

100% UK manufactured 100% European steel

sales@pennine.org

+44 (0)1484 864733

If you are planning a new project with glass – we have the right solutions. We are the leading global specialist in structural and functional interlayers for safety and security applications,

trosifol@kuraray.com www.trosifol.com

sound insulation and UV control. For further information, please visit us on www.trosifol.com .

From inception, to perfection Our technical strides ensure we remain the leading UK manufacturer of highest performance warm edge spacers.

We supply the largest volume of spacer bar to the UK market.

From initial design and compounding of raw materials, through the manufacturing process to delivery to the customer, our multiple award-winning team of specialists continue to enhance and develop new products for the window industry. We now supply over 2,500 insulated glass components.

Thermof lex ™ Warm Edge Spacer

Thermobar ™ Warm Edge Spacer Tube

Dedicated to Insulated Glass Proud winners of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2017 See us on the Lisec Booth 313 in Hall E2 at China Glass, Beijing - 22-25 May 2019 www.thermosealgroup.com - +44 (0) 121 331 3950 - sales@thermosealgroup.com

ADVERTISER FEATURE

A+W Software at China Glass 2019: Creating the Smart Factory The China Glass 2019 will again bring together exhibitors from around the globe and provide them with the opportunity to display the latest in glass products, services, solutions and technologies and provide an analysis of existing and future trends relating to the glass industry.

A+W Software is the market leader for software in the flat glass industry as well as the windows and doors business. We develop ERP-, PPS- and optimization software in order to make glass and window manufacturers even more efficient.

A+W is a pioneer of digitization in the flat glass industry and accompanies the companies of the branch on their way to Industry 4.0.

The German Software Company has been active on the market for more than 40 years and we sell our products worldwide.

A+W cooperates with experienced and competent companies in the industry. This combination provides the best possible solution for our customers.

A+W solutions help control and optimize the whole value chain, from basic glass to finished windows or facade elements.

We invite you to visit us at the China Glass 2019 in Beijing. Our software experts will be pleased to present the complete A+W product range as well as exciting new products, which will be presented at glasstec 2018 for the first time.

On Display on the A+W-China Glass booth A+W Business Pro: Innovative Complete Solution for Small and Medium Sized Companies With A+W Business Pro, A+W offer a wealth of cutting-edge functions both for administrative purposes and for the shop floor – with a new, ergonomic design and intuitive operation for an increase in their customers’ efficiency and profitability.

A+W Business Pro is an ERP system with integrated tools for both production planning and management for small and mediumsized companies.

Small glazing companies, glass processors and dealers need an integrated software tool which can handle the processes in the office as well as on the shop floor in an integrated, user-friendly, and easily accessible way.

A+W Business Pro is based on the widest-spread ERP system in the industry, A+W Business, which has been completed by a fully integrated production planning system. By means of this “one-click

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production“ solution, the whole process can be controlled by just a few mouse-clicks, from batch creation to production release.

Installation and Training Easy installation and just a small amount of configuration work due to partly predefined master data reduce the implementation time. User training is available through the online training center “A+W Virtual Classroom” or on the customer’s premises.

The hardware requirements for A+W Business Pro depend on the number of users and on the selected architecture.

A+W supports the users through installation by remote service or by engineers on site. Steven Ye, Sales Representative A+W China at A+W: “We do not only support our customers in software implementation but in embedding all commercial and technical processes into the overall configuration. Our global service organization will provide help and advice to the users even after the installation stage”.

A+W iShape: Digitizing stencils with the mobile phone camera Glass processors often receive a hand drawing or a wood, chipboard or cardboard stencil from their customers to produce a nonrectangular glass sheet (shape, free form). Modern production on CNC machines requires digital data to define these forms.

The glass processor needs a simple and flexible solution to generate the digital data from the template. Older digitization systems require special equipment and calibra¬tion – which is expensive and time-consuming. Against this background, A+W developed in cooperation with Viprotron a user-friendly, amazingly easy to use app – A+W iShape: The stencil is simply photographed with a high-end mobile phone camera or similar in front of a printed reference object. The reference object, a high-quality digital print, is mounted on a wall like a wallpaper. It is used to correct possible distortions when taking photographs. The template is now fixed in front of the reference object, preferably with small magnets.

The special: Unlike older solutions, no calibration The shape is photographed using a high-end of the camera used is smartphone camera required! A+W iShape

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ADVERTISER FEATURE

works with every good mobile phone camera.

The photo is taken, the image is now displayed in the A+W CAD-system.

Since it probably contains For further processing, the form is transferred internal contours and to the A+W CAD Designer. Clear to see: The traces of stickers or other circumscribing points at the edge of the shape, fasteners, the user which are now corrected and smoothed and finally describe the final contour of the shape. must help the software by selecting a rectangular contour.

The contour is recognized by A+W iShape and converted into a stream of contour points. This point stream is then converted into a shape defined by arcs and lines, which can be used for further processing.

The software compensates possible distortions with the help of the reference object. For further processing, the form is transferred to the A+W CAD-Designer. The machine data is also generated here. The entire recording process only takes a few minutes.

At glasstec, visitors of A+W can get a first glimpse into A+W iShape. Take your photo of a stencil with a smartphone and watch how the digitized shape is processed in the A+W CAD Designer.

A+W Smart Companion: Scan smarter with smartphones The bar code scanner has established itself as an indispensable tool in industry and trade – and also long since in the flat glass and construction elements industry. From incoming goods receipt in the warehouse to status registration in production, on through to delivery confirmation; data is recorded via bar code scanning and transmitted to ERP and production systems.

However, the industrial scanner as we know it is quickly becoming obsolete. The smartphone, equipped with the A+W Smart Companion app, great computer power, and outstanding algorithms for handling graphics, is doing it in. The A+W Smart Companion assists along the entire value-creation chain and contributes to its digitalization, saving time and money.

Easier, cheaper, better Scanning via smartphone app is easier than with customary scanners, it offers a multitude of possibilities, and it is cheaper too.

Smartphones are also more technically sophisticated and stable since they are produced in much greater quantities than industrial scanners. Therefore, a lot more research and development potential flows into the final product.

Smart Companion for all situations With its A+W Smart Companion app, A+W is demonstrating where software development is heading. Peter Kühn, Product Manager at A+W: “The use of various scan functionalities with current smartphones is already a reality. Our scanner app

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A+W Smart Companion can fulfill all requirements of flat glass and window manufacturing companies without the disadvantages of traditional scanner hardware – and this along the entire supply chain. The user replaces very specialized, expensive hardware with a familiar mobile device that we use all the time. Therefore much less training is required.”

Mobile communication artist Smartphones with A+W Smart Companion are top-class industrial bar code scanners – under IOS and Android. They can be used everywhere at the company, plus on the go in the delivery vehicle and on-site at the customer. The times when companies used different scanner systems in parallel, for example one in office/ logistics and another in production, are past.

And the A+W Smart Companion can be used not only as a bar code scanner, but also as a mobile info terminal. Employees can use it to display the locations of order components and the content of racks since communication becomes bidirectional.

Invalid bookings due to incorrect read sequence of the bar codes are now impossible since the A+W Smart Companion guides the user. The read quality is also much higher.

Another treat: A+W Smart Companion can scan several bar codes at once, e.g. edge compound labels on a rack, which saves a lot of time. Work is more productive and there are fewer errors.

Future-oriented system for smart factories The A+W Smart Companion will also work on future smartphones – and its range of functions will continue to expand. Future app generations will use technologies such as GPS, fingerprint sensor, etc. (e.g. for user login).

This clever A+W app is an example of digitalization with the greatest practical value – a small piece of Industry 4.0. New userfriendly hardware with breathtaking computing power will drive the development of a new software generation, which until recently would not even have been possible. Apps like the A+W Smart Companion will make your processes faster, more secure, and cheaper – and in the end, that’s what counts in a Smart Factory.

China Glass 2019, Beijing Hall E1, Booth 030 www.a-w.com info@a-w.com

AG 19-3 asianglass

ADVERTISER FEATURE

Glaston ProL-zone Upgrade you existing lamination furnace for high- performance lamination simply, quickly and economically from a variety of operation modes to customize glass sizes and shapes, widths and colors, including Low-E glass.

“Compared with traditional infrared-based heating methods, the ProL convection solution makes it possible to process any glass type from clear to half-printed or coated glass with superb glass quality. Today’s glass types have more and more variety in the complexity of paintings and coatings bundled together.

That is the challenge we are focusing on,” says Jussi Niemioja, Product Manager at Glaston.

The unique ProL convection technology is based on an optimized heat spread, which ensures the proper heat balance and guarantees the most efficient heat transfer for lamination.

It also provides a high process speed, allowing increased throughput, along with an excellent pre-laminate quality with proper edge sealing.

ProL-zone full convection laminating furnace upgrade is designed to be a quick and cost-efficient modification for your existing laminating line. The upgrade replaces damaged or outdated heating chamber. The very concept of ProL-zone is based on reaching a production capacity balance with Low- E and clear glass. ProL-zone uses full convection technology, which does not differentiate between glass types or product modes.

The convection system provides extremely even heat uniformity, giving you consistently superb glass quality and an up to 100% capacity increase compared with traditional infrared heating.

Operating the ProL line is easy and efficient. The state-ofthe-art pre-pressing convection technology offers a great user experience in heating control. Sheet-by-sheet operation is possible for large sized laminates or continuous mode operation is available for small and medium sized glass.

Glaston ProL-zone is available as an upgrade for any laminating line brand.

Glaston ProL technology takes the growing range of laminated glass applications into account, providing the freedom to choose

• More information: Meet us at China Glass 2019 in Beijing, China, Hall E1, Booth #180 • Read what our customers think about the upgrade: https:// glaston.net/reference/tristar-glass- prol-zone-upgrade/

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“Energy savings with the new oven has been phenomenal. With our old line, we were running at 350 amps, whereas we’re now down to 44 amps with our new one.”

— Rob Carlson, Mechanical Engineer at the Tristar Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A.

Meet us at China Glass 2019 Beijing, China May 22-25, 2019 Hall E1, Booth #180

Glaston Tel. +358 10 500 500 info@glaston.net www.glaston.net

Contents: AG 19-3 Regulars

Features

8 Welcome

40 Middle Eastern container glass markets

Pakistan urges glass import action.

12 Headline News

Openings, closures and industry moves from across Asia.

Yogender Malik looks at how the Arabian peninsula is steadily growing its container glass offering based on thinner products, advanced technology and a hugely beneficial fuel price…

20 Global View

50 Energy saving with glass facades

Our eye on the international arena.

Timo Saukko discusses how facades can be beneficial in minimizing energy costs.

26 People and Places

52 The mounting pressure on plastic

Movers and shakers, ups and downs.

32 Batch

Mian Habib and the opportunities in Saudi silica.

36 Comment & Analysis NYC: glass ban thin end of the wedge?

As the anti-plastic revolution continues to provide openings and opportunities for glass, Rohan Gunasekera examines if there is a changing mindset amongst the continent’s manufacturers on how to best to maximise on the current sentiment…

62 Container glass demand in ASEAN

Jahir Ahmed looks at how the container glass manufacturers of ASEAN have been able to demonstrate a return to greater profitability as demand drivers fuel expansions and market growth…

52

Anaylsis 40 Your favourite magazine is now available at the App Store… download today to see your first sample issue!

Asian Glass: now for mobiles, ipads and androids 6

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80 In Focus

As one of the country’s most progressive glass manufacturers, India-based Borosil is being steered by one of the youngest CEOs in the business. In a recent interview, Shreevar Kheruka discussed his hopes for continued development….

84 Window

Analysis and insight into Egypt.

88 Refractory Zone

In the first of his exclusive articles for Asian Glass for 2019, P.Carlo Ratto looks at the ubiquity of AZS refractories has created a need for technological development to drive marketing impetus… www.asianglass.com

DISCOVER INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE GLASS INDUSTRY Take your business to the next level and benefit from sensational advantages like drastically reduced energy costs, highest flexibility and best repeat accuracy while improving your output speed and quality to a new level.

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Welcome T

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erming the import bill and unemployment as OFFICIAL MAGAZIN the biggest economic challenges of Pakistan, E: experts believe that nurturing local industry will help reduce import bill and generate 2019, DUBAI more employment opportunities.

Citing the example of the local auto industry, Aamir Allawala, CEO Tecno Auto Glass Ltd., said local auto • Inside: Iranian flat glass • industry has already set some goals to be achieved by 2021 Expanding in Egyp • t Pharma glass expa • nsions and one of the major goals is to have total employment Asian auto glass dem and PLUS! news, views, ana lysis and much, muc of four million with increase in its contribution to GDP h more! to 3.8 percent. Also, the industry plans to contribute to manufacturing sector up to 30% by the same year while manufacturing 350,000 cars annually. This would have a massive knock-on benefit for glass installers and manufacturers in the country.

Referring to the Indonesian example, he said it shows that as GDP per capita rises, demand for vehicle also rises and Pakistan can easily replicate this example given the positive indicators. “The GDP of Indonesia was below $1500 in 2007 and the demand for vehicles was around 400,000 while the GDP reached to $4120 in 2016 and the demand for cars also increased to around 1200,000,” said Aamir, adding: “This example can easily be replicated here very successfully in Pakistan given the positive economic indicators along with supportive auto policy.”

It is pertinent to mention here that the auto industry’s current contribution to GDP is 2.3 percent while its contribution to the manufacturing sector is 22 percent. In 1995, the contribution of the auto industry to national economy was Rs 1 billion and now it was Rs 49 billion in 2018. Also, the auto industry here has direct employment of 300,000 people while the indirect employment stands at 2.4 million.

Aamir further said there are set goals under the new auto development policy and the local auto industry is positioned well to achieve them by 2021. He further said that given the incoming investment, Pakistan auto market is likely to cross 500,000 units mark before expected.

He added that the indicators for Pakistan are quite encouraging as according to reports the country’s GDP per capita today is $1629 and average annual sales volumes of cars are 314,000 units.

According to Planning Commission, the country’s GDP per capita will reach to $4200 by 2025 and the annual sales volumes of cars will touch the figure of 714,000 units.

“And these figures will be more than doubled by 2050 as Pakistan is being seen as the 16th largest economy by 2050 by PWC,” said Aamir. He added that Pakistan’s natural resources potential and CPEC are propelling Pakistan forward at a fast pace and CPEC Investment can place Pakistan as leading country in automotive market.

He said that a growing economy points to a bright future for the auto industry and auto industry is the backbone of any economy due to extensive forward and backward linkages.

If Pakistan can turn to the wide-reaching tentacles of the glass sector to support myriad domestic industries, then the economic future will appear much brighter and less dependent on China.

GULF GLASS

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CONTACT DETAILS EDITORIAL Publishing Director Andy Skillen Email: askillen@asianglass.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 123 0196

ADVERTISING AND DESIGN Advertising Sales Valerie Adamson Email: vadamson@asianglass.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 133 5273

07/05/2019 09:27

Happy reading!

Paul Russell Email: prussell@asianglass.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 638 0619 Production and design Tim Mitchell Email: tim@bowheadmedia.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 123 0839

RESEARCH Research Manager Alex Murphy Email: amurphy@bowheadmedia.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 123 0839

EXHIBITIONS AND CONFERENCES Contact the team on: Email: events@bowheadmedia.com Direct line: + 44 (0) 208 123 0839

Bowhead events Creating Opportunities: Delivering Results OVERSEAS OFFICES

China Professor Wen Xin Email: 18980921123@163.com Tel: +86 28 8701 9077 Fax: +86 28 8701 9077 Bangladesh Jahir Ahmed jahir@asianglass.com India Yogender Singh Malik yogender@asianglass.com Sri Lanka Rohan Gunasekera rohan@asianglass.com

Andy Skillen Publishing Director

HEAD OFFICE Bowhead Media Ltd, The Old Casino 28 Fourth Avenue Hove East Sussex, BN3 2PJ

Got a general enquiry? use enquiries@asianglass.com 8

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Asian Glass (ISSN: 1475-6501), is published by Bowhead Media Ltd, registered in the UK no: 6127651

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Put your batch plant in your pocket.

ZIPPE solutions for a smart factory.

As a manager, you need relevant information to take the right decision promptly. B-ZMART by Zippe fulfills this need by placing real-time batch plant reporting at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

The B-ZMART concept is local, remote or cloud based and delivers instant live information regarding your plant’s runtime and performance. All you need in our NEW easy, user-friendly app for laptops, tablets or smartphones. So that you, quite literally, stay in touch.

ZIPPE INDUSTRIEANLAGEN GMBH Alfred-ZIPPE-Str. 11 97877 Wertheim

Tel.: +49 9342 - 8040 Email: zippe@zippe.de Web: www.zippe.de

ADVERTISER FEATURE

Advance by chance Crisis and opportunity always come hand in hand.

The Chinese word for ‘’crisis’’ is composed of two characters respectively meaning ‘’danger’’ and ‘’chance, good timing’’. Crystal Safety Glass faced such a situation 21 years ago.

Crystal Safety Glass is established in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is managed by Tan Seng Huat, who opened it as glassware trading company in 1992. During the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 one of his customers who owed him money asked to offset his debt with two containers of glass. Tan knew about the possibilities of glass as construction material. Seeing the opportunity, Tan changed his business from trading glassware to trading glass. In 1998 he borrowed money from friends, moved into a rented 3,000sq ft shop lot and hired three people for his new glass operation.

Since its foundation the company has been on an uptrend. Tan now employs 300 people and the plant’s size has grown to 300,000sq ft. One more factory of 400,000sq ft will start its operations by the end of 2018. The main sales market is domestic around Malaysia, but a lot of products are exported to Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia as well.

Crystal Safety Glass is still a family business run by Frank and his sister Yi Shin, both joined the company in 2000. Their father had been preparing his children for business since they were young. Both of them put a lot of efforts in bringing the company to the next level. They found that product quality is vital as consumers’ expectations have increased over the years. They decided to move from selling large quantities of glass at cheap price and invested in quality, productivity and safe working environment. The solution to reach this level was offered by LiSEC in 2013.

Investment budget has always been a major factor in making business decisions at Crystal Safety Glass, that is why the management decided to solve problems step by step. 2014 they bought a LiSEC automatic cutting line and crane system PKL. Before that employees at Crystal Safety Glass were doing both processes manually. After the installation, cutting and loading operations became simple and fast. The total glass breakage during

unloading was reduced to nearly zero. At the same time the working environment was improved as well. Before the LiSEC loading system was installed, there were four to five body injuries every quarter, now there are nearly none. ‘’Simple operation controlled by software ensure that there are no errors in glass selection and cutting dimension. The software optimisation ensures the precision of our output. The high reliability of LiSEC machines made our overall operations smooth and efficient.”

Thanks to the highly automated loading system, Crystal Safety Glass was able to cut down the manpower per operation from ten to three people, which helps the company in terms of investment return in the long run. Besides that workforce was transformed from low skill to higher skill workers. ‘’The glass industry is changing very fast in Malaysia. The market has become very demanding: on-time delivery, quality, reliability and cost competitiveness are the constant values. With LiSEC technologies we ensure our customers’ satisfaction at all time. We are still looking for innovative ways to improve our processes and efficiency by using automation and machinery. With that we can cut down much dependence on labor workforce and minimizing human error during the operation. Cooperation with LiSEC brought out breakthrough solution to realize our glass processing business value.’’

About LiSEC

LiSEC, with headquarters in Hausmening/Amstetten, is a globally operating group, and has been offering individual and complete solutions in the field of flat glass processing and finishing for over 50 years. The service portfolio includes machines, automation solutions and services. In 2017, the group, with around 1,300 employees and over 25 locations, generated total revenues of around 230 million Euro, with an export rate of more than 95 percent. LiSEC develops and fabricates glass cutting and sorting systems, single components and complete production lines for insulating glass and laminated glass fabrication as well as glass edge processing machines and tempering machinery. With reliable technology and intelligent automation solutions, LiSEC sets standards in quality and engineering and significantly contributes to the success of its customers.

For further information please contact:

Filip MIERMANS Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications LISEC Austria GmbH Peter-Lisec-Str. 1 – 3353 Seitenstetten Tel.: +43 7477 405-1151 Mobile: +43 664 84 77 802 E-mail: filip.miermans@lisec.com – www.lisec.com

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Business Intelligence Business Management | Production Management | Shopfloor Management

Visit us @ China Glass 22 - 25 May Hall E1 | Booth 313

Do you know which glass sheet can be found where, when and why?

LiSEC’s Monitoring Tools allow you to track production seamlessly from the raw glass sheet right through to delivery of the finished product. Armed with this data, you can actively control production, avoid production bottlenecks, and react in real-time to customer needs (such as urgent runs) or changes in the availability of machinery. LiSEC Business Intelligence So ware helps you to identify any problematic areas in your production and implement suitable measures accordingly. Our programs offer you valuable support for the expansion planning of your production.

Find out more about this and other LiSEC so ware solutions: www.lisec.com /so ware

best in glass processing

HEADLINE NEWS ASIA EU demands flat glass enquiry is dropped Philippines HE European Union (EU) has demanded that the Philippines end its safeguard investigation on float glass imports, saying it is not the appropriate measure that will resolve the surge in the import of the commodity.

In an e-mail to the BusinessMirror, a Geneva trade official said the EU asked the Philippines to stop its safeguard investigation on float glass imports during a meeting at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

During the meeting of the WTO Committee on Safeguards on Monday, the economic bloc argued the country should make use of another recourse in addressing the jump in its float glass imports in recent years.

“The EU said safeguards are supposed to provide temporary relief to an industry and are not meant to be permanent. If, after 10 years, an industry has not adjusted, maybe another course should be taken. There was no significant injury to the domestic industry as required under Article 4.1 of the Safeguards Agreement,” the Geneva trade official said.

Under Article 4.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards, “serious injury” should mean a significant overall impairment in the position of a local industry.

Threat to serious injury should mean serious injury that is clearly imminent, and the determination of which must be based on facts and not on allegations, conjecture or remote possibility.

“One certain country is responsible for 85 percent of the import of float glass into the Philippines, and accounts for virtually the entire rise in imports since 2013. All other exporters combined account for less than 5 percent. A more appropriate instrument should have been used, like antidumping and countervailing instruments,” the Geneva trade official said.

“The EU considers a safeguard is not appropriate in this case; [thus], Philippines should terminate its investigation without delay,” he added. The EU is most likely taking a swipe at China, which accounted for the majority of the Philippines’s clear float glass imports, particularly in 2016 when it hit a 96.66- percent

market share.

In February, one month after the imposition of a safeguard duty on cement, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez issued a notice of initiation for a preliminary investigation on whether to apply safeguard measure on clear and tinted float glass. He claimed his agency found the existence of a prima facie case in the protest that increased imports over the past years seriously impaired the local industry of float glass.

Citing Customs data, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said in a report the import volume of clear float glass jumped between 2013 and 2016, and only declined in 2017 due to the antidumping measure enforced on Chinese clear float glass.

Imports of clear float glass surged 646 percent in 2014 to 32,351 metric tons (MT), from 4,337 MT in 2013, and accelerated 52 percent in 2015 to 49,289 MT. It further expanded in 2016, this time by 19 percent, to 58,787 MT, before falling in 2017 by 29 percent to 42,029 MT. “It was observed that during the POI [period of investigation],

imports of clear float and clear reflective glass showed an upward trend which is recent, sharp, sudden and significant,” the report read.

The volume of imported tinted float glass also leaped triple digits in 2014 and 2015, the report added. Customs data showed imports of tinted float glass swelled 274 percent in 2014 to 22,431 MT, from 6,005 MT in 2013; and ballooned 127 percent in 2015 to 50,974 MT. However, imports slid 15 percent in 2016 to 43,255 MT, and dipped 2 percent in 2017 to 42,312 MT. “In 2016 it declined 7,719 MT, or 15 percent, and slightly declined by 2 percent in 2017. In 2017 an antidumping duty was imposed on bronze float glass from PROC [People’s Republic of China],” the report read.

The petition to apply safeguard measure was filed by Pioneer Float Glass Manufacturing Inc., the lone float glass maker in the Philippines, on the claim that it got seriously injured by the heightened import volume of float glass from 2013 to 2017.

Pressure grows for gas regulations Indonesia An association representing four industries, namely ceramic tile, glass, glove and oleochemical, have demanded that the government fulfill its promise to lower gas prices and help them become more competitive both in the domestic and international markets.

“It is regrettable that the regulation has not been implemented. It has caused extended deindustrialization,” said Flat Glass and Safety Glass Producers Association (AKLP) chairman Yustinus Gunawan in March.

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The government has issued Presidential Regulation No 40/ 2016 on natural gas price determination. Currently, only three industries – steel, fertilizer, and petrochemical – have enjoyed the gas price of US$6 per million British thermal units (mmbtu), lower than the market prices of between $8.2 and $9.2 per mmbtu.

Yustinus said businesses had not received the incentive and subsequently lost the momentum to revive the industry. He stressed that the government had to fulfill its promise to lower gas prices because

the glass industry consumed large amounts of gas or 40 to 45 percent of national gas production.

Indonesian Diversified Ceramics Producers Association (Asaki) chairwoman Elisa Sinaga also called on the government to fulfill its promise, adding that because of the absence of incentives, the price of gas for the industry was $9.1 per mmbtu in western Java and $7.89 per mmbtu in eastern Java.

He questioned the government’s sluggishness in making a decision on gas prices. He pointed out that the government could have

implemented the policy without waiting for the full establishment of state-owned subholding gas company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN).

Meanwhile, the Economic Coordinating Ministry’s deputy for commerce and industry, Bambang Adi Winarso, said the ministry had not discussed the issue yet.

“We are about to discuss it,” he said, adding that there were two possible incentives to be discussed by the government: a cut from non-tax state revenue (PNBP) or a subsidy to the four industries.

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Solar glass recycling to be “mandatory” India The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has proposed making it mandatory for solar power developers to follow glass recycling procedures for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.

“Producers may be made responsible for ensuring recycling of end-of-life glass panels as part of their extended responsibility as in the case of e-waste which covers used lead-acid batteries, packaging material, etc. The generators might set up facilities for safe dismantling of used solar panels or should tie-up with an authorised dismantling facility,” the ministry said in its note.

So far, India has no policy for the management of glass containing antimony, which is used in solar panels (SPACG), and recycling facilities for such end of life modules are not yet available in the country.

Antimony is used in solar panel glass to improve stability of the glass upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation and/or sunlight. The combination of low iron content, antimony and/or patterning results in glass substrate with high visible transmission and excellent light refracting characteristics.

In its recently released concept note, MNRE states that the management of PV modules needs to follow the cradle-to-grave lifecycle assessment across four stages: (1) component production; (2) module manufacturing; (3) module use; and (4) end-of-lifeuse stage.

“Improper treatment or disposal of PV waste may result in the loss of this reusable resource/ recyclable material. The estimated waste production factor is about 75 MT of waste for every 1 MW of solar PV installed capacity,” the

concept note states.

The disposal should be done in an environmentally safe manner and glass needs to be recycled following the principles of resource recovery, resource efficiency and the circular economy.

The end of life solar panels are required to be collected and stored safely until the option for recycling is available. It should never be disposed of, or dumped in open landfills, as it may release antimony into the environment.

The option of disposing waste solar panel glass in common hazardous Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) is to be considered the least preferred action when recycling facilities are not available in the country, MNRE said.

Recycling of PV modules is technologically and economically feasible; however, challenges

arise when there is a limited quantity of PV waste for recycling. Countries like Germany have developed PV recycling technologies, and solar glass with antimony may be recycled without affecting its properties.

There are manufacturers that produce antimony-free glass that can be used in the production of PV modules. However, the use is not yet significant.

In 2017, an application (Niharika Vs Union of India and Others) was filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding the use of antimony in glass used in PV panels and the possible environmental risks or consequences at the end of life of such solar panels.

Recognizing that there was no policy or rules on the management of such glass, NGT directed the MNRE to prepare an appropriate policy.

DTI orders glass imports to pass compliance Philippines All imported flat glass must pass the quality standards for ICC (Import Clearance Certification) and all manufacturing plants must be PS-certified (Philippine National Standards) to ensure safety on the use of this major construction material, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) ordered.

DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez signed the Department Administrative Order (DAO) in late March, requiring mandatory compliance requirements on all flat glass. This means that all imported flat glass must be ICC-certified and glass manufacturing plants must bear the PS mark.

“This is to ensure quality standard and protection of consumers,” said Lopez. The

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DAO will take effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

The DAO prescribes the technical regulations for mandatory PS Licensing Scheme for the glass products covered by the particular PNS whether locally manufactured or imported.

The DAO also requires a statement of confirmation, a document stating that the imported glass product was sourced from a glass manufacturer with a valid PS License and that the imported glass product from said glass manufacturer complies with specified requirements after undergoing inspection and verification and should contain the batch number and

manufacturing date of the imported glass.

For safety, traceability and accountability purposes, the DAO requires that only glass products sourced from glass manufacturing plants holding a valid PS Quality and or Safety Certification Mark License shall be permitted to be distributed, sold and used in the Philippines.

Product testing shall be conducted by the DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards-recognized testing laboratory. Results of tests shall be evaluated based on the requirements of the standards and the acceptance quality limit prescribed.

Any incorrect references to the certification scheme, misleading use of PS licenses, SOC, marks or any other mechanisms

indicating that a product is certified found in documentation or publicity materials or any breach hereof, shall be a ground for the issuance of “Show Cause Order.”

News, views and analysis

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News

BG Float unveils ambitious expansion plans Thailand A leading float and process glass manufacturer, BG Float Glass Co Ltd (BGF), has said it was allocating a budget of Bt4 billion to Bt5 billion for investments over the next three to five years.

The company, a subsidiary of Bangkok Glass Plc, will look for investment opportunities to expand its manufacturing portfolio of wall and ceiling products. It could be green-field investments, joint ventures or acquisitions.

“We [BGF] will look at any possible opportunity to expand our manufacturing portfolio for wall and ceiling products in the next three to five years,” said Supasin Leelarit, executive vice president for Group Construction Materials of Bangkok Glass Plc, and managing director of BGF. He said the company expected its annual sales revenue to reach at least Bt6 billion before deciding

to list on the stock market, and that could take three to five years.

The company recorded Bt1.5 billion in total sales last year.

“We have set our business ambition to become a leading provider of total wall and ceiling solutions,” said Supasin, adding that all wall and ceiling-relevant products will be under the “BGF” umbrella brand.

He said the structure was quite similar to SCG, which is a leading provider of building structure and construction materials. However, there are no major players for providing wall and ceiling solutions in Thailand at the moment.

Supasin said that BGF had started manufacturing glass products at its factory in the Si Maha Phot district of Prachin Buri province in October 2017 with an investment of about Bt5 billion. The setting up of the manufacturing facility, with

an annual capacity at about 219,000 tonnes, including float and process glass products, is under a joint venture with Glas Trosch Holding AG, a giant glass manufacturer from Switzerland.

BGF currently has a 19 per cent market share in Thailand’s Bt12billion basic glass market, which has seen an average growth of between 5 per cent and 6 per cent annually.

The company at the beginning of this year acquired Usam Inter Group and its aluminium extrusion facility in Nakhon Pathom province for Bt1 billion. The factory has the capacity to produce 1,200 tonnes of aluminium extrusion a month or at about 14,400 tonnes a year. The raw material for aluminium extrusion, called aluminium billets, are imported from many countries, including Dubai, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and China, and

represents between 60 to 70 per cent of total manufacturing cost.

Supasin said that BGF currently exports 40 per cent of its glass products to many countries in the Asia Pacific, including South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam). Meanwhile, 100 per cent of aluminium extrusion products are distributed within Thailand.

“We are looking to export our aluminium extrusion products to potential markets, especially in CLMV. It includes setting up of facilities for the extrusion process for aluminium alloys in potential countries,” he said.

BGF expected its total sales to reach about Bt4 billion this year, of which half will be from basic glass products and the half from aluminium extrusions.

Pharma glass gives options Indonesia Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto is saying that business players still have a great opportunity to expand their production of glass products for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry to supply both domestic and international markets.

He said the government gave strong support to the development of the industry through Presidential Instruction No. 6/2016 on the acceleration of pharmaceutical industry development and healthcare tools and equipment.

“The acceleration of the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare equipment aims to improve the competitiveness of our products both in domestic markets and international markets,” said Airlangga while officiating the start of operations of new machines by PT Schott Igar Glass in Cikarang, West Java on Wednesday.

He said that with the operation of two AK 2000 machines, PT Schott Igar Glass could increase its installed production capacity of vials

from 540 million to 576 million pieces annually and its installed production capacity for ampules to 775 million pieces annually.

Based on the National Industry Development Masterplan (RIPIN) 20152015, the government gave high priority to the development of healthcare equipment, the minister said.

He said the growth of the medical equipment market was seen in a 4.46 percent growth of pharmaceutical products in 2018. “With a population of

about 260 million, Indonesia needs various pharmaceutical products like vaccines, medicines and so on,” Airlangga said.

PT Schott Igar Glass is the main producer of vials and ampules to meet domestic demand with a market share of 70 percent and exports its products to 20 countries in Asia and Europe, he said, adding that nationally Indonesia exported 2,500 tons of vials and ampules in 2018 for total earnings of US$17 million.

Sisecam signs defence glass deal Turkey Turkish glassmaker Şişecam has signed an agreement with a defence electronics company.

Sisecam has signed the cooperation agreement with Turkish defence group Aselsan to develop joint projects.

Then two companies aim to develop glass solutions for equipment used in defence projects.

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The agreement will last two years and will consist of two phases: preliminary studies and prototype production.

They aim to develop a glass and ceramic materials for use in various equipment to be developed by Aselsan, led by the periscope glasses of a national tank project.

The materials in question are planned to be resistant against thermal shock, be high strength, and to have different optical performances than conventional glass.

The development of product compositions by Arial Unicode MS are aimed to start from the raw materials and cover the

domestic and national production processes at every stage.

Prof. Ahmet Kırman, Vice Chairman and CEO of Arial Unicode MS Group, said: “I believe that the knowledge and experience of these two deep rooted organizations will enable us to achieve important projects.”

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News

MEG secures IFC funding Egypt The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced on Monday it is providing up to $100m in financing to the Middle East Glass Manufacturing Company (MEG), one of Egypt’s leading makers of glass containers.

The financing is designed to support the firm’s capital expenditure programme, create new jobs, and boost Egypt’s manufacturing sector.

IFC’s debt financing package will help MEG ramp up container production, which are used by a variety of companies, such as beverage companies and pharmaceutical firms.

This will help MEG to expand and continue to grow its annual exports.

Moreover, it will also help the company to expand locally, and create and preserve thousands of jobs.

Besides the financing package, the IFC’s advisory services arm will help MEG to substantially reduce its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. That is part of the IFC efforts to bolster resources efficiency in the manufacturing sector and support companies internationally.

During the signing ceremony of the financing deal, the IFC Global Director for

Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services, Tomasz Telma, stated that the IFC’s strategy in Egypt focuses on investing in companies with strong export potential, which boost the local economy and create more jobs.

“Supporting a leading Egyptian manufacturer, like MEG, will ensure it continues to contribute to Egypt’s economic development,” he added.

Nabil Ismail, vice president of Gulf Capital, the main stakeholder in MEG, said on behalf of Karim El Solh, CEO of Gulf Capital, said: “We have worked closely with the IFC across a number of transactions and most recently, financing

MEG’s expansion plans,” He added that the company’s expansion strategy includes new areas and new production lines which has firmly positioned MEG as a leader in the glass market in the Middle East and Africa.

“The company today has a strong management team and is well positioned to continue its impressive growth trajectory,” he added.

He assured that this investment from the IFC highlights the increasing confidence in the broader Egyptian economy and the resurgence of foreign direct investments into the country.

AGC reflects on mirror line start-up Indonesia AGC Inc. announced in midApril that its Indonesian unit, PT Asahimas Flat Glass Tbk began operating a mirror line at its Cikampek plant in the first quarter 2019 following the launch of its new float furnace and mass production on its new magnetron sputtering coater in the third quarter of 2018, marking another milestone in AGC's glass footprints in Asia.

With the integrated, state-of-theart float glass furnace, magnetron coating line and mirror line, AMG offers a single source for a wide variety of specialty glass products and solutions catering to different market needs across the AsiaPacific region.

The new magnetron coater with cutting-edge AGC-Interpane Europe technology is capable of delivering excellent products of

solar control, high performance and spectrally selective glass in jumbo size up to 6 meters. A series of high-performance coatings, T-Sunlux and Stopray targeted at residential and commercial segments for Asia-Pacific markets is launched progressively.

T-Sunlux, a temperable magnetron-coated glass, has a durable coating that is able to go through tempering without compromising on its appearance.

The T-Sunlux coating presents good performance to block heat when there is excessive solar heat. With the ability to be used in both annealed and tempered versions, with a long shelf life, it provides glass processors with the flexibility to cater to project needs by just stocking one single product.

Stopray, high-performance

magnetron-coated glass, gives excellent selectivity with a neutral appearance. It offers improved balance between visible light transmittance, solar control and enhanced U-values, thereby delivering maximum energy savings that meet or exceed energy code requirements. Always used in double or triple glazing, its performance is optimized and suits tropical and cold climates.

The new mirror line is a big step for AMG as it enhances its product lineup with the launch of Mirox MNGE (Mirox New Generation Ecological Mirrors), manufactured with patented AGC Europe technology and the same optimum levels of quality and service.

Mirox MNGE stands out for its copper-free metal coating, very low-level lead paints and

Mitsui sets up new glass fibre plant China Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals plans to set up a new production facility for long glass fibre reinforced polypropylene (LGFPP) at its Chinese manufacturing subsidiary Mitsui Advanced Composites in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province.

This will be the company’s

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third manufacturing base for LGFPP, joining existing plants in Japan and the U.S and will increase total to 10,500 tons per year, with operation planned to commence in September 2020.

Mitsui’s LGFPP is a composite

material made by melting and mixing polypropylene resin with long glass fibres.

The lightweight material offers an attractive appearance, with long glass fibres providing a good balance between hardness and impact resistance. The material

its high resistance to corrosion.

With the ecology of Mirox MNGE, end users are assurred of low levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde emissions from the mirror. With Mirox MNGE being launched with product warranty and attaining Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) certification, it presents end users with greater health benefits.

Customers in the Asia-Pacific region can look forward to a comprehensive range of both pyrolytic and magnetron-coated products and ecological interior glass, allowing architects and glass customers to combine creativity, aesthetics and facade technology, while fulfilling today's energy regulations and green building trends. is already being adopted in areas such as the unpainted insides of rear car doors.

The recent strengthening of environmental regulations and a shift towards electric vehicles has led to an increasing need for automotive lightweighting, the company observes. As a result, demand is on the rise for fibrereinforced resins to substitute for metal.

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News

Sisecam hosts ICG group Turkey Şişecam Group has hosted prominent names from the world’s glass industry at its Porto Nogaro flat glass production plant line in the north of Italy.

The members of Executive and Advisory Committees of the International Commission on Glass (ICG) from 33 countries convened at Porto Nogaro.

Following a study visit to the production plant under the guidance of Prof. Şener Oktik, Şişecam Group Chief Research and Technological Development Officer, and Member of ICG’s

Executive Committee, and Mr. Beytullah Şahin, General Manager of Şişecam Flat Glass Italy SRL, “ICG 2030” strategies were discussed before noon during the meetings conducted at the plant.

In the afternoon, the preparatory works for the ICG General Assembly to be held in Boston in June were completed. Şişecam Group operates in the chemicals, flat glass, and household glassware fields in Italy.

The investments made in

thecountry contribute to its position in Europe for the chromic acid production and in the world for basic chromium sulphate production as a result of total investments amounting to €120 million in Italy. Şişecam Group has invested in its logistics and distribution network besides the Paşabahçe Store in Milano. It reaches the US, European, Middle-Eastern, and African markets via Italy.

The group’s flat glass production capacity in Italy doubled up following the

commissioning of Mafredonia in 2018 besides Porto Nogaro plant with an annual production capacity for 220 thousand tons of flat glass and 5 million m2 of laminated glass.

The Manfredonia flat glass production plant has an annual production capacity of 190,000 tons besides a laminating line with an annual capacity of 4 million m2, a coating line with an annual capacity of 4 million m2, and a satin line with an annual capacity of 1.5 million m2.

LCD shipments to rise in Q2 Taiwan Shipments of LCD TVs by Taiwan makers are expected to grow 9.6% sequentially to 6.86 million units in the second quar ter of 2019, although the figures will be still 10% lower than those seen a year earlier, Digitimes Research estimates.

The makers saw their shipments fall 35.5% on quar ter and 5.1% on year to 6.25 million units in the

first quar ter, af fected by seasonal factors.

TV shipments to the Asian market as a propor tion of total shipments of Taiwan makers will climb to 37.4% in the second quar ter, replacing Nor th America as the largest expor t outlet for Taiwan's TV expor ts.

Increasing shipments to clients in China and India will contribute to the rise of TV

shipments to Asia by Taiwan makers, say researchers.

In respect to TV sizes in the first quar ter, the ratio of 60-inch and above segments declined to 12.3% from 14.1% a quar ter earlier, and that for TVs ranging from 50-59 inches increased significantly to over 30% during the period.

The ratios of TVs in the 4649- and 37-39-inch segments both fell to their historical

low levels in the first quar ter, with the latter accounting for a mere 0.5% of the total shipments.

While TPV Technology and Foxconn Electronics remained the top-two TV makers in the first quar ter commanding 65% of the overall shipments, their combined ratio is expected to drop to 61.7% in the second quar ter, it is estimated.

Corning expects display glass downturn Taiwan Corning expects display glass price declines to continue improving in 2019, with the company's firstquarter revenues and net profit from the segment recording double-digit growths - 10% and 12% respectively - from yearago levels.

The company said sequential glass price declines were moderate and the most favorable first quarter in well over a decade. Second-quarter sequential price declines are expected to remain moderate, and full-year 2019 price declines are expected to improve further to a mid-single digit percentage, better than that in 2018, Corning said as it reported strong results for its overall first-

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quarter business.

Corning expects the 2019 display glass market volume to increase by a mid-single digit percentage year over year, and the company's own display glass volume will grow faster than the market, driven by the ramp of its 10.5G facility production.

Croning reported GAAP sales of US$2.8 billion for the first quarter, up 12% on year but down 7% sequentially. GAPP net income for the quarter came to US$499 million, up 71% from the previous quarter's US$292 million.

Corning saw net loss of US$589 million in first-quarter 2018.

"We built on our 2018 momentum by delivering doubledigit sales and earnings growth in the first quarter. Our investments

in product development and manufacturing capacity delivered sales and profit growth in all our markets, and we're confident that Corning is positioned to create additional value," said Wendell P Weeks, chairman, chief executive officer, and president of the company.

For its display glass business, net sales came to US$818 million in the first quarter, compared to US$899 million in fourth-quarter 2018 and US$745 million in firstquarter 2018.

First-quarter 2019 net income for the segment arrived at US$208 million, compared to US$240 million for fourth-quarter 2018 and US$185 million for first-quarter 2018.

For its specialty materials

segment, which includes its Gorilla Glass products, firstquarter sales were US$309 million, up 11% year over year, driven by continued strong demand for its portfolio of mobile consumer electronics glass solutions, according to Corning.

Net income for the segment grew 7% year over year.

Corning expects the specialty materials business to grow sales year over year in 2019.

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Global View

Decorative glass maker in performance turnaround ROMANIA Galle Glass Buzău, a producer of decorative glass items, has managed to overcome a market downturn a few years back and is now exporting most of its output outside of Romania. The producer employs a special technique, associated with the French artist Émile Gallé.

From the many producers of Galle-type glass items that were once open in Buzău, Galle Glass is one of the few still standing.

The company uses a technique that goes back to French artist Émile Gallé, considered a major representative of the French Art Nouveau movement and is one of the founders of École de Nancy (The School of Nancy), also known as the "Alliance Provinciale des Industries d’Art". The movement marked an important, renewal moment in the decorative arts, through the use of glass, furniture, stained glass, ceramic, leather, iron, architecture, and other artistic mediums.

In his work, Gallé employed an original style, using opaque glass, often layered in several thicknesses, carved or etched with botanical motifs. In time, he established a workshop that produced larger series of his designs and that of other

artists, nonetheless keeping the high-quality of the items.

Gallé’s research resulted in the registration of two patents in 1898, one concerning glass marquetry and the other glass finish. His glass work proved very successful at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, an appreciation which would endure to the present and inspire many later on.

Today, the Buzău producer, in eastern Romania, is exporting 80% of its output, manufactured using the Gallé technique.

“The production process is an ample one. We still use the technique of Émile Gallé, which is difficult to understand and put into practice. The glass is layered at temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Celsius, it is then blown into a matrix, and engraved chemically and mechanically. The attention to detail, the personal, close way of relating to the clients in the sale process brings many to visit our plant, some coming even from India,” Răzvan Romaine Alexandru, the manager of Galle Glass, explains.

Most of the clients are individual ones, from Japan, China, US, France and Canada, who appreciate arts and interior

design and are interested in owning a Galle-type decorative item. Among the plant’s bestselling items are the vases and the lamps, with an average order of EUR 500. The company also produces other types of glassware and lighting items, and says it stands out on the market with the diversity of its product portfolio, the production technique used and the efficiency of its customer services.

The company uses dedicated fairs, various conferences and networking sessions, social and traditional media to spread the word about its products, which can currently be purchased in stores in Bucharest, Timisoara, Sibiu, Ploiesti and Buzău.

Răzvan Romaine Alexandru, who is 27, took over the management of the family business five years ago. The plant was established in 1996, out of the family’s passion for the arts. It was at first a workshop, but within four years it had reached 40 employees.

The overall market decline a few years ago almost put the factory out of business. Productions costs were going up, while the business was facing pressure to

keep the retail price steady.

In the last two years, over EUR 100,000 went into modernizing the production line, which led to a constant growth of the brand.

The producer ended 2018 with a turnover of EUR 120,000.

For 2019, it estimates a 15% increase.

This year, the company also plans to promote itself more on the local market, and educate consumers on the products obtained using the Galle technique.

“This year, we want to expand even more on the local market, where we feel we need to work more on consolidating our position. The decorative glass items of the Galle, Daum, Nancy, Mueller, Charder, Scheneider type that our customers appreciate very much are our strength on the market,” the manager explained.

Galle Glass currently has 15 employees and Alexandru would like to open a school that would train future glass blowers as the specialists in the area are very few compared to the needs of an expanding market, he says. Applying for EU funds for this project is an option that is being considered.

Glazerite to roll out GBP1m. investment UNITED KINGDOM The Glazerite UK Group Ltd has announced plans to invest in excess of £1m across its plants this year, in order to improve performance and capability across the business.

The investment programme will see the VEKA fabricator further enhance its offering for installers, and signals Glazerite’s strong commitment to the industry, as it approaches its 20th year in business.

The first step in the programme includes a new Stuga machine, which has recently been installed at Glazerite Northwest.

The Stuga ZX5 automatic sawing and machining centre forms part of a major transformation of the Bolton-based plant, which

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will also see the site double in size by early 2020.

Ian Lloyd, Glazerite’s Operations Director, says of the new machine: “The Stuga ZX5 is reliable, easy to use, and better still, it has a speedier and smoother throughput, which will really make a difference for us and our customers.”

In addition to the new machine, Glazerite Northwest has also welcomed a new inline welder.

The Haffner SMR 5 head welding machine boasts increased frame output and a touch screen operation for a fast and effective performance, and is yielding such impressive results that the fabricator has ordered two more of the machines for its East and

Midlands plants With Glazerite Northwest due to complete ambitious expansion plans by the start of 2020, it’s hoped Glazerite installers will also benefit from the addition of a showroom, which will highlight the broad range of products Glazerite offers to its customers.

Jason Thompson, Group Managing Director for Glazerite, explains the reasons for the investment: “We are committed to continual investment in our plants so that we can service our customers with one of the broadest product ranges on the market. An increase in our capacity and improved capabilities enables us to

become more versatile and flexible in how we manufacture products across each of our sites.

‘With new machinery making us ever more efficient, we are in a great position to continue servicing our customers, but also to drive forward with our ambitious growth plans into 2020 and beyond.”

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News

Solar installation to help factory “go green” SLOVENIA Energy company Gen-I has partnered with technology company Razvojni center Novi materiali (RCeNEM) and glass manufacturer Steklarna Hrastnik for a new use case of green hydrogen in the industrial sector.

Gen-I has set up a solar PV system atop a glass factory in Slovenia. The array’s electricity will be used to generate hydrogen from an electrolyzer. The green hydrogen is then added to natural gas, which is used to fire the furnaces at the factory.

The setting-up of the solar power plant is part of the OPERH2 project, which is being co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union, under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

“With the help of innovative solutions and the latest

technology, we have already reduced CO2 emissions by 30% in the glass tableware unit and by 10% in the glass packaging unit,” said Peter Čas, general director of Steklarna Hrastnik.

The development of the technology is currently in the pilot phase and RCeNeM is setting up the hydrogen production plant.

“At the facility in question, we will produce extremely pure hydrogen through electrolysis and the use of energy from the solar power plant. That hydrogen will then be used in a pilot glass furnace with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint. We are thus introducing the use of a biocomponent in the fuel used in glass smelting,” said Tilen Sever, a researcher at RCeNeM, about the joint project with Steklarna Hrastnik.

In July this year, the PV array is expected to be connected to the

electrolyzer. After the installation, the companies will continue to cooperate in order to analyze how the system performed. In the later stages of the project, the technology can be upscaled to more and bigger furnaces.

Gen-I began the development of the technology last year with its partners. The aim was to find a way to reduce the use of natural gas, thus bringing down the carbon emission of the glass melting process.

“The set-up of the solar power plant is an important step in the implementation of that technology,” emphasized the glass manufacturer’s director.

A few weeks ago, scientists from Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science, the University of Tokyo and Hiroshima University conducted analysis to assess how storage may help

further reduce the costs of solardriven hydrogen production.

The scientists said rechargeable batteries, particularly those that can discharge only at a low rate, have the potential to reduce the costs of hydrogen production from solar to ¥17-27/m3 ($0.150.25). That, however, may only be possible in around 2030, when that type of battery is expected to have become economically viable, the research team added.

Another report by the European Climate Fund suggested that smart electrification could be 36% cheaper than largescale use of green hydrogen.

Though the authors of the report did concede that there are particular strong use cases for green hydrogen, such as industrial process heat or seasonal storage.

Yorkshire glass research ‘could revolutionise manufacturing’ UNITED KINGDOM Glass industry researchers based in Yorkshire are taking part in a major project to weld glass to metal and flexible glass to glass – which could revolutionise manufacturing industries such as aerospace, defence, optics, optoelectronics and healthcare.

The scientists at Glass Technology Services (GTS) in Sheffield are working with HeriotWatt University in Edinburgh and a consortium of leading industry partners to fuse glass to metal, and to hermetically seal

flexible glass using an ultrafast laser system.

Because of the difference in thermal properties glass could shatter if conventional heat bonding techniques were used, so adhesives are used instead.

However, this can be messy and unreliable as the glues can degrade.

Now, by using a laser system, the need for glue is eliminated, vastly increasing durability and design possibilities.

GTS has worked on the

project, dubbed UltraWELD, to commercialise the idea.

Rob Ireson, leader of the GTS innovation team which included Dr Owen McGann and David Eustace, said: “We have been very excited by this project. It has massive potential in many industries which need to attach metal to glass.

“Our part in the project has built on the GTS expertise in OLED lighting (organic lightemitting diode devices). Our indepth knowledge of glass science and materials processing will help

NSG makes start on float glass line UNITED STATES NSG Group has broken ground on its first new float glass line in the U.S. since 1980.

The new 500,000-square-foot manufacturing plant is in Luckey, Ohio, and will produce transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coated glass to support its key customer, First Solar. The in facility is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of the 2020 calendar year.

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Todd Huffman, overall project manager of solar projects for NSG Group in North America, says the move was made to support the growing solar market.

“Global solar demand is expected see a double-digit growth every year over the next three years,” he says. “…The decision to invest in the expanded production capacity is based on NSG Group’s commitment to meet the needs of

our key customer First Solar.”

The Ohio plant will have a melting capacity of 600 tons per day and produce TCO coated glass using NSG’s online coating technology. The production facility will also manufacture low-E and solar control glass for buildings and other markets employing transparent conductive films. The plant could create up to 150 new jobs in the area.

maximise the robustness of the final bonded components.

“GTS will also be exploiting its extensive networks within the glass industry and related sectors to identify new applications which might benefit from the UtraWELD technology.”

The consortium working on the project includes lasers specialists Oxford Lasers and Coherent Scotland, the high-tech defence company Leonardo; photonics technology firm Gooch & Housego, and the CPI. “The NSG Group’s total investment will take place over the next three years and will include the upgrade and restart of a float line in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh) and the construction of the new glass plant in Luckey, Ohio,” says Huffman. “The expanded production capacity for TCO glass will accelerate a shift in strategy to produce products that create more value for our customers.”

The total cost of the solar expansion in Vietnam and the U.S. is estimated to be $350 million.

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News

AGE expands auto glass alliancefacturing’ WORLD Automotive Glass Europe has announced that it has now gone global, as it has recently created a partnership with colleagues from two other continents.

Automotive Glass Europe is an alliance of leading providers of automotive glass repair and replacement ser vices.

The group was founded over a decade ago, and is operating in 1,500 locations across 20 different European countries.

The recent global expansion is

AGE’s proactive response to the growing demand of insurance and leasing companies and fleet managers.

Pim de Ridder, managing director of Automotive Glass Europe comments on the new partnerships: “The key reason for creating our alliance over a decade ago was to provide our Partners from different European countries with an international dimension whenever necessar y. 11 years on, we have seen that this

initiative is appreciated by their customers. However, the on going, wider globalization tells us that European cooperation is no longer sufficient; our customers now require much more than just that.”

The partnerships have been formed to help share best practice between different continents and to be able to provide support to insurance, leasing and fleet companies who are operating across multiple continents.

Pierre Voyer, Executive VP of Uniban Canada: “It is vital for us to be aligned with industr y needs and standards. We are delighted to become a Partner of the AGE Group because of its international capabilities”.

Filum Ho, managing director of Autoboys: “To be successful in the modern economy requires collaboration and shared learning; no company can afford to be an island in today's highly connected world.”

O-I Reims upgrade near to completion FRANCE Owens-Illinois (O-I), North America’s leading producer of glass containers, is upgrading its existing glass bottles production plant in Reims, France, to further increase the manufacturing capability of the facility.

Estimated to involve an investment of approximately €50m ($56.6m), the upgrade was announced in February 2019 and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2019. The project represents one of the biggest investments in the region in recent times and will create up

to 30 jobs, bringing the total number of employees at the factory to 230.

Located at the centre of the Champagne wine-growing region in France, the Reims plant produces recyclable glass bottles for approximately 1,000 customers in the country.

The modernisation will improve the flexibility and productivity of the plant while strengthening O-I’s presence in the Champagne segment.

It will also increase logistics advantages offered by the company to its wine customers in Reims, Alsace, Loire Valley,

and Burgundy.

Reims glass bottle manufacturing plant upgrade details O-I’s Reims-based glass bottle facility is currently equipped with glass forming machinery and equipment supplied by Emhart Glass, a division of Bucher Industries.

The upgrade will involve the modernisation of one of the two furnaces used to manufacture recyclable glass containers. It will be installed with advanced glass-making equipment and additional technical innovations, which will

improve its sustainability and energy efficiency.

The entire machiner y in the production lines will be upgraded and a new overall layout will be created as par t of the modernisation project to fur ther reduce the environmental footprint.

The new equipment and technology will allow the plant to produce glass bottles in dif ferent sizes ranging from 0.2l to Magnum in three colours for packaging champagne and high-end wines primarily from Burgundy.

O-I looks to Nueva Fanal facility Verallia plans IPO FRANCE Owens-Illinois (O-I) plans to acquire the Nueva Fanal container glass manufacturing facility from Grupo Modelo.

The Nueva Fanal facility is located near Mexico City, Mexico and produces 300,000 tonnes per year of glass container from four furnaces.

It makes bottles for Grupo Modelo brands, which include Corona, Modelo Especial and Pacifico.

Grupo Modelo is a wholly owned affiliate of Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI).

The acquisition is a cash transaction valued at approximately $188 million and

24

asianglass AG 19-3

FRANCE is expected to close this year.

O-I expects the business to contribute approximately $140 million of revenue and $40 million EBITDA¹ on an annual basis. Incremental synergies are anticipated.

O-I will also enter into a longterm glass supply agreement to continue to supply Grupo Modelo.

Andres Lopez, Chief Executive Officer, O-I, said: "This investment is in addition to our recently announced nearly 50% acquisition of Empresas Comegua as well as our plans to expand our Gironcourt, France, glass plant.”.

French glass bottle maker Verallia said it was considering a stock market flotation in Paris this year in what could be one of the biggest market listings on the market for this year.

Verallia has also reported on higher first quarter results.

Revenues rose 6.7 percent to 633 million euros ($710 million) while its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 18.8 percent to 142 million euros.

It had been reported earlier that buyout group Apollo was preparing Verallia for a stock market listing later this year, in what could become one of the largest French

initial public offerings of the year.

“Verallia and its shareholders are considering an Initial Public Offering of the Group on Euronext Paris in 2019. This would enable Verallia to increase its visibility vis‐à‐vis its customers and partners, and would give it the flexibility it needs to pursue any future growth opportunities,” said Verallia chief executive Michel Giannuzzi.

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News

People and Places

Phoenix Award 2019: Prof. Alicia Durán WORLD The Phoenix Award Committee is pleased to announce Prof.

Alicia Durán as the 49th recipient of the Phoenix Award and ‘Glass Person of the Year 2019’. Alicia Durán is Research Professor at CSIC, the Spanish Research Council. She has developed her entire professional career at the Institute of Ceramics and Glass (CSIC), leading the GlaSS research group at the Department of Glass. She has also been Secretary of the Glass Section of the Spanish Ceramic and Glass Society for more than 25 years.

Professor Duran graduated in Physics at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, in 1974 and obtained the PhD in Physics at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 1984.

In 1988 was awarded with the Gottardi Prize of ICG for young glass researchers.

The Phoenix Award Committee has selected Professor Duran to receive this year’s prestigious Phoenix Award in recognition of her extensive work in the furtherance of glass, glassceramics and sol-gel materials research, from basic research to applications in the industrial glass sector and other final users of glassy materials.

Topics related to energy and environment research are the aim of most projects developed

by Professor Duran in the group GlaSS, recognised as Excellence group of CSIC. Different materials and components for fuel cells and Li-batteries, transparent nano glass-ceramics for photonic applications or glass and glass-ceramic sealing for SOFC, come together with protective and environmentallyfriendly anti-corrosive coatings, meso-structure films with photocatalytic activity and multifunctional sol-gel coatings.

She has maintained a continuous collaboration with Spanish and international glass industry, in relevant topics; from enhancing energy saving in furnaces, to environmental issues and emission control or recycling systems, to certification of food safety of glass containers.

International cooperation and teaching have been always among her essential objectives, receiving the Raíces (Roots) Award to International Cooperation in Argentina in 2014.

From September 2018 she is the President of the International Commission on Glass, an international society of national scientific and technical organisations, with particular interests in glass science and technology. The aim of ICG is to promote and stimulate understanding and co-operation between glass experts in the fields of science and technology, as well as art, history and education. A particular goal of her Presidency is centered in the promotion of women throughout the whole field of glass.

Professor Alicia Durán has made an outstanding contribution to the world of glass science and technology all through her career and is recognised as a worthy winner of the 2019 Glass Person of the Year.

“Alicia Durán has dedicated her life to glass research, education and transmission of knowledge” commented JeanLuc Logel, Chairperson of the Phoenix Award Committee for 2019. “Her extensive knowledge is matched only by her great simplicity and exceptional generosity. As a scientist and as a human being, Alicia embodies the PAC’s values perfectly.”

IRIS opens eyes to NEO France The Evolution NEO series of smart inspection machines has received widespread acceptance from the international glass container industry since its official launch at Glasstec 2018 exhibition last October.

IRIS Inspection machines reports 154 planned and completed installations to date, assisting the non-contact, automatic inspection specialist to gain new customers and market share.

Evolution NEO’s ability to discriminate intelligently between saleable and non-saleable containers has been widely appreciated, together with its simplified adjustment procedures and reproducibility features.

26

asianglass AG 19-3

In addition, glassmakers benefit from the equipment’s Industry 4.0 readiness, with the availability of intelligent data for process improvements.

The methodology adopted embraces defect identification, as well as the creation of statistics by defect type. Local trend analyses are produced on the machine, with information presented in a user-friendly format.

The equipment delivers valuable features that help glass container producers to save time during the manufacturing process. Every setting has been designed to be handled by the machine itself, making the equipment less dependent

on human operators. Evolution NEO recognises the article and its exact shape, automatically drawing the inspection zone.

This simplifies job changes and reduces the human error factor.

The equipment allows operators to follow defect rejection rates, while also bringing their immediate attention to the most significant information analysed by the machine. In addition, within its statistical tools, Evolution NEO integrates a helpful set of different data, including time, mould number, images etc.

The latest IRIS software release improves inter-operability between Evolution NEO machines

and hot end equipment, with the ability to share defect characteristics and defect images in real-time, alerting IS machine operators to instances of critical defect detection.

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News

People and Places GRF launches to boost recycling United States Launched April 16, the Glass Recycling Foundation (GRF), Ann Arbor, Michigan, will focus solely on funding glass recycling initiatives.

The nonprofit organization will provide and raise funds for localized and targeted assistance, demonstration and pilot projects that address gaps in the glass recycling supply chain across the United States, the organization says.

“Glass bottles and containers are endlessly recyclable,” GRF Board President Lynn Bragg remarks. “The Glass Recycling Foundation will impact communities by funding projects

to recover more and higher quality glass.”

The organization’s board members represent various companies and organizations, including Owens-Illinois, Diageo, Strategic Materials, Inc., Northeast Recycling Council, the Recycling Partnership, Urban Mining, California State University and Chico.

GRF will collaborate with the Glass Recycling Coalition (GRC), which consists of nearly 40 members from the entire glass recycling value chain, including material recovery facilities, glass recyclers, local government

organizations, end markets and brands. Since 2016, GRC has highlighted best practices in glass recycling processing, collection and collaboration. GRF will support the GRC’s glass recycling efforts on a local level by funding projects.

“GRF will be instrumental in bringing much-needed investments to glass recycling and partnering with other funding opportunities to make glass recycling a highquality and convenient service that consumers want and expect,” states Laura Hennemann, Strategic Materials Inc. and GRF executive board member.

The GRF aims to increase the

availability of cullet, the industry term for furnace-ready recycled glass that can become new bottles, jars and fiberglass, which will help meet the demand from U.S. glass container and fiberglass insulation manufacturers.

According to a 2018 study by the GRC, 93 percent of consumers and residents expect to be able to recycle their glass containers.

More than 80 percent of U.S. recycling programs include glass collection options for residents.

While many recyclers rely on export markets, the end market for recycled glass is primarily domestic, the organization says.

GGF conference hailed Glaston focuses on emerging technologies as “great success” UAE The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) technical team recently hosted an architectural glazing conference in Dubai.

Attracting more than 100 international delegates, the event was sponsored by Emirates Glass, Gulf Glass Industries, Kuraray, Momentive and Filmtek and organised in conjunction with members of the GGF MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

Steve Rice, GGF director of technical affairs, said: “It was an excellent couple of days with the speakers and panels covering topical issues affecting the performance and the international technical standards of glass. I would like to thank our sponsors, speakers and hosts for making the event a great success.”

Speakers included technical experts from the GGF, each of the sponsors and GGF member company, Saint-Gobain, with topics including the Grenfell Tower fire and its impact on industry standards; sealant compatibility; the performance of laminated glass; the anisotropy of glass; security glazing; acoustic glazing and adhesive backed polymeric.

Chairman of the MENA region, Pascoal DSilva of Gulf Glass

28

asianglass AG 19-3

Finland Industries (GGI) commented: “The conference was most worthwhile with superb presentations from industry experts who provided important technical updates and information. All delegates I have spoken with found the conference to be both enjoyable and highly useful for their businesses. I would like to thank the GGF for their participation and support.”

Miika Äppelqvist (37), MSc, Industrial engineering and management, has been appointed VP, Emerging Technologies as of 1 May 2019.

In his position, he succeeds Juha Liettyä who takes up the position as President of Glaston Technologies. The Emerging Technologies unit, established in 2017, provides engineering and consultant services in the field of

Electroglass appoints local agent Thailand UK-based electric glass melting technologist Electroglass has appointed an agent in Thailand.

Thai-Ger Engineering & Consulting has officially taken on the role as Electroglass’s agent in Thailand with effect from March 2019.

Richard Stormont, Managing Director at Electroglass, said: “We have been supplying our systems and equipment to Thai glass makers throughout our company’s 43-year history."

The consultancy is based near Bangkok and managed

by Phaophong Sinwat and Ms Pornthip Sinwat.

He continued: “Now having Thai-Ger Engineering as our local representatives, with their extensive experience in the industry, will help us offer even better communications, service and support to our customers in the region.”

Electroglass specialises in electric melting, boosting and glass conditioning.

Mr Stormont added: “We have known them for some years and are greatly looking forward to working closely with them to develop both sales and all-important after-sales support.”

emerging glass technologies and is continuously looking for new business opportunities.

Miika Äppelqvist has more than 10 years’ experience at Glaston and has previously headed Glaston’s Architectural Business Unit including flat tempering, laminating and automation. In his new position he will report to President and CEO Arto Metsänen and will be stationed in Tampere, Finland.

“I am very pleased to appoint Miika as head of our Emerging Technologies unit. We have many interesting projects and negotiations on-going, and I am sure that Miika with his strong background will step up the speed of the business even further and seek new opportunities offering Glaston’s and Bystronic glass’ combined portfolios. Emerging glass technologies are an essential part of our strategy and an important growth area for Glaston.”

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News

Tiama: your co-pilot on the way to the Smart Factory Introducing YOUniverse, unique to Tiama and further proof why we are the leaders in business intelligence within the glass manufacturing industry. YOUniverse has been specifically developed with YOU and your needs at its core. Utilizing flexible and automated “plug and play” systems YOUniverse makes the inspection process smarter and capable to adapt to any changes.

From batch plant to the warehouse, YOUniverse creates a maximum flow of information to enable as many machines as possible to “talk” to each other to improve efficiency, productivity and profitability. With its open information interchange, this revolutionary system allows machines from any manufacturer to be linked to the YOUniverse.

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Monitoring

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Real-time Process & Quality Controls AG 19-3 asianglass

29

News

Spotlight: Chris Hobbs, Managing Director, Pennine Industrial Equipment Ltd In the first of a new quick-fire Q&A section, we talk to Chris Hobbs, Managing Director at Pennine Industrial, for his take on the container glass industry moving forward…

AG: When we spoke in mid-2018, you said that you’d been having a busy year; has that momentum carried over into 2019 and how optimistic are you about the coming 12 months?

CH: Pennine’s 2018 was a very busy year. Our 50th Anniversary year was a highly successful one.

We held a celebration on the Rhine with over 150 guests from the glass industry in Dusseldorf at Glasstec which was well received and a good way to mark this milestone. We feel that 2019 has started strongly and will continue to be a good year.

AG: How has the two-pin chain been received so far, and is there a scale of manufacturer that you see as the “early” adopters, or is it a general feeling that this product can be effective right across the market?

1. The two-pin chain has been well received by customers all over the World. The product is being used across the market with different container manufactures finding benefit from using this product AG: Do you anticipate more business from retrofitting previous customers with this new chain, or an equal split to companies just entering into – or expanding – their glass container business?

2. Most factories are trying to always increase either their pack numbers or the quality of the products they produce.

The two pin chain can help with both of these so we anticipate customers looking to retrofit and customers moving to this type of product as they make new capital expenditure purchases.

AG: Now that there is a chain capable of running up to potentially 1,000 bottles/minute, do you think there’s an incentive for other areas of the container sector to actually enhance machines to maximise the possibilities that this conveying system can offer? Are you working with anyone in that regard to develop a “holistic” solution?

3. From discussions with other

30

asianglass AG 19-3

it is clear that your view point is true, there has been a neglect of engineering disciplines. I think there are some good policies to try and help this such as the government’s funding 90% of degrees for apprentices who work at SME’s, however this is not enough and is not a quick fix. I think companies have to invest in education where possible and keep trying to recruit the right type of people that can be trained through the business.

equipment manufactures all companies are looking to make improvements to enable glass container manufactures to increase their production, the industry is continually demanding this. Pennine are always working with our customers to help with this demand.

AG: Now that you have broken new ground, how difficult is it for you to keep hold of that advantageous position when it comes to attempts to emulate or copy what you have done?

4. Due to customers demand we are always looking to improve, whilst this is a challenge it is one that we work hard towards at all times.

AG: Do you ever envisage a time when a manufacturing facility overseas could become a viable

option for Pennine?

5. We have plans to continue our expansion on our currently location to keep giving us the room for growth we want. We don’t feel a secondary overseas facility would be viable as splitting of our manufacturing facility would not be efficient. We have built up a good base of operations with a skilled work force and wouldn’t want to change this.

AG: Last time out you reflected on your record of hiring at least one new apprentice every year. The realities are that the engineering-disciplines have been long neglected by successive governments in the UK, in favour of pushing people towards service industries. What can be done to address the skills shortage as we move forwards?

6. In my time with the business

AG: When you look at the industry at present, do you see areas that you feel you have yet to emerge as possibile sales destinations, but are firmly on your longer-term radar?

7. Pennine has always travelled to visit and assist our customers as we feel that this is the best way to support them and build a long term relationship. We are planning to continue this travel and use exhibitions to ensure we best reach our current and emerging markets.

AG: Many companies will set their mid-range targets and aspirations at 5 year intervals; is this something you consider Pennine to do, or will you be looking at a product development programme that far exceeds that?

8. As we have previously discussed development is demanded from our customers, the industry wants to improve and for that to happen it requires product development. We are always looking at what new technology and new materials can be incorporated into our products or manufacturing process.

AG: Finally, if you could change one piece of legislation or attitude around the use, re-use or manufacture of glass containers, what would your message be?

9. I feel some sort of recycling legislation that encourages people to use and recycle glass more would be a positive step for the environment and help the momentum that is building around the reduction of single use plastic.

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News

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AG 19-3 asianglass

31

Analysis: High grade silica

Batch Saudi Arabian silica

RESOURCES AND POTENTIAL

Mian K. Habib (Industrial Minerals Canada Consulting Inc.) discusses the extensive work undertaken in identifying and presenting high-grade silica resources on the Arabian peninsula and how these could be utilised in advanced glass operations…

Saudi Arabia has abundant resources of silica sand, lump quartz and quartzite. After the formation of Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) in the year 2000, the exploration and evaluation of silica resources were intensified throughout Saudi Arabia.

In general, Saudi Arabia can be divided into four geological units: 1) Arabian Shield (consisting Proterozoic – igneous and metamorphic rocks).

2) Sedimentary Cover Rocks (consisting mainly, limestone, sandstone, Orthoquartzite etc.)

3) The Empty Quarter.

4) Basalt Fields (Scattered mainly within Arabian Shield); Industrial quality silica sand in Saudi Arabia is sourced from sandstones that occur within Phanerozoic cover rocks bounding Arabian Shield in north, east and north-east. Most of these sandstones are white to off-white and loosely cemented (friable) in nature. However, well cemented Orthoquartzite are also found in some areas near Riyadh.

All quartz resources, including quartz veins, homogenous pegmatite, zoned pegmatite and quartz floats occur within Arabian Shield.

Commercially exploited deposits Riyadh Area

Riyadh area has been the centre of silica sand mining since half century. There are abundant resources of high quality silica sand in east and south-east of Riyadh. The Geological Formations that carries high quality silica sand is Biyad Formation. Silica sand processing to produce industrial grade silica sand started here towards the beginning of new millennium.

Ad Doghm Silica Sand Mining Complex (Riyadh)

Ad Doghm silica sand area (Jabal Ad Doghm) is the best explored silica sand resource situated near Riyadh. A number of silica sand quarries are in operation here. Ad Doghm silica sand is pure white with low iron but considerable alumina content that is caused by the presence of kaolin clay. Although, kaolin can be produced as by-product of silica sand processing but silica sand producers have not put any effort in kaolin production on commercial scale. Kaolin is present in form of lenses, intercalations and pockets within silica sand. It is interesting that many ceramics manufacturers in Saudi Arabia and in RAK (UAE) buy this silica due to its high alumina content and some silica producer charge higher prices on silica sand having 10-12 percent alumina. Based on the exploration drilling data on Jabal Ad Doghm, the silica sand resource covers about 8 sq km and carries more than 100 million tons of high quality silica sand.

In 2016, the Saudi government has decided to close Ad Doghm silica sand mining complex due to its proximity to the city of Riyadh.

Silica sand producers are relocating into other adjacent areas and the ministry will not renew the mining license once it is expired.

This is pity that in this area at least three investors have world class silica sand processing and micronizing plants.

Jabal Burmah Silica Sand (Riyadh)

Jabal Burmah is located close to Jabal Ad Doghm area. This

32

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resource covered an area of about 5 sq km and carries more than 70 million tons of good quality, white industrial grade silica sand.

Silica sand producers having world class silica sand processing plants in Riyadh area include: • Adwan Chemicals • Al Darees for Industry and Mining • Al Rasheed Silica Plant • Delmon Group of Companies

Al Butayn and Al Kharj area (Riyadh)

Al Butayn is located about 40 km NE of Riyadh. This area lies within Biyad Sandstone Formation that is the source of high quality silica sand in Riyadh area. Al Butayn area has been explored systematically and in detail and reported in Saudi Geological Survey’s literature. Al Butayn can be accessed by a network of paved roads. The whole area can be divided into two sub zones, Al Butayn and Al Kharj. The Al Butayn area has been recommended as the best location for industrial grade silica sand. 44 core holes were drilled in 1990s in 10 sections. The core holes were 1 km apart and of various lengths. The sandstone cores were studied geologically and analysed for chemical composition at 3 meters interval. On the other hand, Al Kharj area was reconnaissance surveyed and a total number of 38 core holes were drilled in two small areas. However, no details are found in SGS literature.

Run of mine samples as well as washed samples of Al Butayn silica sand were analysed for chemical and textural composition. Chemical analysis of processed samples (0.1 mm to 0.5 mm fraction) shows that a simple washing and scrubbing using water decreases iron oxide from as high as 0.45% Fe2O3 to better than 0.02% Fe2O3. It looks like that in those days, t he chemical analysis was unable to detect Fe2O3 values of less than 0.02% because, all Fe2O3 values reported in the following tables is 0.02%. It would be very interesting to know if the sand can be processed to produce low-iron silica sand having Fe2O3 <0.01% for solar glass production. Based on the drill hole data (distance, depth and bulk density), a total indicated resource of 240 million tons of silica sand resource is determined within 44 core holes area that would be sufficient for next 250 years.

Surprisingly, the Al Butayn area is prohibited for silica sand mining.

The whole area is fenced and cannot be accessed. Saudi authorities should reconsider its decision and allow silica sand mining in this area especially after the closure of Ad Doghm.

Saudi mining authorities should take action to capture the incoming low-iron silica sand market for solar glass. Al Butayn has shown that this sand can easily be processed to produce low-iron silica sand.

Riyadh silica resources are close to the export market of UAE and Rasul Khaimah (RAK) which is the centre of glass and ceramics industry. Silica sand from this area is exported to RAK and other UAE locations since long time. However, after the closure of Ad Doghm area, the RAK market is partly occupied by Egyptian silica sand which is shipped to RAK on large vessel through Red Sea. Saudi Arabian mining authority should take this matter seriously and urgently. Saudis need to improve their logistic facilities to export silica sand to RAK and UAE not only from Riyadh area but also from Taymah.

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Analysis: High grade silica

Tabuk Area

the Tabuk area, there are only a few silica sand producers due to its remote location from the existing glass and ceramics industries.

Taymah South (South of Tabuk)

Taymah area was explored for commercial silica sand several times during 1990s. In 1997, thirty surface samples were collected from about 50 km south of Taymah in an area of 80 square kilometres.

These samples were studied mineralogically and analysed chemically, however; these samples were not processed before analysing. The thickness of sandstone in this area ranges between 2 to 20 meters and taking an average thickness of 5 meters, a silica sand resource of 400 million tons is estimated.

In the year 2000, Taymah south area was revisited and explored in detail. A total number of 40 exploration drill holes were executed in an area of 280 square kilometres in South Taymah. All forty (40) core holes were located in east side of paved road running in north-south direction and joining Tabuk with Al Madinah area. In general the holes were drilled down to the depth of 25-30 meters.

A resource of 6000 million tons silica sand has been estimated in this area.

In year 2001 another 50 exploration cored holes were executed in the western side of road joining Tabuk with Al Madinah. The exploration was undertaken in 210 square kilometre area. The depth of holes ranges between 25-30 meters. An indicated resource of 6000 million tons was reported in the explored area.

The high quality silica sand in Taymah area lies within Phanerozoic Saq Sandstone Formation that is 880 meter thick in south of Taymah.

Taymah silica sand at places generally carries high alumina contents that indicate the presence of kaolin in the sandstone matrix. Nonetheless, no silica sand producer has extracted kaolin as a commercially viable by-product of silica sand mining. Taymah area is also famous for translucent to milky quartz cobbles which are scattered on sandstone surface. These quartz cobbles are also not mines on commercial scale.

Other in Tabuk

Many silica sand resources are investigated near Tabuk in 1990s.

The most important industrial grade silica sand bearing geological formations in this area include Ram and Umm Sahm sandstones outcropping NNW-SSE some 20-30 km west of Tabuk. 19 surface samples were collected during exploration stage and the chemical analyses are shown in the following table. These deposits represent generally very high quality silica sandstones with the exception of the Wadi Al Arnab locality. Fe2O3 levels for the other locations are for as run-of-mine samples very pure sandstones this area is considered as prime area for high quality silica sand mining.

The area is unmeasured but extremely large and covers an area of several hundred km2 and sandstone thickness exceeds 25 m which will give a very large resource.

In Tabuk area, Wadi Al Haddat and Jabal Fauha areas are the best localities for high quality silica sand production. However, in Silica samples from Tabuk Location

Wadi Alhaddat

Jabal Al Fauha

Wadi

34

Sample #

SiO2%

Fe2O3%

Cr (ppm)

131â&#x20AC;&#x201D;1

99.80

0.02

4

131-2

99.60

0.02

6

131-3

98.10

0.03

8

154

98.10

0.13

11

155

99.60

0.04

7

156

98.60

0.03

7

159-2

99.20

0.03

8

157-1

99.80

0.03

5

Ratamah

99.80

0.04

6

asianglass AG 19-3

Al Jawf Area (North Saudi Arabia) Domatul Jandal

The Al Jawf area has been explored repeatedly in 1990 but usually for kaolin. However, silica and kaolin occur intercalated in many of the sequences explored and both may be economically viable.

In early 2000, Domatul Jandal area, (30 km south of Domatul Jandal Town) was explored on both sides of newly built train track laid down for Phosphate transpor tation to east coast industrial city of Rasul Khair. A total number of 27 cored holes were drilled in 60 square kilometre area within Al Maleeh deposit.

The bore holes were located 3 km apar t and drilled down to 25 meter depth. Silica sand below the red dune sand is ver y white with traces of kaolin. The samples were analysed without processing and the evaluation of this resource were not done properly. Silica sand was not tested for Frac Sand applications and for non-glass uses. This area needs more attention as it is closer to Saudi Aramcoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unconventional gas production site and closest to the newly developed Industrial City of Wada Ash Shamal. An indicated resource of 160 million tons is revealed in this location.

Current exploration

Due to the closure of Ad Doghm silica sand mining complex near Riyadh, the silica sand producers and new investors are looking for alternate silica resources around Riyadh. The most attractive and potential areas near Riyadh are located in east and south-east of Riyadh. Bani Tamim, Al Falaj and Al Kharj areas are among the most potential areas for high quality silica sand. These areas are also impor tant due to their vicinity to RAK and UAE markets.

The newly explored area of Bani Tamim and surrounding region is a ver y large area extended southwards into Wadi Ad Dawasir.

A total resource of 500 million tons of high quality silica sand can be expected in this area.

Markets and uses

Presently, more than 50% of silica sand mined in Saudi Arabia is dr y screened and carries 350-600 ppm Fe2O3. There are 6 large sized world class wet processing plants in Saudi Arabia which produce high quality silica sand mostly for clear float glass and other industrial uses. On an average these plants produce about 120-150 tons silica sand per hour. In addition to glass sand, the other most impor tant use of silica sand is the production of silica flour which is sold at domestic as well as expor t market for filler applications, additive in oil-well cementing, fiberglass, ceramics, paints, rubber, plastic etc. Silica sand is also used domestically and expor ted for use in filtration sand, swimming pools, casting, refractor y products, golf courses etc. There is one producer of silica chemicals in Saudi Arabia.

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Analysis: High grade silica

Principal silica consumers • • • • • • • • • • • •

Arabian United Float Glass Company, KSA Al Obeikan Float Glass, Yanbu, KSA Saudi Guardian Float Glass, Jubail, KSA RAK Ghani, RAK Guardian Glass, UAE ARC International Al Tajir Glass, Jabal Ali Frigo Glass, Jabal Ali 12 ceramics and porcelain manufacturers in KSA and UAE 3 Fiberglass producers Water Filtration units / Municipalities Export and others Total silica sand and silica flour from Saudi Arabia > 15,000 tons / day

More information: For more details on the development or sourcing of silica from Saudi Arabia, please contact: Mian Habib INDUSTRIAL MINERALS CANADA CONSULTING INC (IMCC) 3 Tanager Ave, Hamilton, ON L9A 2M2 Canada +1 289 674 1490 mian@indmin.ca

Mian Habib has over 30 years experience in industrial mineral resources including 17 years of Saudi industrial minerals exploration, evaluation and converting cheap mineral commodities to mineral specialties for niche markets. Mian Habib has sound knowledge and experience of South-East Asian and Middle Eastern industrial minerals resources especially silica sand and lump quartz. IMCC conducts exploration, sampling, testing and evaluation of your industrial minerals resources. IMCC will lead you to the new business venues, modern uses and products and emerging markets in industrial minerals.

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AG 19-3 asianglass

35

News Anaylsis

News

36

NYC: glass ban thin end of the wedge?

R

ight now, the New York City commercial real estate industry is picking over the details of upcoming city laws that will fine building owners if they exceed new emissions caps. While the industry grapples with the implications of those requirements, Mayor Bill de Blasio has signaled he is not done with legislating building materials over environmental impact, sparking a wave of questions for which the industry wants answers. Bisnow/ Miriam Hall New York City skyline In April, the City Council passed the Climate Mobilization Act, which requires large and medium-sized buildings to cut emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. The worstperforming buildings have five years to bring their emissions down. The new laws set emission caps, and would impose hefty fines if landlords don’t comply. In April Mayor Bill de Blasio — who wants the city to become carbon neutral by 2050 — took on the glass and steel buildings that have defined the city’s skyline, implying those types of buildings would no longer be allowed. “We are going to introduce legislation to ban the glass and steel skyscrapers that have contributed so much to global warming,” de Blasio said. “They have no place in our city or on our Earth anymore.” Though the city and the mayor have since conceded that glass and steel would not be entirely outlawed, de Blasio has continued to refer to it as a ban.

"It's a ban, and I'll tell you why," he said, but then acknowledged there is nothing stopping builders using the materials. “It is true that if a building owner wants to invest a lot more to make sure that that glass is not inefficient — it's a major investment to do that — they can still have, certainly, a notable amount of glass.” Members of the real estate industry — many of whom are already bristling against the laws demanding emission caps on building — said they

asianglass AG 19-3

were perplexed by the comments.

Google Maps Durst's One Bryant Park was the first commercial high-rise in the country to earn LEED Platinum certification Youngwoo Executive Vice President Bryan Woo, said the lack of clarity is disconcerting. “If you are not exact and precise about the way that this is going to work … there is a huge chance for a misstep. There’s nothing wrong with doing something for the environment, but we would love to know the details.”

Over the past 15 years there has been a wave of new laws and codes to drive efficiency that have simply not worked fast enough. “Sometimes it takes a controversy for people to step away and look at solutions. Arguably changing infrastructure is one of the hardest things for us to do,” View Dynamic Glass CEO Rao Mulpuri said. His company makes smart window technology that allows the owner of a building to adjust how much light and glare a window lets in, which has been used in places like Durst Organization’s One Bryant Park and LaGuardia Airport. “Glass is not our enemy," he said. "You can build as much glass as you want as long as you build it smartly.” Putting aside the is-it-a-banor-not conversation, there is no denying the industry is now facing a fundamental shift in the way it must build and manage properties. “Developers will have to meet our new standards,” Mark Chambers, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, told media.

"Business as usual won’t cut it." Under the laws, varying emission caps apply to building 25K SF or larger. Rent-regulated and affordable housing, as well as houses of worship, are not subject to the new limits. The city is setting up an Office of Building Energy Performance to monitor building owners, who will be fined $268 for every ton of emissions beyond a building’s limit, the AP reports. The laws have rattled the commercial real estate industry, with many big landlords claiming it is a punitive plan that will do more harm than good. “In this legislation

it is all stick and no carrot,” Rudin Management Chief Operating Officer John Gilbert said. Since introducing a machine-learning system that integrates all building operation called Nantum, Rudin has already cut carbon by 44%, reduced steam consumption by 48% and lowered electricity use by 41%, Gilbert said. His concern, shared with many others, is that all buildings are treated the same under the law, which will penalize companies that have densely populated buildings. “You want to incent owners to cut their carbon, rather than create unreasonable caps that no one’s going to be able to meet,” he said, adding that he has no clue about what the mayor meant about banning glass and steel. The Durst Organization, one of the city's most prominent real estate partners, believes the legislation will wind up punishing densely populated, efficient buildings, and the fact that so many buildings have been exempt undercuts the goal.

“It ends up promoting inefficiency over efficiency,” Durst spokesperson Jordan Barowitz said. ”It’s misguided in that it exempts too many buildings in the city from the more stringent requirements in the bill.” Marx’s Deitelzweig said the demands of retrofitting older buildings to meet the emissions caps means most people will likely opt to tear down buildings rather than improve them. “I’m not sure that is good for the environment and wouldn’t meet their goals,” he said. “Many things that are good [for the environment], they are not really wonderful for the tenant experience. You have to find a balance.”

So…is glass banned? No. But… for once, we have a city starting that high-performance glass is the only way forward. With the US being such a leader in legislation, one wonders how long it will be until Asia follows suit. If you’re in the architectural performance glass business, with the greenest of credentials for your coated, energy saving product…now would be a GREAT time to invest for sure!

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5 Times a Charm – JYC Purchases Its Fifth Dip-Tech Printer It takes a lot to be a leader in China’s competitive glass market, which in itself makes JYC Glass – and its local dominance – so unique Part of the POBO Group, JYC was founded in 1999 by Mr. Pang JingHua, to provide high-end decorative safety glass for buildings, furniture, art works and interior design. Located in the city of Foshan in the Guangdong province of China, the company quickly grew to become a world-renowned printing glass supplier. Today, through a vast number of digitally printed projects, including major public works, innumerable people around the globe enjoy JYC products daily.

At the heart of JYC’s success is Mr. Pang’s clear vision for leadership in decorative glass, fueled by the acquisition of the advanced technology and know-how needed to establish JYC as an industry powerhouse.

A partnership is born Dip-Tech, a Ferro company, as the pioneer in digital glass printing was a natural match for Mr. Pang and his far-sighted

aspirations. Both comprehensive and revolutionary, Dip-Tech offers a complete solution with digital glass printers, longlasting vibrant ceramic inks, and easy-to-use image processing software.

In 2009, JYC made its first Dip-Tech acquisition with the purchase of their first printer. This partnership grew over the years with JYC continuing to buy newer models of Dip-Tech machines in 2012. The company later obtained a digital printer from a different company, but when it came time to further expand JYC’s digital capacity, JYC again chose a Dip-Tech solution in 2016. And now, they did it again, in October 2018. That’s five times choosing Dip-Tech printers in all!

Following each purchase, Dip-Tech continued to support JYC’s endeavors all the way, with ongoing technical expertise, handson assistance, and a commitment to overcoming any obstacles together.

The results have been amazing, with JYC creating spectacular works for customers worldwide. Among others, the many projects printed with Dip-Tech technology are the following:

"I have worked with Mr. Pang and the JYC team for many years now, and it’s a pleasure to see what Mr. Pang’s vision has done for the digital glass market.

Now, armed with the latest NEra-D Plus, I can’t wait to see where else they’ll take digitally printed architectural, engineering and design glass. All of us in the Dip-Tech team are excited to continue this exciting journey together, addressing the market’s growing needs and helping bring the JYC vision to life on an even larger scale".

DISNEY LAND (Shanghai, China), 2016, 400 M².

KWARLEYZ RESIDENCE (Africa), 2017, 300 M².

For Mr. Pang, a demo of the NEra-D Plus at glasstec made it obvious that JYC needed one. “From my experience with our latest Dip-Tech printer, the new model has a similar color system, high resolution and excellent printing quality at even higher productivity. As I see it, with this advanced digital glass printer, we get flexibility, cost-efficiency and serial production speeds all wrapped into one, which is a great boost to our business".

HE HOMME store (Shenzhen, China), 2016, 500 M², Maximum Size: 5600X2800mm/Piece.

“From my experience with our latest Dip-Tech printer, the new model has a similar color system, high resolution and excellent printing quality at even higher productivity. As I see it, with this advanced digital glass printer, we get flexibility, cost-efficiency and serial production speeds all wrapped into one, which is a great boost to our business".

The sale of the NEra-D Plus was also a momentous occasion for Mr. Raymond Kwok, Dip-Tech’s Sales Manager in China. As he said: “I have worked with Mr. Pang and the JYC team for many years now, and it’s a pleasure to see what Mr. Pang’s vision has done for the digital glass market. Now, armed with the latest NEra-D Plus, I can’t wait to see where else they’ll take digitally printed architectural, engineering and design glass. All of us in the Dip-Tech team are excited to continue this exciting journey together, addressing the market’s growing needs and helping bring the JYC vision to life on an even larger scale".

WTC P-HUS (Sweden) Parking building, with glass panels that also provide solar control, 2015, 2677 M².

Through these projects, and many more, JYC was instrumental in creating market demand for digital glass printing, quickly establishing itself as a true leader within the market.

Printing towards the future While JYC has evolved with a variety of technologies over the years, it was the many joint achievements and close collaboration that helped cement the relationship between JYC and Dip-Tech.

Those same factors led JYC to purchase its latest Dip-Tech printer – the NEra-D Plus – on-the-spot at glasstec 2018.

The newly released NEra-D Plus, like earlier NEra printers, is a dedicated machine for architecture and design applications, now enhanced with faster speed and an inline process for industrial batches.

“We see Dip-Tech as a strategic partner. Dip-Tech teams provide efficient service to JYC. Running our business with Dip-Tech machines gives us confidence, knowing we’ll always be able to deliver exceptionally high-quality results, in a timely manner, bringing to life whatever our glass customers dream".

To learn more about the NEra-D Plus, visit: https://www.dip-tech.com/products/glass-printer/nera-d

glasstec 2018. From right to left: Mr. Alon Lumbroso (former Managing Director, Dip-Tech), Mr. Pang JingHua, (CEO, POBO Group / JYC Glass), Mr. Erik de-Jongh (co-Managing Director, Dip-Tech), Mr. Raymond Kwok (Sales Manager, China, Dip-Tech), Mr. Yu (JYC).

This sentiment of partnership was reflected by Mr. Pang, in describing why he chooses Dip-Tech again and again. “We see Dip-Tech as a strategic partner. Dip-Tech teams provide efficient service to JYC. Running our business with Dip-Tech machines gives us confidence, knowing we’ll always be able to deliver exceptionally high-quality results, in a timely manner, bringing to life whatever our glass customers dream".

www.dip-tech.com

ANALYSIS: Container glass

A lighter touch

the Middle East container glass industry

Yogender Malik looks at how the Arabian peninsula is steadily growing its container glass offering based on thinner products, advanced technology and a hugely beneficial fuel price…

C

atered by ten state of the art container glass producers, the Middle East container glass industry has registered steady growth rates in last few years. Increasing demand from food & beverage industry due to ever increasing disposable income, changing lifestyle and rising population in all the countries of the region has led to major container glass producers to increase their installed capacities during last few years.

On account of low fuel prices and availability of key raw materials for glass manufacturing has made the region one of the least cost producing region for container glass industry. This competitive strength has allowed the Middle East based container glass producers leading exporters of container glass products from the region. French luxury glass bottle producer, Saverglass is the most appropriate example of this. Saverglass is a global specialist in manufacturing and decorating glass bottles for premium wine and spirits brands. Despite almost nil consumption of these products in the region, the company set up a 350 tonnes per day container glass plant in Ras Al Khaimah emirates of UAE in the year 2013.

In a conversation with Asian Glass, company’s deputy project manager had told at the time of construction of the project, “It is easy to sell to South Africa, Asia and South America from here as the transport costs are cheaper.

We are looking to expand in these markets. Also, the natural gas, construction and labour costs are lower here than in France. Our company export 45 per cent of the products worldwide and so have a risk of fluctuations in euro-dollar conversion. Here the figures will be in dirhams pegged to the dollar. It’s a natural way to hedge the conversion fluctuation risk.”

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Steady demand from the container glass consuming segments has provided existing container glass producers in the region to expand their capacities and scope for new entrants. Going forward, non-alcoholic beverages, the major demand driver for region’s container glass industry are expected to play a positive role in the growth of container glass industry in coming years. Factors like, Duabi Expo 2020 and FIFA World Cup in 2022 are also expected to drive the beverage demand in the region, thus benefiting the container glass industry, directly.

“We are looking at an optimistic and growing market over the next few years,” says Sharif Monther Bin Trad Al Harthi, chairman of the Arab Beverage Association and CEO of Al Rabie Saudi Food Co. “Growth in the beverages industry was a bit stagnant these past few years due to a number of factors such as limited purchasing power from customers. However, from 2019 onwards, we are set to witness an annual growth of about two to three per cent across all major segments.”

Recently, Qatar based Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC) announced setting up a container glass plant in the country. Likely to become operational by the mid of the year 2020, this would be first container glass manufacturing plant in the country.

Lightweight focus

Last one and a half decade has seen some important advances in lightweight glass packaging, many premium products are now offered in lightweight containers while retaining their original performance characteristic and design appeal. Light weight bottles are gaining popularity in most of the end-users segments.

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

Much like their counterparts elsewhere, the Middle East based container glass producers have put great emphasis on adopting to light weight container glass production in recent years. Most of the container glass producers have carried out expansion or modernisation exercise to enable them to produce light weight glass bottles.

Production of lightweight glass has been made possible by changes in the production process. Instead of the traditional blow-and-blow process, the narrow neck press and blow process is now used: to ensure that the thicknesses of the sides of a glass container are both as uniform as possible and at the same time thinner, a plunger is pressed into the liquid glass in the blank mould. The practical advantages of lighter glass packaging are compelling. Reduction in consumption of raw materials, which reduces the total cost of production in the direct proportion of reduction in weight of bottle.

By using latest NNPB technology, weight of glass container can be reduced in the range of 15- 35 %, leading to reduced shipping costs for most of the container glass producers in the region. A number of producers in the region have dedicated a significant proportion of the total output towards advanced narrow neck press & blow (NNPB) production technology that has proven its ability to reduce wall thickness without the loss of strength.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is the largest container glass producing country in the Middle East region. Three leading large sized container glass producers in the Kingdom has an installed capacity of nearly 1600 tonnes per day of container glass products for domestic and export markets. All the three producers have installed new technology to produce light weight glass containers in recent years. Largest of the three, Saudi Arabian Glass Company has carried out modernisation exercises in 2012 and 2016 to enable it to produce higher proportion (of the total output) of light weight glass containers.

Saudi Arabian Glass Company

Located on the Red Sea’s Port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian Glass Company, Ltd (SAGCO) has become one of the Middle East’s prominent suppliers

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of high-quality glass containers for soft drink, food, dairy and perfumery industries. Established in 1981, Saudi Arabian Glass Company (SAGCO) began commercial production in 1985 with one 60 Tons per day capacity furnace.

Today, the company operates five furnaces and 13 production lines to produce about 1,000 tonnes per day of container glass in flint, green and amber colours. The company has a wide range of machines capable of producing a large range of containers.

NFGB

A subsidiary of the National Company for Glass Industries (Zouaj), the National Factory for Glass Bottles was established in year 1991 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

With two modern Furnaces and 5 state-of-the art production lines, the Plant can produce about 123,000 MT of glass containers per annum.

The company produces more than 150 types of glass containers ranging from 88 ML to 1250 ML to cater to the customer demands locally and internationally.

United Arab Emirates

Trailing behind Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates is second largest, but perhaps the most exciting container glass market in the region. After a sharp decline in oil prices produced several years of macroeconomic slowdown. The UAE is projected to continue to have modest economic growth in 2019. Despite the sluggish economy, the UAE food and beverage industry has experienced consistent growth over the past five years, and container glass producers in the UAE are uniquely positioned to capitalize on these developments.

Jebel Ali Container Glass Industry

Jebel Ali Container Glass Factory (JACGF), which was established in the Jebel Ali Free Zone in 1998, is a leading supplier of container glass to a number of reputed food and beverage producers in UAE and greater Middle East region. The Company’s clientele includes large and reputable multinational food and beverage companies such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, with all the products manufactured against confirmed orders from and contracts with these customers.

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ALL IN ONE SUPPLIER FOR STEMWARE, TUMBLER AND PRESS ARTICLES PRODUCTION LINES • Feeder • Blowing machines 6-32 stations • Press machines 1-24 stations • Crack off machine • Stem inserter carrousel • Handling units • Transport conveyor hot end • Lehr stacker • Automatic unloading systems of annealing lehr • mouth rim processing machinery with laser • washing belts • transport conveyor cold end • fire polishing machinery • automatic quality inspection • packing lines • production support • mould design • after sales service

FORMA GLAS Gesellschaft m.b.H. 5145 Neukirchen a. d. Enknach - Austria Salzburger Straße 1 E-Mail: info@formaglass.com

Telefon: +43 (0) 7729/ 202 99 Telefax: +43 (0) 7729/ 202 90 Internet: www.formaglass.com

ANALYSIS: Container glass

The Company, currently has an installed capacity of 360 tonnes of container glass per day. During the initial years JACGF operated two production lines, each comprising 12 sections (i.e. 24 sections), with a production capacity of 10 tons per section per day. In 2006, the Company added a third line with a capacity of 8 sections, bringing the total sections currently under operation to 32. The facility uses narrow neck press and blow (NNPB) technology, which allows bottles to be made much lighter with up to 25% less glass in each bottle. It also allows glass containers to be made with much higher accuracy, i.e. fewer defects on internal surfaces and a lower reject rate. The new lighter-weight NNPB-made bottles are much stronger because they have better glass distribution.

The company has seen three management changes in last eight years. It was acquired by Nigeria based container glass producer Frigoglass in 2011. Frigoglass is a strategic partner to a number of beverage brands throughout the world. The company is one of the global leaders in the Ice Cold Merchandisers (ICM) market and the principal supplier of glass packaging in the high growth markets of West Africa. In December 2018, Frigoglass completed the divestment of Jebel Ali FZE to ATG Investments Limited.

According to Nikos Mamoulis, CEO of Frigoglass, “Last year, our Dubai operations met the growing demand for lightweight one-way glass containers, by producing an increasing number of bottles with a specialized method, which allows to manufacture particularly lightweight glass. In addition to light weight bottles, we have also produced returnable bottles which are heavier than non-returnable or one-way containers, but have considerable benefits for the environment. These containers are heavier to withstand multiple trips in large glass bottles floats, but have considerable benefits for the environment as they can be used more than 25 times before being downcycled to cullet and reused.”

WE ARE LOOKING AT AN OPTIMISTIC AND GROWING MARKET OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS

Al Tajir Glass

Based at Jebel Ali Industrial Zone on the outskirts of Dubai, Al Tajir Glass Factory has made a reputation as one of the best known container glass-manufacturers in the Middle East region, providing beer & beverage bottles to the producers in a number of countries. The performance of Al Tajir Glass’s NNPB beer and beverage bottles on the filling-lines of both medium and large-capacity breweries and beverage plants has earned the company its reputation as one of highest quality glass suppliers. The plant consistently achieves failure-rates in filling-plants as low as 5 bottles per million, far exceeding the performance of many Western glass manufacturers.

The furnace at the Al Tajir plant produces flint and dark emerald-green glass containers with an installed capacity of nearly 320 tonnes per day. The company mainly produces NNPB (lightweight) bottles for the demanding beer and beverage industries. Over 80% of the total production is exported to a number of countries.

According to Vijay Goel, Quality Control Manager at Al Tajir Glass Factory, “In addition to light weight of glass bottles, there are a number of factors that have a direct or indirect bearing on bottle quality, strength and performance.

We strongly believe that bottle weight is just one contributor rather than the ‘whole’. In short, bottle quality and performance are the only targets that we keep in mind when light-weighting. We continue light-weighting until we meet our quality & cost targets, and our customer is satisfied.”

RAK Ghani Glass LLC

A joint venture between RAK Investment Authority and Pakistan’s leading glass group, Ghani Glass, RAK Ghani Glass LLC is the only dedicated pharmaceutical glass producer in the Middle East region. Based in Ras Al Khaimah emirates, RAK Ghani Glass has an installed capacity to produce 40,000 tonnes per annum ( producing 600 Million per annum) of light weight pharmaceutical glass containers of European Standards, based on NNPB technology and according to desired sizes and shapes of its pharmaceutical customers. The plant is fully equipped with latest machineries and covers all relevant international accreditations and quality certifications, which are required by the pharmaceutical companies, globally and is a pre requisite for exports to European markets.

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Major container glass producers in the region Company

Location

Country

Installed Capacity

Al Tajir Glass

Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai

UAE

320 tonnes per day

Gulf Glass Manufacturing Company

Safat , Kuwait City

Kuwait

310 tonnes per day

Jebel Ali Container Glass Factory

Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai

UAE

360 tonnes per day

Oman

250 tonnes per day

Majan Glass

Sohar Industrial Estate

Mahmood Saeed Glass Industry Company

Jeddah

Saudi Arabia

360 tonnes per day

National company for Glass Industries

Riyadh

Saudi Arabia

430 tonnes per day

Pragati Glass Gulf LLC

Nizwa

Oman

135 tonnes per day

RAK Ghani Glass LLC

Ras Al Khaimah

UAE

110 tonnes per day

Saudi Arabian Glass Company Limited

Jeddah

Saver Glass

Ras Al Khaimah

Saudi Arabia 1,000 tonnes per day UAE

350 tonnes per day

www.asianglass.com

22 - 25 MAY PAVILION E1 STAND 099

ANALYSIS: Container glass

Oman, Kuwait and Qatar

Almost a decade back, the Middle East’s container glass industry was concentrated in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Though, Oman based Majan Glass has been operating since 1997, but the unit remained a loss making unit for a significant part of the first decade. Kuwait based Gulf Glass Manufacturing Company was the only successful glass producing unit outside the two main container glass producing countries. However, currently the rest of the Middle Eastern countries are gradually becoming self-sufficient in meeting the demand of container glass.

Majan Glass

Located at Sohar Industrial Estate, which is about 200 Kilometres away from Muscat and Dubai, Majan Glass is one of the most high-tech container glass producers in the region. The Company has installed capacity of producing 250 MT per day of glass through 2 furnaces, five production lines and equipment designed to produce glass containers in 88ml – 1000ml range, in different sizes in flint and coloured glass.

From incurring financial losses during the first decade of the century, Majan Glass has transformed its operations into one of the most efficient in the glass industry of the region.

Currently, the company is counted among the most technologically advanced container glass producers on the global scale due to significant investments in acquiring state of the art production technology.

In 2017, Majan Glass carried out an extensive modernisation exercise to enable it to produce higher proportion of light weight glass container. The company refurbished one of its two furnaces with a new control system and cold repair, and overhauled two production lines with conversion to NNPB. The company acquired a new 12 section triple gob AIS forming line from Emhart Glass. The new forming line is specially designed to produce glass containers using the latest NNPB technology. With this exercise, Majan Glass is able to produce light weight glass containers on four of the company’s five production lines.

Pragati Glass

Subsidiary of Indian container glass producer Pragati Glass, Pragati Glass Gulf LLC commenced container glass production in the Nizwa in the sultanate of Oman in the year 2010. This plant has one furnace with a capacity of 135 tons per day, including three 6-section and three 8-section manufacturing lines with both single and double gob. All these machines are supported with the latest technology like automatic batch house, automatic inspection line and palletizing unit.

According to Dinesh Kumar Gupta, Managing Director of India’s Pragati Glass, “The Middle East is an exciting region from container glass industry’s perspective. Production of container glass in the region is very competitive due to a number of strategic advantages. At our Omanis plant, we produce container glass to leading food and beverage companies in the region.”

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Gulf Glass Manufacturing Company

Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co. K.S.C (GGMC) caters to container glass demand of beverage, food and pharmaceutical industries in the Middle East region from its 320 tons per day state of the art container glass plant based at Mina Abdullah Industrial Area in Kuwait City. The company operates two furnaces and five IS machines to produce glass containers in the range of 100ml to 1300ml in flint, green and amber colours.

Gulf Glass Manufacturing Company is supplier of container glass products to Coca Cola, Freeze, Sunkist, Sinalco, Vimto, Pampa, Reem and Miller. In 1981, when GGMC started production, it had one furnace with an installed capacity 120 tonnes per day, feeding two production lines of flint glass bottles which were supplied mainly to carbonated drinks and beverage producers. The company carried out major expansions and technology up gradations in 1991, 2004 and 2005. In these modernization exercise, GGMC diversified the product line by introducing new shapes, sizes and colours of glass containers. The company reconstructed its glass melting furnace to increase production capacity to 200 tonnes per day, with three new production lines. A second glass melting furnace was constructed in 2005 with a production capacity of 120 tonnes per day feeding two production lines to produce green colour glass bottles. The operation of second furnace increased GGMC’s glass melting capacity to about 310 tonnes per day.

In the most recent technology up gradation in 2016, the company overhauled its production and inspection lines with the aid of new equipments from leading technology suppliers of glass industry.

New entrant

Qatar based Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC) has announced to set a container glass plant in the country. The newly formed subsidiary of QIMC, Gulf Glass Factory LLC signed Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) contract with the Italian company Falorni Gianfranco Srl in the second half of December 2018.

The project would be completed in two phases. The installed capacity of the plant in the first phase will be 200 tonnes per day of container glass through one furnace. A second furnace will be built in the second phase of the project, which after implementation will raise the production capacity to about 450 tons per day. The total cost of the first phase of the project is estimated at QR 238 million and is expected to reach QR 300 million at the end of the second phase.

Abdul- Rahman Abdullah Al Ansari, Chairman of Gulf Glass Factory and CEO of QIMC commented at the occasion of signing ceremony, “The project will satisfy the local needs of glass containers, which are currently imported into Kuwait from other countries at high costs. We will also export our container glass products to neighboring Arab markets, most importantly Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. These countries suffer from a severe shortage in the availability of glass containers since they do not have any glass containers producer.”

QIMC was established in 1990 with 20:80 government-private equity interests respectively. Currently, QIMC has equity interest in 18 operational projects in diverse industrial sectors including chemicals, petrochemicals, construction materials and food processing.

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Meet us at China Glass, Beijing Hall E1, Booth 294

RE PO RT EC IA L SP

Glass facades: energy and cost saving potential Timo Saukko discusses how facades can be beneficial in minimizing energy costs.

There is remarkable temperature difference between glass surface and indoor air when temperature is normal winter day temperature in Nordic Countries. Cold surface makes cold wall effect and cold air natural convection.

With glass facades in cold climates traditionally has been used radiators or fan coils to improve winter time indoor conditions. Besides of current solutions, there are no guaranteed solution to prevent coldness and cold draught inside building.

Fan coils and radiators heat façade up to 55°C during cold winter day. This makes heat loss double compared to system where glass surface temperature is heated with electricity to room temperature 21°C. Remarkable energy can be saved by using electrically heatable glass in facades in Nordic climate conditions.

Radiators and fan coils needs space from floor area which is very costly and fan coils/radiators needs investment. Glass facades in cold climates can be made remarkable lower costs with electrically heatable glass.

Pure façade purchase cost with electrically heatable glass is more expensive than façade without heatable glass, when only pure façade costs are compared. When also necessary compensative HVAC system and space savings are taken account, huge savings can be reached. Savings from reduced floor space and savings coming from missing fan coils / radiators will make electrically heated glass façade superior compared to non-active glass façade. Total saving from this new façade can be up to 50%.

Traditionally there have been used fan coils or radiators in a front of glass façade to prevent cold draught and cold wall effect. Radiators are used mostly for the preventing cold draught and heating. In cold winter day even 55°C hot water is feed to radiator. This means that radiator surface is hot accordingly and heats air. So even 50°C hot air is fed against glass façade. This will double heat loss through glass façade on this area.

Fan coils are used for preventing cold wall effect, heating and cooling depending weather and indoor conditions. If it is used for preventing cold wall effect and heating, then even 55°C hot air is blown against façade glass surface. This means that heat loss is double compared to situation that glass surface is heated to room temperature.

Case where fan coils are used for building cooling is not always perfect solution due to fact that modern solar control glass and low-iron glasses are not heavily absorbing heat. By blowing cold air it is impossible to stop heat radiation coming from sun. As modern glasses are not absorbing heat façade cooling just increases energy consumption of the cooling. The more façade is cooled, the more heat is coming in due to bigger temperature difference between outside and inside.

Electrical heating

Electrically heated glass can be used to compensate heat loss through facades. Inner glass surface is heated to room temperature

50

asianglass AG 19-3

by using small electrical current. Even 20-30W/m2 is enough to compensate heat loss through glass façade /i/.

Glass surface temperature is controlled with sensor and thermostat. Heat is produced uniformly in whole glass area and then temperature differences are minimized. As glass surface is heated to room temperature, there will not be any thermal difference between glass surface temperature and room temperature. Therefore there are no temperature asymmetries in winter and neither cold draught. Glass surface is heated just to room temperature and this brings energy savings compared to fan coils and radiators. Important factor is that by using electrically heated glass building can be constructed smaller with same utilities. This bring additional saving due that there are less cubic meters to be heated.

Fan coils vs Radiators

Big public building costs easily 10 000Eur/sq metre in Nordic countries. Cost of fan coils without installations are 1500-4000Eur/m. With fan coils normally 0,5-1,0m bottom area is lost in front of glass façade. Cost of radiators purchase is not handled separately.

Additional cost of electrically heated glass in façade is estimated 200Eur/sq metre compared to non heated insulating glass.

Comparison of investment cost, including devices and floor area, when glass façade height is 5m. Installation costs are excluded.

Investment cost (Eur/m)

Cost of floor area (Eur)

Total investment cost (Eur)

Electrically heated glass

1000

0

1000

Fan coils

15004000

1500-10000

3000-14000

It can be seen from the table that as huge floor area can be saved, then also huge cost saving can be achieved. In any case initial investment cost saving is in 5 m height glass façade 70% compared to fan coils. Biggest saving is coming from floor area reduction with same functionality of the building.

Electrically heated glass increases façade construction cost 200Eur/sq metre (per façade square meter). As building is planned in the beginning so that electrically heated glass is used, then impact of glass façade cost to total building construction costs can be reduced minimum 70% compared to traditional solutions. Biggest saving is coming from floor area reduction with same functionality.

Second biggest saving is coming from device investment costs.

Also energy consumption of the building can be reduced by using electrically heated glass.

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WHENEVER,

WHEREVER,

FENZI

IS THERE.

.

FENZI EXPERTISE DRIVES INNOVATION FORWARD. When we are in a car, our needs for comfort and style are second only to the number one requirement–- the utmost in safety, in every way. Which is why, when the automotive industry processes glass, the Fenzi Group’s experience and ability to innovate play an essential role. Fenzi’s Tempver Automotive glass enamels comply with the strictest quality standards and pass all the tests required by auto manufacturers in terms of both chemical and mechanical resistance. Their extremely high optical density means they provide the ideal coverage to optimize glass performance.

Fenzi paints are easy to apply, adapt perfectly to screen and digital printing and offer excellent performance in both press bending and gravity bending. Entirely free of heavy metals, they bring tangible and meaningful value to the term “eco-friendly”. It’s time to start the engine and set off on the path to a better future. With Fenzi.

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ANALYSIS: Glass packaging

Kicking back

pressure mounts on plastic

As the anti-plastic revolution continues to provide openings and opportunities for glass, Rohan Gunasekera examines if there is a changing mindset amongst the continent’s manufacturers on how to best to maximise on the current sentiment…

C

onsumers in Asia and the food and beverage companies serving them are not about to give up their addiction to plastic bottles and embrace glass. But there are signs a shift from plastic containers to glass is beginning to happen. Still, efforts by major fast moving consumer goods companies to reduce use of plastic and adopt ‘circular economy’ processes in response to growing concerns over plastic waste are unlikely to result in an immediate, significant increase in use of glass containers. Shifting to glass is more difficult than appears at first glance.

The advantages of glass packaging, like its inert nature, being impermeable to gasses and vapour, longer shelf life and its ability to be reused and recycled, must be weighed against its disadvantages such as fragility, heavier weight and the bigger carbon footprint in production and transport.

However, encouraging signs are there for container glass manufacturers given the way major food and beverage companies are shifting some products back to glass in an effort to phase out single-use plastics, promote refillable containers and to clean up their own reputations as polluters. These are tentative steps in the form of pilot programs that could, and should, lead to a bigger shift and result in consumers returning to the days of refilling soft drink, fruit juice and milk in reusable glass containers, which traditionally had dominated the food and beverage packaging industry.

Stronger, lighter

Container glass firms are continuing with efforts to make bottles stronger and lighter. But glass packaging companies would have to make their products much less brittle and much, much less heavier if they want to be a significant alternative

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asianglass AG 19-3

to plastic bottles in the near term. Major improvements are needed in plastic waste and glass cullet collection and recycling infrastructure in big Asian markets like India to wean consumers off plastic and into glass, with increases in consumer product pricing possibly required to make the shift more affordable and effective for manufacturers.

While glass has remained the main packaging for alcoholic beverage, given the way shape, embossing and feel contribute to the image of their heavyweight contents, which lightweight plastic bottles cannot match, PET had made heavy inroads into the soft drinks and food segments, and to a lesser extent in pharmaceutical packaging. The affordability and convenience that made PET packaging so popular among consumers and FMCG companies serving them means they will continue to be around for a while.

That’s despite growing alarm among more educated and affluent consumers and public expressions of corporate concern over plastic containers clogging landfills and polluting waterways and oceans, and entering the human food chain.

Sanjay Tiwari, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Glass Ceylon in Sri Lanka and Chief Operating Officer of Piramal Glass, India, says that there is a huge shortage of glass bottles in India at the moment which has helped revive demand.

“There is big demand, for instance in the beer market,” he told Asian Glass. “Unfortunately a lot of furnaces of container glass companies in India are closed for relining. With revived demand in the global market a lot of Indian manufacturers are exporting glass bottles. This has helped all glass companies to increase market share.

Also, there is a lot of awareness of the disadvantages of plastic and PET containers which is also creating extra demand in some market segments like aerated water, pharmaceuticals and food and beverages (F&B).

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ANALYSIS: Glass packaging

Piramal Glass is one of the largest container glass manufacturers in the region serving the pharmaceutical, cosmetics & perfumery and specialty food and beverage markets. It has manufacturing facilities spread across India, Sri Lanka, and the United States of America. Of it four manufacturing plants two are in India, one in the USA and one in Sri Lanka with an overall capacity of 1,375 tonnes per day. In pharma glass, Piramal Glass has increased amber furnace capacity in India, from 230 MT to 265 MT.

Growing demand

Demand for container glass has recovered, according to O. P. Pandey, Senior Vice President (Finance) of Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Limited’s Glass Division, AGI Glaspac in Hyderabad, the biggest manufacture of container glass in South India and second largest manufacturer in India. However, it was not yet clear to what extent the shift in consumer preferences away from plastic or PET containers contributes to higher sales of glass bottles.

“Demand for glass bottles is mostly in the liquor and beer segments,” Pandey told Asian Glass. “Demand is recovering after the disruptions caused by the highway liquor ban and introduction of GST.” In 2016, India’s Supreme Court banned liquor sales within 500 meters of highways and the same year the eastern state of Bihar banned alcohol. Sales also slowed down owing to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the previous year. Capacity use at HSIL container glass furnaces are now running at around 80-85%.

“Certainly, plastic is now at some disadvantage but to what extent we cannot still say,” Pandey said. “Some of low segments where plastic was used are getting replaced with glass, such as country liquor. In the pharma sector there has not been much change. There are different modes of plastic like blister packaging which may not be directly competing with glass.”

Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Limited, known as HSIL, is a big producer of both glass and plastic or PET containers, and hence is in a position to take advantage of changing consumer trends whichever way they swing.

Its Packaging Products Division comprises three businesses – glass containers, including specially coloured glass bottles, PET and counterfeit-resistant security caps and closures. It supplies glass packaging through Associated Glass Industries Limited (AGI) to clients in the packaged beverages, food, beer, liquor, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. The firm has two glass container manufacturing facilities at Sanathnagar and Bhongir in Telangana and three PET production units at Selaqui in Uttarakhand, Medak in Telegana and Dharwad in Karnataka.

HSIL says that it sees increasing application of glass container. In future, it believes glass containers will find more usage across various industry verticals, especially in the ready-to-drink beverages segment. As many State Governments are discouraging the use of plastic packaging due to environmental concerns, the glass containers market seems to be in a better position to grow as a preferred alternative.

However, HSIL also sees sustained PET growth, noting that PET plastic bottles are a popular and economical choice for packaging soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled water and other Fast-moving Consumer Good (FMCG) products.

Growing scale and enhanced product diversification of industries using PET packaging is consistently driving demand.

HSIL has an installed capacity of 1,600 tonnes per day for glass containers across two manufacturing plants (Sanathnagar and Bhongir in Telangana). The

54

asianglass AG 19-3

recovery in demand has led to restarting of Furnace III, shutdown since August 2012, in last quarter of FY 2017-18.

HSIL also offers PET products through three facilities with an annual capacity of 10,166 tonnes in Selaqui (Uttarakhand), Medak (Telangana) and Dharwad (Karnataka). It has expanded the use of Narrow Neck Press and Blow (NNPB) technology, thereby reducing the bottle weight by 10-40%.

Vice Chairman and Managing Director Sandip Somany says that with the Supreme Court easing the ban on vending of liquor on highways and an increased demand from end-consumers, the market is looking promising and has led to the restarting of Furnace III, with 300 TPD glass capacity, at the Hyderabad glass plant. The demand for PET products was impacted owing to uncertainty on PET packaging across several Indian states.

Care Ratings says that with the plastic ban imposed across various states in India, it expects a demand growth for plastic’s alternative - glass, especially in the container glass segment. Industries such as liquor, consumer foods, pharma and beveragesmay see a shift from plastic to glass in the near term.

Care Ratings notes that the outlook for the Indian alcohol market, a big user of glass bottles, is positive. The market is expected to increase to Rs. 1,75,400 Crore by 2021, from Rs. 1,47,500 Crore in 2016, giving a boost to the container glass segment in India. A 7.5% CAGR growth rate is expected for the beer market for next 5 years.

The drive to reduce

Big alcohol and soft drinks firms operating in India have pledged to do more to reduce use of plastic in the products and recycle more. Instead of a mass shift to only glass, FMCG companies who are the clients of container glass manufacturers are responding with incremental increases in glass use and, more widely, innovations in plastic packaging to reduce the amount of plastic in their containers and making them more recyclable – not eliminating plastic altogether – in the near term. It is not yet clear which will emerge as the most appropriate food and beverage packaging material - glass, PET or other alternative materials like aluminium.

HCCBPL, the Indian bottling arm of Coca-Cola, offers a program in which reusable glass bottles can be returned to the shop in which they were purchased and sent back to the plant for re-use. A similar initiative is being carried out

by Diageo in India, which is the country’s largest spirits producer.

Since 2017, Diageo has been collaborating with its glass suppliers to use returnable glass bottles across a number of its most popular brands. The adoption of these initiatives on a wider scale will further demonstrate the environmental advantage of glass as a packaging material compared to plastic.

Johnnie Walker maker Diageo has pledged to increase the use of recyclable plastic packaging in a bid to hit its 2020 sustainability and responsibility targets, in place of glass “Over 90% of our packaging (by weight) is made from glass,” it says.

“However, we are increasing the use of alternative materials and formats as part of our innovation agenda. PET bottles, plastic closures, Tetra Pak cartons, multilayer pouches, sachets and other small formats all use plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene.Using PET instead of glass can provide sustainability benefits, for example by reducing the weight of packaging and associated carbon emissions from transport.” The company is also seeking “more sustainable alternatives” for its source of PET, including plant-based PET manufactured from bio-based raw materials.

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ANALYSIS: Glass packaging

The world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, whose Indian offerings include Budweiser and Corona, and is one of the world’s largest purchasers of glass bottles and aluminum cans, says it continues to champion a circular economy. Through its 2025 Packaging Goal, it aims to have 100% of products be in packaging that is returnable or made from majority recycled content. It aims to increase recycled content in one-way packaging through supplier collaboration, increase supply of recycled content through postconsumer waste recovery programs through local partnerships, educate consumers to shift recycling attitudes, promote and protect returnable packaging, and innovate and scale new materials and products designed for the circular economy.

PLASTIC IS AT A DISADVANTAGE BUT TO WHAT EXTENT WE CANNOT STILL SAY

Beer o’clock?

For United Breweries, which has about half the share of the Indian market and sells the Kingfisher and Heineken beer brands in India, bottles remain the biggest cost element. The firm, part-owned by Heineken NV, moved to dedicated bottles with Trade Mark and design registration ensuring tight control on the cost of recycled bottles. It also adopted NNPB technology (less weight, less energy, less environmental impact) in about two-third of new bottle purchases, which allows the company to source new bottles with reduced weight and better distribution of glass. The company reuses patented glass bottles for bottling beer with about 70% of the bottles being reused.

Varun Beverages Limited, PepsiCo’s second-largest global franchisee outside of US, sells its Carbonated Soft Drinks in glass bottles from 200 ml, 250 ml, 300 ml, 350 ml and 400 ml as well as PET bottles from 250 ml to 2250 ml; Cans of 250 ml Container glass imports Importers (HS Code 7010)

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity Unit

World

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

Asia Aggregation

1,610,407

NA

1,625,201

NA

NA

Mixed

Pakistan

No Quantity

9,163

8,539

12,752

4,562,061

Dozen

Maldives

No Quantity

447

411

441

1,592,919

Units

Philippines

123,687

120,157

108,594

184,462

179,938

Tons

Kazakhstan

308,482

309,107

221,959

197,739

169,780

Tons

Iraq

NA

20,273

65,820

190,317

155,105

Tons

Indonesia

129,569

105,670

73,634

117,717

140,501

Tons

Nepal

51,374

57,463

60,757

100,548

81,305

Tons

United Arab Emirates

108,972

125,602

107,654

99,887

74,569

Tons

Lebanon

50,818

47,825

47,748

54,998

70,559

Tons

Myanmar

No Quantity

30,366

23,376

73,368

70,189

Tons

Thailand

112,108

54,245

51,729

101,775

69,145

Tons

Turkey

198,391

218,415

106,644

81,489

68,285

Tons

Georgia

72,936

77,365

38,833

47,328

66,867

Tons

Israel

No Quantity

104,693

136,593

132,320

66,561

Tons

Hong Kong, China

53,064

56,162

49,123

50,640

52,580

Tons

Saudi Arabia

35,417

48,881

51,229

47,437

46,810

Tons

Malaysia

44,905

39,757

41,669

46,420

45,730

Tons

India

33,477

35,470

41,133

45,764

45,193

Tons

Armenia

14,399

17,434

42,363

27,883

33,852

Tons

Mongolia

No Quantity

24,232

27,635

29,029

31,315

Tons

Singapore

No Quantity

31,453

23,247

29,853

30,838

Tons

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asianglass AG 19-3

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WHEN QUALITY MATTERS www.parkinson-spencer.co.uk

ANALYSIS: Glass packaging

and 330 ml. Its Non-Carbonated Beverages like Tropicana are als sold in both glass and plastic while Packaged Drinking Water is in PET bottles.

VBL will become national bottler in India in several new States and Union Territories, accounting for 80%+ of PepsiCo India’s beverage sales volumes from 51% earlier.

It says the Indian soft drinks market is in its growth phase. Favorable demographics, low per capita consumption, long summers and higher spending on packaged products makes it an attractive market. This coupled with continued innovations towards product packaging and sizing to enhance product affordability are likely to strengthen growth rates.

It believes in continuous and aggressive focus on innovations and hyperlocalization. “Higher spending on packaged products and continuous innovations towards specific requirements, especially in rural India, in terms of pack sizes and glass bottles is likely to enhance product affordability and strengthen growth rates,” it says.

One of the major product segment consists of returnable glass bottle which after consumption of its product is returned and reused after taking care of thorough food safety.

“Plastic has a space which will definitely remain but the media is helping in creating awareness of the perils of plastic,” Tiwari of Piramal Glass said. “Firstly, a lot of companies are adopting ‘green’ practices and moving some of their products into glass. Secondly, every company wants to grow in the premium segments and are launching new products mostly in glass, such as in the water and liquor industries. A lot of new firms are having launches and it’s all happening in glass.

“In beer and aerated water, people are moving towards one-way glass – companies are moving to using new glass. They want fresh bottles, instead of refilling of old bottles, which is helping to increase demand.

“In the cosmetics sector also demand is growing,” Tiwari said. “We are the market leader in India. Now we can see growth happening, especially in the mid-mass segment. And a lot of filling is happening in India. There are a lot of new launches in cosmetics and perfumery and India is becoming very popular in cosmetics filling. Our capacity is sold out for the next six months.”

Proposed Indian government regulations discouraging use of plastic in medicines have not yet been implemented but the industry remains hopeful that once it is, demand would increase. Lobbying by the plastic industry has managed to delay the rule’s implementation.

However, there are some positive signs. “All pharma companies have started doing stabilisation studies in glass bottles in many products,” said Tiwari. “And many pharma firms have moved out a lot of branded formulations to glass. Earlier we saw a shift from glass to PET in the OTC (over-the-counter medicine) sector – medicines sold without a doctor’s prescription. But now there’s a lot of awareness.”

Tiwari of Piramal Glass believes that in Asian markets like India, perceptions of plastic packaging depends a lot on cost and education. The company has joined industry efforts to support the ‘Believers in Glass’ campaign promoting the virtues of glass packaging.

“People still prefer glass over plastic but it’s a matter of convenience,” he says.

“It all depends on the consumer – if you demand glass, you’ll get glass. There is a shift (from plastic to glass) happening but it will not happen overnight.”

Container glass imports Importers (HS Code 7010)

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity Unit

Azerbaijan

34,344

51,823

25,902

20,925

29,621

Tons

Korea, Republic of

16,171

23,945

40,476

84,231

29,456

Tons

Taipei, Chinese

23,533

20,687

13,492

26,514

23,287

Tons

Lao People's Democratic Republic

No Quantity

17,010

5,841

5,007

21,406

Tons

Jordan

25,977

22,119

24,266

21,523

20,400

Tons

Cambodia

10,003

11,406

11,367

17,106

18,238

Tons

Sri Lanka

No Quantity

6,551

13,810

16,587

18,080

Tons

China

18,446

19,571

19,473

16,474

17,144

Tons

Iran, Islamic Republic

16,444

20,373

11,308

16,319

Tons

Kyrgyzstan

19,789

26,464

16,974

12,411

13,161

Tons

Syrian Arab Republic

18,117

12,701

11,935

9,804

12,973

Tons

Japan

10,125

12,630

14,847

12,858

12,946

Tons

Bahrain

10,913

9,230

9,489

8,429

7,698

Tons

Yemen

20,023

17,090

8,225

8,740

7,566

Tons

Turkmenistan

15,218

11,062

10,467

7,004

7,433

Tons

Kuwait

7,242

6,986

3,233

4,828

4,825

Tons

Oman

1,658

4,826

1,661

3,873

4,440

Tons

Uzbekistan

7,814

6,490

4,062

6,405

4,094

Tons

Tajikistan

NA

1,964

2,590

3,098

3,697

Tons

Korea, Dem. Pe. Rep.

1,749

1,264

1,813

568

1,576

Tons

Macao, China

NA

1,068

1,091

568

1,350

Tons

Bhutan

937

390

847

1,552

1,229

Tons

Sources: ITC calculations based on UN COMTRADE and ITC statistics.

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asianglass AG 19-3

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ADVERTISER FEATURE

Heye International: makers gain from multi-weight approach The production of a small quantity of different products has always been an issue for the container glass industry. The IS machine had to be completely stopped and reconfigured. In addition, the whole production run had to be turned over to the other article and more moulds than necessary had to be purchased for these low-volume items. Downtime was very costly and production efficiency suffered greatly.

Today, gobs of different weights can efficiently be produced on the same IS machine simultaneously.

Since the development and the successful market launch of the Heye Multi Weight solution in 2008 (also called “assortment production”), the market demands have continued to increase. Heye successfully met the customers’ requirements by continuously developing this product.

The multi weight solution masters a variety of scenarios applied by container manufacturers and makes production much more efficient than it was possible prior to the introduction of this technique.

ANSWERS BY EXPERTS Which maximum weight differences can be handled? This finally depends on the article that is to be produced and must be assessed in each individual case. In general, assortment production can be realized at a weight difference of 10% to 20%. The lower the basic weight, the better to keep this figure. In the past, multi weight productions with 280 g and 304 g as well as 256 g and 280 g have successfully been realized. Today, Different weights on one IS machine due to constant development of the software in cooperation with different customers, assortment production with weight differences of over 200 g are possible under certain conditions (e.g.

610 g and 825 g).

How can assortment production be implemented? Heye specially developed a software solution for running multi weight production.

Furthermore, manufacturers need the Heye servo drive control unit in conjunction with the servo plunger and dual motor shears to be able to accept Realized project of weight difference more than 200 g. those lucrative low-volume orders from the fillers. With the use of modern hardware technology in conjunction UNIQUE ADVANTAGES with intelligently designed software, it is today feasible to The system finds practical application both in the sampling deploy resources and energy much more efficiently than it was of new containers and in the production of smaller quantities, possible with less sophisticated techniques in the past. which are considerably less expensive when running assortment production.

ABOUT HEYE INTERNATIONAL: In the past, sampling procedures counteracted yields of Based at Obernkirchen, Germany, Heye International GmbH an entire production line for hours or even for an entire shift. is one of the international glass container industry’s foremost With the use of this latest technique it is possible to carry out suppliers of production technology, high performance equipment the sampling of the new article on one or two sections while and production knowhow. Its mechanical engineering has set keeping the remaining sections run in normal production industry standards for more than five decades. Extensive industry routine. Not one single gob is being wasted nor rejected. expertise, combined with the positive attitude and enthusiasm The outstanding benefit of this multi weight technology: of Heye International employees is mirrored by the company Efficiency of short job runs. In general, short job runs are motto ‘We are Glass People’. Its three sub-brands HiPERFORM, produced when the consumer requests a high-end article HiSHIELD and HiTRUST form the Heye International Smart Plant (i.e. perfume bottles). It is evident that common bottles portfolio, addressing the glass industry’s hot end, cold end and as e.g. for beer or water reach a much wider market service requirements respectively. in quantity compared to more luxury filling materials Wilfried Seidensticker, Hot End Product Manager, Heye such as spirits or perfume. Consequently, multi weight International GmbH, Lohplatz 1, 31683 Obernkirchen, Germany. technology makes production particularly interesting for Telephone: +49 (0)5724 26-0. Fax: +49 (0)5724 26-539. the manufacturer not only for sampling procedures but Email: marketing@heye-international.com above all when it comes to the request of cost-effective Web: www.heye-international.com production of these smaller quantities.

60

asianglass AG 19-3

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YOUR PARTNER ON THE SMART ROAD

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WE ARE GLASS PEOPLE

ANALYSIS: Container glass

Bouncing back ASEAN container glass demand Yogender Malik looks at changing mould technology for the container glass and tableware sector and discusses how cost minimisation has become the most important driving force behind development.

T

he ASEAN container glass industry has been showing signs of a rebound this year. The trend has been stimulating investors who are in waiting. Driven by a steady economic growth, the ASEAN nations’ massive expansion of middleclass, huge urbanization, increasing tourist arrival, booming exports of packaged foods and beverages and negative environmental impacts of plastic containers have continued to boost up demand for the glass packaging in all countries of the regional bloc.

Geneva based International Trade Centre (ITC) statistics indicate a spectacular rise in import of glass containers by the ASEAN countries from the non-ASEAN sources in recent years. In 2018, some half a billion US dollar worth of packaging glasses were imported from China and other non-ASEAN countries.

Beer and other alcoholic drink segments and non-alcoholic beverage and food sectors’ steady expansion have been raising demand for glass containers uninterruptedly. In high growth Vietnam, the demand for glass packaging in beer and other alcoholic beverages maintains a double digit annual growth. Some of the glass manufacturers, such as, Berli Jucker Public Company Limited (BJC) of Thailand, one of the leading operators in ASEAN, have reported around 10 percent growth in sales of glass containers in 2018.

Regionally, ASEAN’s other top container glass operator and Thailand’s largest glass container manufacturer, BG Container Glass Public Company Limited (BGC), is expecting a seven percent revenue growth this year. “BGC maintained a successful growth rate in 2018, generating a net profit of Thai Baht 523.7 million, compared to the net profit of Bt251.9 million in 2017 showing an increase of 107.9 percent,” said BGC Chairman Pornwut Sarasin.

A huge quantity of imports, over half a million tons of glass containers, are shipped into the region annually from the non-ASEAN countries, mostly from China, to meet the shortage of different types of glass bottles and other containers for packaging needs. This has caused expansion of the container glass industry, most particularly, in ASEAN’s largest glass packaging country, Thailand, regularly by every few years.

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Thailand’s glass packaged beer, energy drinks and food products are exported worldwide. Thailand is already known worldwide for exporting over a billion US dollar worth of glass and PET bottled and containrised food and edible preparations under HS code 21 and beverages, spirits and vinegar under HS code 22. A significant quantity of such packaged products are exported by Malaysia and Indonesia too.

In recent years many breweries are testing demand of halal or nonalcoholic (beer or wine) drinks in the domestic markets. Some of them already have planned marketing 0.0 alcohol beer and wine targeting consumers who do not drink alcohol on religious and health reasons. Glass packaged non-alcoholic beer, similar to Heineken 0.0 non-alcohol beer, is already being tested for marketing in the ASEAN countries, although, the regulating administrative authorities are still unsure about its prospects in Muslim majority countries, such as, Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, homes to over a half of the ASEAN citizens.

Alcohol-free revolution

Brewers and marketers believe that there is some prospect for “alcohol free” beer and wine in the ASEAN countries.

Thailand is comparatively liberal in selling 0.0 alcohol (0.03 percent alcohol or less), but selling “alcohol free” is yet to be favoured by the state administrations. Selling alcohol free beer or wine is difficult without advertising campaign, but the regulating authorities want to be sure about its real intention for getting clearance, which is not possible without laboratory screening by Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“We have to examine alcohol-free beer whether its advertising is breaking any law, but no problem if it is advertised as alcohol-free malt beverage,” said Dr Nipon Chinanowet, Director of the Office of Alcohol Control Committee under the Thailand Public Health Ministry Department of Disease Control. Beer companies could be ‘taking advantage of a legal loophole’, Dr Chinanowet apprehends.

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

He said that at present these zero alcohol beverages were being registered as food items under the FDA, which allowed for far less restricted promotion as opposed to alcohol. A working team will look at control measures such as Thailand’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Act 2551 (2008), before deciding whether “alcohol free” or “non-alcohol” beer could be permitted.

Heineken 0.0 was launched in Thailand recently. It was possible because of its main reasons that Heineken opted to launch a non-alcoholic version of its product in the Thai market and it was in response to the health and wellness trend, according to Maud Meijboom-van Wel, Heineken Brand Development and Communication Director. “Heineken 0.0 was developed to meet the changing needs of consumers and respond to growing consumer trends in moderate alcohol consumption,” she told Bangkok Post.

Thai growth

In Thailand, the demand for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and drinks and packaged food is rising steadily resulting in improved demand for packaging glass.

The growth of demand for glass containers remains stable and providing better earning, while the supply and cost of inputs were favourable to operate profitably.

Despite strong competition with PET bottles, the outlook for 2019 shows better return for glass containers as suggested by the industry analysts.

In the Thai markets, most of the glass container demands is met by the two largest container glass manufacturers, BGC and BJC. Thailand’s leading glass container manufacturer BGC said the demand for glass packaging in the Thai domestic markets stems from the beverage, food and pharmaceutical industries. Glass container remains the preferred packaging choice for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages due to high demand for beverages.

BGC said according to the UK based GlobalData Plc, in 2018, glass packaging market in Thailand was valued at Bt73.8 billion and the use of glass containers stood at 10,398.50 million units increasing from Bt57.8 billion in 2012 with glass container use of 9,541 million units, representing annual growth rates (CAGR) of 4.5 and 1.1 percent, respectively.

GlobalData speculated that the market value and use of glass containers in Thailand would rise to Bt84.5 billion and 11,826 million units in 2022, representing annual growth rates (CAGR) of 3.2 and 3.3 percent, respectively. The market growth of glass containers will continue to result largely from rising consumption of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Thai consumers are choosing product quality that matches their income level, such as, beautifully designed and high-quality packaging is a key factor for consumer preference, especially, in demand for personal care products and alcoholic beverages. As a result, producers are likely to use more glass containers to attract consumers.

The trend of choosing healthy products is a key factor for consumers’ choice of food and beverages. As a result, the demand for glass containers has risen as glass packaging is a safe choice to use for containers and less likely to cause chemical reaction than other types of packaging. Also, the consumers are increasingly choosing recyclable packaging. Many producers have used more glass containers to attract environmentally conscious consumers.

BGC in focus

BGC said it has planned to expand its customer base in Thailand primarily in the food and beverage industry which has a large market share in the country driven by high demand for drinks. The large customers in this segment are beer and non-alcoholic beverage producers. Also, it is enlarging its customer base in other industries, such as, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

It emphasizes on products with sophisticated design tailored to specific consumer segments as they offer higher profit margin than products with standardized design. In its worldwide exports it focuses on world-class quality control that makes it a chosen supplier at a global level. It has strong customer bases in the beverage industry of ASEAN countries, particularly, in Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, as well as, in the neighbouring regional countries of Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, and South Korea.

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A HUGE QUANTITY OF IMPORTS ARE SHIPPED INTO THE REGION ANNUALLY FROM OUSIDE ASEAN BG Container Glass Public Company Limited (BGC)/

Bangkok Glass Public Company Limited Location: Ratchadaphisek Rd., Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Products: Glass containers for glass packaging Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: BGC, also known as BG (or Bangkok Glass Industry Co) Group, is the largest glass container manufacturer in South East Asia, and a subsidiary of Boon Rawd Brewery, known internationally for Singha Beer since 1933, with Saint Gobain Oberland (SGO) as the Group’s largest foreign shareholder.

Production capacity is over 3,495 tons per day (yearly output with 12 furnaces is more than one million tons or over four billion glass containers). It five production units are: Pathumthani Glass Industry Company Limited (560 tons/d), Khon Kaen Glass Industry Company Limited (735 tons/d), Prachinburi Glass Industry Company Limited (180 tons/d), Ayutthaya Glass Industry Company Limited (1,620 tons/d) and Ratchaburi Glass Industry Company Limited (400 tons/d). Also, BGC manufactures PET bottles for packaging and provides various closures and caps for glass and plastic containers.

Bangkok Glass has recently launched a float glass manufacturing plant in Thailand.

Berli Jucker Public Company Limited (BJC)

(Thai Glass Industries PCL (TGI) and Thai Malaya Glass Company Ltd (TMG) Location: Principal production unit at new site in Saraburi, Thailand Products: Glass containers for glass packaging Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: BJC’s production capacity: 3,155 tons per day in BJC’s flagship Thai Glass Industries Public Company Limited (TGI) and its other Thai unit Thai Malaya Glass Company Limited (TMG), to cater BJC’s own beverage, drinks, food and healthcare packaging demands and to meet customers in other packaging industries in ASEAN bloc and other countries. BJC also has a major aluminium can production capacity. BJC’s total container glass production capacity is 3,945 tons per day in the ASEAN countries, including, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. Malaysian and Vietnamese plants are operated under joint venture with O-I.

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

Kasikorn Securities Public Company Limited (KS) reported that BGC will benefit from lower energy costs and cullet price this year. BGC’s newly set up Ratchaburi Glass Industry Company Limited (BGC RGI), commenced operation in November 2018, looks on track to be a revenue growth driver this year.

BGC RGI has started commercial production for all types of beverage, food and other category glass containers and for exports last year. The 400 tons a day production capacity RGI, under a single furnace and five production lines, uses new and advanced technologies to support the expansion of BGC’s business and the growth of the glass packaging industry in the future.

Due to increasing demand for glass packaged products, BGC is expecting at least a seven percent revenue growth in 2019. Beer and non-alcoholic drinks (soft drinks) packaging containers account for about 45 percent and 35 percent of the total revenue earning of BGC. The growth is now being driven mainly by the recovery of the beer market. Following higher exports of BGC RGI products, a full-year revenue contribution of the factory will improve the overall operating result of BGC, according to the company information available with the analyst KC. RGI’s capacity has ramped up quickly as it was almost fully utilized in January 2019 with an efficiency rate of 80 percent.

BGC has targeted the proportion of export sales to rise to 10 percent this year from seven percent in 2018. The higher sales is driven by strong demand from India, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and others. KS said BGC can offer competitive prices to foreign customers due to its upgraded production process and considerable expertise in managing the industry. A higher sales proportion of export products should also boost overall profit as the products generate a higher selling price per ton than conventional products in an environment of high level of rivalry with the competitors.

The demand for glass packaging with products from BGC has been increasing steadily with restructure of production in the BGC factories.

BGC’s ongoing and planned project implementation included use of new technology to improve production efficiency and lower production costs from 2019 onward. It has implemented system efficiency in the fourth, and latest, furnace of the Ayutthaya Glass Industry Company Limited (AGI), the largest production unit of BGC. AGI’s four furnaces and 14 production lines have a total manufacturing capacity of 1,620 tons per day.

The improved system is designed for on-line control of the glass melting, forming, and conditioning processes, which will reduce the furnace’s energy consumption by about four percent. BGC will also import an ultrasonic mold cleaning machine in mid-2019 to extend the useful life of its molds by 30 percent. It has planned to increase the use of robots in all of its plants in an automated system to replace some processes currently performed by human staff, such as, swabbing robots. Under its upgrading, the company expects the added technology will boost the overall efficiency rate to 90 percent in the next few years.

Siam Glass Industry Co Ltd (SGI)

BJC in focus

(Muliaglass Container Division (MGC) of PT Mulia Industrindo Tbk) Location: Lemah Abang, Cikarang-Bekasi 17550, Jawa Barat, Indonesia Products: Glass containers, including glass bottles, jars and beer mugs.

Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: MGC can produce up to 185,000 tons per year of glass containers, including flint glass packaging for food and beverage products, and beer mugs, and amber and green glass bottles for beer, energy drinks, and pharmaceuticals for Indonesia and the ASEAN markets.

In Thai markets, beer and nonalcoholic beverage segments account for most of the packaging demand. In both the segments, BGC consolidated its market shares to continue as the market leader. However, its main rival, BJC concentrated on beer and other alcoholic drinks packaging and food and pharmaceutical segments, in which it has a potential command.

BJC claims as of December 2018, it has 37 percent market share in glass packaging markets of Thailand and it has been meeting most of the demand for alcoholic drinks packaging. The company said its glass packaging production capacity in Thailand is 3,155 tons per day. It claims its total container glass production capacity is 3,945 tons per day in the ASEAN bloc, making it market leader in the region. Besides Thailand, BJC operates two other container glass plants in Malaysia and Vietnam in joint venture with the global container glass leader US based O-I (Owens-Illinois Inc).

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Location: Phraphradaeng, Samutprakarn 10130, Thailand Products: Beverage, drinks, food and medicine packaging glass Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: SGI is equipped with 7 furnaces and 19 production lines in 3 sites to manufacture 1,500 tons of flint, amber and green glass containers per day, to cater Thai and ASEAN markets.

Wellgrow Glass Industry Ltd

Location: Bangpakong district, Chacheongsao province, Thailand Products: Glass containers for pharmaceutical, perfume, cosmetic, personal care, etc.

Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Wellgrow Glass Industry has a production capacity of 260 tons per day with 12 production lines for bottles and other containers.

O-I Asia Pacific

Location: The globally operated US based company O-I’s Asia Pacific operation has eight glass container manufacturing plants, of which one is located in in the ASEAN region, in Indonesia. Others are located in China, and in Australia and New Zealand.

Joint ventures in ASEAN: It also has interests in joint venture operations in ASEAN countries Malaysia (Malaya Glass Products Sdn Bhd) and Vietnam (Malaya Vietnam Glass Limited), and in neighbouring China, in partnership with BJC of Thailand. In Vietnamese joint venture (Malay Glass) it has a third partner, Sabeco, a beer and drink manufacturer.

Products: O-I mainly produces glass containers for the alcoholic beverages, primarily beer and wine, non-alcoholic beverages and food packaging segments.

Markets: Domestic and export markets.

O-I Jakarta Plant

(Under O-I Asia Pacific operation) Location: Cakung, Jakarta, Timur, 13960, Indonesia Products: Glass containers for glass packaging Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: US based global packaging glass leader O-I’s regional arm O-I Asia Pacific operated O-I Jakarta produces around 2.3 million glass bottles per day for some of Indonesia’s leading food, beverage and pharmaceutical brands, and other similar customers in the ASEAN markets to exploit AFTA benefits.

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

BJC is a large parent company of different product segments in which packaging is a major division with two product lines, glass and aluminum can. Glass and can packaging accounted for 14 percent of the total revenue of BJC in 2018. Glass packaging section manufactures glass bottles and containers for various industries, including, beer, whisky, wine, drinking water, soda water, soft drinks, energy drinks, foods and pharmaceuticals.

Glass’ total revenue contribution to the packaging division is some 55 percent, while the remaining part is contributed by cans.

Alcoholic glass packaging accounts for about 46 percent of the revenue for total glass packaging, while the remaining 30 percent and 24 percent account for food and pharmaceutical, and non-alcoholic beverages. BJC has a long term joint venture partnership with O-I. This makes BJC operate glass furnaces in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

BJC has continued its efforts to expand production capacity with most efficient plant to meet the demand for quality packaging glass for its clients. Its Thai Malaya Glass Company Limited (TMG) factory-installed new state of the art fourth furnace with production capacity of 300 tons a day, at its Saraburi plant, has been meeting the demand for latest container types most successfully, mostly, flint glass, sai In Thai container glass industry sector, barriers of entry are high, and it is very rare to see new entrants to the market as glass manufacturing requires high initial investment and advanced technology, according to Aswin Techajareonvikul, Chief Executive Officer and President of BJC. TMG’s fifth furnace with a production capacity of 400 tons a day will add latest types of amber glass containers to cater the customers this year. BJC’s flagship manufacturing unit is Thai Glass Industries Public Company Limited (TGI) with two production facilities in Rajburana and Bangplee.

Vietnam rising

Among the ASEAN countries, Vietnam has emerged as a high growth market for glass containers. To meet the demand for glass packaging in various segments a huge quantity is being imported from China and other ASEAN countries. The demand for glass containers in beer and other alcoholic beverage and drinks sector is rising at a high double digit growth annually.

The demand in non-alcoholic beverages including soft drinks, and food and pharmaceutical also has high growth. The demand is backed by a strong beer market that consumes over 10 billion litres annually.

The beer sector is dominated by Sabeco, Heineken, Habeco, and Hue Brewery (Carlsberg).

Parallel to Vietnam’s economic growth of over seven percent in 2018, Vietnam’s consumption of glass packaging is growing steadily. In beer consumption, it already ranks first in the ASEAN countries. With the expansion of economy, the high population of about 96 million has been pushing ahead the demand for beer and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic drinks, and food and pharmac Vietnam is a major ASEAN importer of container glass. It imported over 200,000 tons of container glass in 2018, from China and other sources. To meet the growing demand of Vietnam, its leading container glass plant, Malaya Vietnam Glass Limited (OI-BJC Vietnam Glass Co) caters a significant part of quality glass demand.

With one furnace and four production lines the plant has an annual production capacity of over 100,000 tonnes of returnable and one way premium glass containers for Vietnam’s beer, soft drink, food, wine, spirits and pharmaceutical markets. It is a joint venture between BJC of Thailand, O-I of USA and Vietnamese beer and alcoholic drinks manufacturer SABECO.

Indonesian recovery

In Indonesia, the glass packaging market shows a rebound this year for

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PT. SCHOTT Igar Glass

Location: Delta Silicon Ind. Park, 17550 Lippo Cikarang-Bekasi, Indonesia Products: Pharmaceutical packaging glass Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Germany based global pharmaceutical packaging leader SCHOTT’s Indonesia plant is providing as a hub for the company’s supplies to the Indonesian markets and the other neighbouring ASEAN countries to tap AFTA free market opportunities.

PT. IGLAS Indonesia

Location: Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia Products: Packaging glass for drinks, food and pharmaceutical industries.

Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: PT. IGLAS produces glass bottles of sizes ranging from 60ml to 1000ml in flint, amber and green. Its products are supplied to the domestic and ASEAN export markets.

Intra-ASEAN container glass-imports (US$’000) Imported value in 2014

Imported value in 2015

Imported value in 2016

Imported value in 2017

118,207

91,180

110,305

87,573

117,693

Philippines

21,479

15,854

16,989

9,970

30,319

Myanmar

27,059

23,291

35,334

17,645

18,812

Malaysia

6,209

7,001

5,946

6,897

14,586

Indonesia

9,040

8,816

8,526

12,989

13,425

Viet Nam

11,106

11,046

15,054

11,713

12,781

Singapore

14,378

8,901

9,273

10,016

8,619

Lao People's Democratic Republic

16,861

6,123

4,464

6,683

8,128

Cambodia

4,469

4,510

6,227

7,636

6,331

Thailand

7,567

5,561

8,432

3,986

3,879

39

77

60

38

813

193

199

246

119

901

Importers Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Aggregation

Brunei Darussalam Brunei Darussalam

Imported value in 2018

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

the glass manufacturers. With the improvement of the market, sales volume of glass container increased by 17.3 percent year-on-year to 151,214 tons in 2018. “Muliaglass is expecting increased sales of light weight bottles through narrow-neck-press-and-blow technology, and green color bottles consumed by alcoholic beverage industry,”said Eka Tjandranegara, President Director of Muliaglass. “Types of products will be increased further to expand the domestic and export markets,” he added.

The Indonesian container glass market is dominated by three major operators, PT Muliaglass, O-I Jakarta and PT SCHOTT Igar Glass. Despite a major glass producing country Indonesia continues to remain a major ASEAN country dependent on imports. Due to higher production cost, following increase of natural gas price by the state-owned gas supplier, in recent years, the glass manufacturers did not expand production to meet the domestic demand that resulted continued higher imports from China and other sources.

Indonesia imported 124,138 tonnes of glass containers in 2018, according to ITC. Being a Muslim populated country, beer and alcoholic drinks have very limited demand in Indonesia. Considering the large size of the packaging glass market the glass manufacturers once were keenly interested to meet the domestic demand.

ASEAN container glass imports (ex-ASEAN; US$’000) Importers

Imported value in 2014

Imported value in 2015

Imported value in 2016

Imported value in 2017

World

9,848,817

9,104,053

9,469,335

9,713,376 10,453,318

340,632

301,865

415,187

Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Aggregation

408,945

Imported value in 2018

588,378

48,299

43,313

57,887

66,395

213,273

Philippines

60,715

56,420

88,955

86,141

117,588

Indonesia

71,460

61,095

79,452

88,808

88,069

Malaysia

29,640

36,172

45,068

44,475

51,552

Thailand

43,768

41,305

61,039

47,764

43,942

Myanmar

32,039

26,758

43,330

31,653

31,246

Singapore

32,071

25,275

26,951

26,614

25,908

Lao People's Democratic Republic

16,970

6,202

4,760

8,412

8,279

5,477

5,126

7,499

8,564

7,620

193

199

246

119

901

Brunei Darussalam

70

(OI-BJC Vietnam Glass Co) Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Products: Glass containers for glass packaging Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Malaya Vietnam Glass Limited is a joint venture between BJC of Thailand, O-I of USA and Vietnamese beer and alcoholic drinks manufacturer SABECO. Its yearly production capacity of 100,000 tonnes meets the domestic demand and export markets in the ASEAN neighbours. It caters beer, soft drink, food, wine, spirits and pharmaceutical packaging.

San Miguel Yamamura Haiphong Glass Co Ltd (SMYHGCL)

Location: Ngo Quyen District, Hai Phong, Vietnam Products: Glass containers for glass packaging Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: SMYHGCL is a subsidiary of the Philippines based San Miguel Corporation (SMC) owned San Miguel Yamamura Packaging International Ltd (SMYPIL), which is SMC’s international packaging arm under San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation (SMYPC).

Go Vap Glass Ltd

Location: Go Vap Dist, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam Products: Glass containers Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: Production capacity of the glass factory is 90 tonnes per day.

San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation (SMYPC)

Viet Nam

Cambodia

Malaya Vietnam Glass Limited

asianglass AG 19-3

Location: Mandaue City, 6014, Cebu, Philippines Products: Glass containers for glass packaging Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: San Miguel Corporation and Japan’s Nihon Yamamura Glass Company Ltd joint venture, SMYPC, offer normal packaging glass bottles, and also decorated, novelty and custom-designed bottles and jars and stock glass bottles, in amber, green and flint.

SMYPC is a leading export manufacturer of container glass in ASEAN bloc with a production plant in Vietnam.

MALAYSIA Malaya Glass Products Sdn Bhd (MGP)

Location: Johor Bahru 81200, Malaysia Products: Glass containers for glass packaging Markets: Domestic and export markets Others: MGP is a joint venture of BJC and O-I. It manufactures and sells glass containers for breweries, food companies, and soft drinks manufacturers in Malaysia, ASEAN countries, and ASEAN Plus free market beneficiaries. In normal operation Malaya Glass Products has a production capacity of 445 tons per day or 165,985 tons per year.

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

Muliaglass produces transparent and colored (brown and green) container glass used for packaging of foods, beverages and beer. Its total production of glass containers is about 140,000 tons per year.

O-I’s Jakarta plant that produces around 2.3 million glass bottles per day for Indonesia’s food, beverage and pharmaceutical brands, meets a substantial requirement of quality glass.

SCHOTT Igar Glass, the Indonesian subsidiary of German multinational glassmaker SCHOTT, has a substantial market share of vials, ampoules, pipettes and special articles for the pharmaceutical industry. Its production facilities are located at Bekasi. Pharmaceutical manufacturers, local and foreign owned both, are its customers and a significant part of the production are available to caters the other neighboring ASIAN countries. Industry sources said the pharmaceutical industry is of overwhelming importance to Indonesia’s packaging market, second only to the food and beverage industry.

Upturn in the Philippines?

Industry sources suggests the Philippines’ stable economic growth has been transforming the consumption pattern with a better favour towards glass. Driven by steady high growth of middle income segment, Philippines’ demand for glass packaged consumer goods, from beverage and food to beauty and skin care is expecting a boom at the moment.

Already the country’s glass container users suffers badly for shortage of packaging glass locally. To meet the local demand, Philippines imported more than 140,000 tons of container glass of worth over US$117 million in 2018.

Local manufacturer, San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation (SMYPC), caters the domestic demand substantially. It also provides total packaging solutions, a wide range of glass, plastics, metal, flexibles, PET, molds and paper and reliable services and technical expertise.

ASEAN container glass exports (US$’000) Exporters

Exported value in 2014

Exported value in 2015

Exported value in 2016

Exported value in 2017

World

10,097,701

9,344,074

9,681,262

9,909,866 10,512,692

164,925

153,589

157,135

145,522

181,278

Thailand

50,566

44,920

45,361

49,787

67,170

Indonesia

39,139

35,220

32,925

25,110

41,591

Viet Nam

9,657

12,334

15,438

25,652

33,929

Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Aggregation

Exported value in 2018

Malaysia

43,514

33,290

44,574

27,984

24,213

Singapore

10,036

6,856

9,105

8,970

7,817

Philippines

11,792

20,630

9,372

7,920

6,508

Lao People's Democratic Republic

193

1

20

53

43

Cambodia

0

0

0

NA

4

Myanmar

28

336

330

45

2

0

2

10

1

1

Brunei Darussalam

Malaysia: limited options

Malaysia’s glass packaging is very limited to non-alcoholic beverages, mostly cold drinks, but the domestic food and beverage market is growing as the consumers’ purchasing power is rising to a high level.

Local glass container manufacturers are not availing the market as the consumers are mostly buying imported packaged products for absence of enough domestic manufacturers to produce foods and beverages for local consumption, although some Malaysian glass packaged food and beverage products are exported.

A huge number of consumers now have enough disposable income for spending on foods and beverages. The market research company, BMI Research, estimated that food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks sales amounted to over Malaysian Ringgit 173 billion in 2017, representing around 10 percent growth from the previous year.

Industry sources said the Malaysia tends to import raw food and beverage materials due to a lack of local production, and it exports the processed products. However, the Malaysian government aims to develop the country into a global halal food and beverage hub and has introduced various tax incentives for investments in halal food and beverage production. Researchers said the exports in 2017 stood at MR35.19 billion, growing with a CAGR of 9.17 percent between 2013 and 2017.

Malaysia is home to a quality container glass manufacturing plant, Malaya Glass Products Sdn Bhd (MGP), the Malaysia based joint venture unit of Thai BJC and US O-I. It manufactures and sells glass containers for breweries, food companies, and soft drinks manufacturers in Malaysia, ASEAN countries, and ASEAN Plus free market beneficiaries.

In normal operation, MGP has a production capacity of 445 tons per day or 165,985 tons per year.

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

ASEAN container glass imports (tons) Importers

World

ASEAN container glass exports (tons)

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

Imported quantity, Tons

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Aggregation

457,240

Philippines

120,157

108,594

184,462

179,938

141,374

Indonesia

105,670

73,634

117,717

142,587

124,138

Myanmar

30,366

23,376

73,368

70,189

81,791

Malaysia

39,757

41,669

46,420

45,730

55,702

Thailand

54,245

51,729

101,775

69,145

Lao People's Democratic Republic

17,010

5,841

5,007

21,406

Cambodia

11,406

11,367

17,106

Singapore

31,453

23,247

Brunei Darussalam

31

Viet Nam

47,145

74

378,871

638,350

NA

NA

Exporters

World

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

No Quantity

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Aggregation

296,417

270,282

288,550

211,443

NA

Thailand

116,293

104,022

104,367

108,462

149,097

Indonesia

53,163

53,217

44,670

23,817

56,978

47,524

Malaysia

86,721

71,546

96,303

57,339

47,373

22,866

Philippines

17,274

19,660

12,500

10,891

8,640

1

25

479

924

No Quantity

15,669

Lao 227 People's Democratic Republic

29,853

30,838

No Quantity

Cambodia

0

0

0

NA

9

42

25

104

No Quantity

Singapore

11,484

7,484

11,395

10,404

No Quantity

39,372

62,617

No Quantity

No Quantity

Brunei Darussalam

0

0

6

0

0

Myanmar

33

382

376

51

0

Viet Nam

11,222

13,970

18,908

No Quantity

No Quantity

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

Thai container glass exports (tons)

Indonesia container glass exports (tons)

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Importers

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

World

116,293

104,022

104,367

108,462

149,097

Myanmar

43,905

37,416

35,569

28,606

39,911

Lao 26,918 People's Democratic Republic

20,942

16,902

17,229

22,565

Indonesia

6,318

5,960

7,025

13,529

21,929

Malaysia

8,942

9,520

8,857

9,304

21,813

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Importers

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

World

53,163

53,217

44,670

23,817

56,978

Philippines

29,276

23,348

9,193

3,470

27,943

New Zealand

 NA

2,835

3,623

1,392

10,361

Australia

6,820

11,119

8,500

5,676

4,143

Papua New Guinea

6,376

5,664

5,958

7,735

4,051

Viet Nam

7,325

9,262

17,598

13,209

14,081

Australia

7,177

10,309

9,552

10,140

13,561

Viet Nam

4,351

3,388

2,585

1,753

3,740

Cambodia

1,287

128

1,630

8,001

5,688

Malaysia

556

1,150

213

156

1,409

New Zealand

186

1,680

1,714

1,244

2,405

3

29

173

331

1,249

Spain

6,923

2,489

1,557

2,039

2,262

United States of America

Philippines

2,835

1,163

307

246

1,214

Mauritius

1,313

1,091

 NA

968

772

China

450

264

345

302

565

Thailand

847

1,422

12,518

454

529

Taipei, Chinese

226

152

187

251

328

India

333

154

73

81

280

Bangladesh

257

237

244

217

265

Saudi Arabia

128

346

65

204

264

South Africa

601

689

134

253

234

Singapore

139

53

37

30

229

United Arab Emirates

0

48

87

169

117

Korea, Republic of

32

18

39

73

84

Turkey

438

172

414

84

79

China

359

448

559

832

1,110

India

231

607

679

799

785

Egypt

553

516

562

606

404

Singapore

112

172

127

192

389

Mauritius

442

158

47

19

149

Korea, Republic of

1,387

2,229

417

1,425

134

Japan

78

100

82

110

119

United States of America

11

2

26

109

102

76

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ANALYSIS: Container glass

Malaysian container glass exports (tons) Importers

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

World

86,721

71,546

96,303

57,339

47,373

Singapore

22,639

16,598

19,291

19,716

15,565

Myanmar

27,876

29,921

48,534

17,391

13,132

Cambodia

6,343

7,672

10,469

8,792

7,709

Viet Nam

3,823

3,383

5,493

3,534

4,120

Indonesia

4,257

5,267

2,853

1,668

2,063

Mauritius

3,099

3,272

1,348

2,995

1,417

Madagascar

1,337

1,680

NA

109

644

Sri Lanka

NA

Taipei, Chinese

NA

221

NA

582

119

104

1,574

512

489

3

1

8

361

443

Thailand

10,014

2,157

1,745

558

417

Australia

378

320

2,685

403

386

5,480

570

608

664

141

NA

85

51

102

65

65

65

66

Brunei Darussalam

Philippines Mongolia

7

Papua New Guinea

163

China: container glass exports to ASEAN (tons) 2014 Importers

2015

Exported quantity, Tons

World

2016

Exported quantity, Tons

2017

Exported quantity, Tons

2018

Exported quantity, Tons

Exported quantity, Tons

1,353,701

1,457,866

1,683,293

1,744,999

1,771,316

295,877

241,558

410,657

423,045

399,927

Philippines

63,095

51,422

107,782

109,598

103,402

Viet Nam

60,364

44,333

62,594

90,221

97,787

Indonesia

89,440

58,483

105,936

118,109

91,795

Thailand

35,991

42,514

74,759

38,709

39,427

Malaysia

28,585

27,804

31,434

30,573

31,102

Myanmar

10,083

9,243

17,911

25,224

28,212

Singapore

6,674

6,540

7,225

5,050

5,780

Cambodia

1,136

995

2,228

1,347

2,101

37

18

657

4,176

301

472

206

131

38

20

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Aggregation

Lao People's Democratic Republic Brunei Darussalam

78

asianglass AG 19-3

www.asianglass.com

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SPECIAL REPORT

In focus

BOROSIL: A MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT As one of the country’s most progressive glass manufacturers, India-based Borosil is being steered by one of the youngest CEOs in the business. In a recent interview, Shreevar Kheruka discussed his hopes for continued development…

Shreevar Kheruka is every bit the CEO who has done his time in the trenches—nimble yet restrained, ambitious yet cautious, mindful of the past, yet quick to embrace the future.

Such traits are possibly must-haves in a man who is steering his half-a-century old family business through a transformation he believes was long overdue. Shreevar, 37, is moulding Borosil into a consumer-focussed firm that does the whole nine yards in kitchenware. With an eye on the future, he is looking beyond glass. Today, Borosil’s consumer portfolio comprises microwave-proof glassware, storage containers, opalware and appliances.

At the heart of the exercise lies Shreevar’s quest to sprint to the Rs1,000-crore annual sales mark, a befitting landmark for a company of Borosil’s vintage, yet one that has remained elusive.

For until fiscal 2017-18, Borosil was short by Rs 365 crore.

The firm has now started reaping a rich harvest of the revitalised consumer business, which has toppled its legacy industrial glass and scientific products verticals to become the biggest revenue generator, with Rs 249 crore in FY18.

The scientific products and industrial glass businesses chipped in with Rs 186 crore and Rs 200 crore respectively.

Scientific products, however, was the biggest contributor to the bottomline (see chart).

“Our background was B2B [business-to-business]. Taking advantage of the Borosil brand happened only in the last five years. This should have happened 2000 onwards,” says Shreevar, MD and CEO of the Rs 1,900-crore (market capitalisation) Borosil Glass Works.

Borosil had made a feeble attempt at selling bakeware and drinking glasses in the late 1990s, without any notable success. “We were quite conservative, and spent money from whatever we were earning. The consumer turnover of the company was so low that we could never market or advertise to the level we wanted,” says Shreevar.

The old guard agrees. “If we had gotten into marketing of consumer products earlier across the range, it would have been beneficial,” says Pradeep Kheruka, vice chairman and non-executive director at Borosil Glass Works, and Shreevar’s father.

While the realisation had dawned early, the needle didn’t move much until FY11, when, after being in business for about two decades, Borosil Glass Works, breached the Rs 100 crore annual sales mark for the first time. (Gujarat Borosil, the industrial glass business, first clocked Rs 100 crore revenue in fiscal 2013-14.)

Until then, it was all about putting the house in order.

Shreevar’s induction into the family business in April 2006 was a baptism by fire. Until a year ago, he was living the

80

asianglass AG 19-3

American good life. A consulting job at Monitor Group in Boston was right up his alley, and the $100,000 annual payout ensured he was making enough to splurge at will.

His days in Boston, however, were numbered. Shreevar had promised Pradeep that he would return to Mumbai immediately after completing a dual degree in science, finance, entrepreneurship and international relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

He had already delayed his induction by a year.

“Boston is a great place to be as a young adult. I would have eventually returned to Mumbai, but probably in a couple of years,” he says.

A perfect storm awaited Shreevar back home.

This wasn’t the first time the Kherukas were on sticky ground. The family’s first glass manufacturing company, Window Glass Ltd, was set up by Shreevar’s grandfather BL Kheruka on the outskirts of Kolkata in 1962. It bled for the first 14 years, thanks to a price war among local manufactures, including Triveni Glass. The tide turned against Borosil again in the early 1990s, when global glass manufacturers like Guardian Industries, Asahi Glass and Saint Gobain set up manufacturing units in India and unleashed another price war.

On both occasions, the Kherukas stayed afloat by arresting costs.

Borosil was again found wanting in 2005-06 when global companies such as the Duran group, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Millipore, and Merck (Merck eventually bought Millipore in 2010) started making inroads into India. A string of other events also crippled Borosil’s production.

Electric charges

In May 2006, the Maharashtra government hiked electricity charges from Rs 4.20 per unit to about Rs 7.50. Electricity accounted for about one-fourth of costs at the Borosil Glass Works plant in Andheri, Mumbai, which mainly produced glass tubes, a crucial raw material for end products. “The increase in cost was more than the 15-percent margin we were making,” says Shreevar.

Attempts to increase production at the Andheri plant also came a cropper. First, the labour union declined to fall in line.

Second, the state pollution control board denied permission to expand the plant, indicating that any activity entailing higher fuel consumption was a potential threat to nearby residences.

An attempt to secure land near Roorkee in Uttarakhand, where several competitors had set up manufacturing facilities lured by excise benefits and cheap labour, also fell flat.

In effect, the Kherukas were simultaneously fighting a legal battle with the labour union, staving off competition and scouting for an alternative location to set up a plant,

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Shreevar treads with caution to ensure that brand Borosil isn’t diluted

all the while ensuring a steady supply of raw materials. “The stress of managing monthly payroll and interest payment was very high. The time between 2006 and 2009 were very bad years,” remembers Shreevar.

Moving to imports

He addressed the supply constraint by importing raw material from Europe and China, a move that has since become a permanent fixture in Borosil’s sourcing practice. “We were able to source tubes cheaper than the cost of production here. We had tried doing this around 200203, but the rates were much higher then,” says Shreevar.

An alternative site for the plant was also discovered, rather serendipitously, during one of his trips to Gujarat.

It was a piece of unused family-owned land adjacent to the company’s Bharuch plant. Navigating the company through this protracted crisis was a turning point for Shreevar and the family. Pradeep says, “The challenges were real and he [Shreevar] really stood up to them. After that, he got entrenched in his role, taking the company up beyond that point.”

Meanwhile, Pradeep had succeeded in selling off the Andheri land to a real estate developer for Rs 830 crore. The proceeds not only helped pay off debts, but also infused much-needed capital in the company. “The stars had finally aligned,” laughs Shreevar.

In FY18, Borosil posted profits of Rs 48 crore on operating revenues of Rs 633 crore. The turnaround was rewarded at the bourses. Borosil Glass Works trades at about Rs 207 (as of February 6, 2019), as against Rs 17 in March, 2011. The scrip has outperformed the BSE SmallCap index by four percentage points in the last one year.

The purple patch of the last five years has given the Kherukas enough confidence to take a few bold decisions.

Borosil Glass Works, for instance, has shed its conservative garb to acquire distressed companies.

In January 2016, it announced the acquisition of Jaipurbased Hopewell Tableware, which manufactures opal dinnerware under the Larah brand, for Rs 90 crore. In July 2016, it paid Rs 27 crore for a 60 percent stake in Klasspack, manufacturers of glass ampoules and vials, to target the pharmaceuticals businesses. Borosil has since upped its stake in the firm to about 75 percent with an additional investment of Rs 15 crore.

Hopewell is on track to clock Rs 150 crore in sales in FY19, as against Rs48 crore in FY16 (when it posted a loss of Rs 22 crore). Klasspack’s revenue increased from Rs 28 crore in FY17 to about Rs 37 crore in FY18.

“Of late, they [Borosil] have made significant investments.

Not only consumer, but the laboratory equipment business—a niche vertical with better margins and less commoditisation— also did well,” says Abhimanyu Sofat, VP-Research at financial services company IIFL. Despite initial traction, the consumer products business

82

asianglass AG 19-3

is fraught with challenges. While Borosil is a market leader in glass products, competition from relatively cheaper plastic and steel products manufactured by the likes of Tupperware, Cello, Milton and Signoraware is nipping at its heels. In opalware, Larah significantly lags market leader La Opala. Appliances is full of legacy brands like Bajaj, Prestige, Philips, Singer and Havells.

Ankur Bisen, senior vice president, Technopak Advisors, says, “A brand like Borosil, which is synonymous with kitchenware, might as well enter new categories such as appliances because entry barriers are low. In these categories, consumers want brand as a promise for quality. There need not be a product differentiator because there is only so much one can do with the available technology.”

However, Harminder Sahni, founder and managing director of consultancy firm Wazir Advisors, warns, “If products aren’t differentiated, it all boils down to price and availability.”

Shreevar treads with caution to ensure that brand Borosil isn’t diluted. For instance, Borosil did not immediately lend its name to Larah post-acquisition. “We invested about Rs 70 crore and upgraded the plant to meet certain quality parameters. Now, the brand is called Larah by Borosil. This year, an exclusive Borosil range will be launched from the same production facility,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Borosil, led by Pradeep, has been dealing only in solar glass since 2010, taking on Chinese manufactures. The firm will soon double its capacity from 180 tonnes per day to about 400 tonnes. “Solar glass has been doing very well despite severe competition from China. In raw material, power and fuel, packing material, we are over 30 percent cheaper than them,” says Shreevar, explaining that this allows the bsuiness to stay afloat even in the absence of subsidies.

Historically, the Kherukas have been quite a giant slayer.

Their acquisition of Borosil from New-York headquartered Corning is a case in point.

In the mid-1980s, the Kherukas were setting up a plant in Bharuch to run a fusion glass plant in partnership with Corning. A few crores were at stake. “At the eleventh hour, they sent a letter saying the technology has failed and they won’t pursue the partnership,” says Shreevar.

BL Kheruka dragged Corning to court. The audacity to challenge Corning speaks volumes about the family’s ambition and resilience, says Haigreve Khaitan, partner at law firm Khaitan and Co. His father, Pradip Khaitan, had advised the Kherukas on the case.

“Once they were convinced [of the legitimacy of the case], they left no stones unturned to get a compensation,” Khaitan says. “Many businesses of that scale would have given up, calling this a futile exercise.

This reflects their commitment to the business.”

The Kherukas weren’t just brave, but also far-sighted.

Instead of settling for a financial compensation, they convinced Corning to hand over its stake in an Indian company, Borosil Glass Works. Thus began a journey that has seen the Kherukas shed much sweat and blood.

Shreevar, however, believes his journey has just begun: “In FY20, we should hit Rs 1,000-crore turnover at group level. That would be the starting point of some respectability as far as our brand is concerned.”

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Table 1

Table 1 2015 2016 2017 2018

5,338,864 7,795,334

8,234,775

3,710,447

Total float glass exports (sq metres)

China Saudi Arabia India Turkey Belgium Romania United Arab Emirates Czechia Germany Poland

5,284,284 3,875,660 3,857,157 3,357,108 1,251,545 1,251,544 1,206,645 593,579 353,861

272,872 Leading float glass import sources (2018, sq metres)

Table 1

Table 1 2015 2016 2017 2018

2,519,167 1,383,900 1,157,229 3,019,004

Leading float glass import sources (2018, sq metres)

Malaysia Lebanon India Algeria Syria Libya Romania Morocco Kenya Sudan

506,087 700,400 285,797 335,443 190,918 228,339 197,836 138,844 131,695 120,151

Leading float glass export destinations (2018, sq metres)

1

1

84

asianglass AG 19-3

www.asianglass.com

Table 1

Table 1 2015 2016 2017 2018

65,316,468 73,217,240 71,430,162 79,587,314

Total container glass exports (Kg)

Lebanon Kenya USA Syria Libya Morocco Iraq Jordan Saudi Arabia Sudan

21,320,145 8,272,226 7,924,478 2,298,006 4,711,396 3,176,983 3,147,243 2,081,461 2,144,498 1,834,859

Leading container glass export destinations (2018, Kg)

Table 1

Table 1 2015 2016 2017 2018

22,103,814 20,204,213 26,475,275 26,418,602

Total container glass imports (Kg)

China United Arab Emirates Italy France Germany India Portugal Hungary Austria

5,879,097 5,118,095 2,443,359 3,511,465 3,158,575 1,506,137 1,460,679 738,838 710,358

Leading container glass import sources (2018, Kg)

1 1 Table 1 Table 1 2015 2016 2017 2018

2015 2016 2017 2018

2,948,301 2,188,549 2,546,399 2,791,811

Leading container glass import sources (2018, Kg)

1,140,807 1,242,055 933,084

4,987,235

Leading container glass import sources (2018, Kg)

1 1

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AG 19-3 asianglass

85

ADVERTISER SUPPLIER FOCUS FEATURE

FOREL SpA: a bright light for the future Giovanni Quarti, Forel Area Manager, talks to Asian Glass about the company’s take on its 2018 fortunes and what opportunities the changing landscape of the international glass industry may produce…

AG: Please give us the current state of play at Forel, and how things have been developing so far this year?

FS: 2018 has been a year of great satisfaction. We registered a growth of our annual turnover on the previous year, and the main reason of this growth has again been our firm decision to invest in technology.

Over the years, our strong commitment in Research and Development has allowed us to foresee market trends and requirements. This mentality has led us to develop innovative solutions that really meet the needs of glass processors, with flexibility and extreme professionalism.

A continuous development that always points to quality and reliability, thanks to which we succeed in establishing long lasting relationships with our customers.

AG: What are your plans for the remainder of 2019, and what major developments are you planning on bringing to the market? What is the timescale for each of these?

FS: If 2018 had seen the debut of our “No Limits” line of products, for the processing of extra Jumbo size IG units, this 2019 sees us particularly engaged in projects of development of unique and innovative solutions for automatic glass sorting and handling, for an increasingly automatic, controlled and efficient connection between the different process areas within the glassworks.

Forel strength has always been the ability to create solutions tailored over the customer’s request: actually we can provide processing line for every kind of glassworks. Our products are all made in Italy and ensures high performance and the possibility to focus on specific needs of processing. Indeed, our machinery can communicate and provide performance and monitoring data to specific software, in a perspective of Industry 4.0.

Actually our product range embraces the most important flat glass processing: automatic handling and sorting, vertical cutting of laminated glass, edge and processing, laminating lines and insulating lines (also in extra-Jumbo size).

AG: Have the recent mergers and changes in the glass

86

asianglass AG 19-3

industry, particularly the likes of Glaston acquiring Bystronic, made you re-think your own approach to the sector and does the emergence of “mega” groups potentially disrupt the industry?

FS: I believe that the quality of the final product is not strictly connected to the size of its brand, but rather to the knowhow it owns.

In 2018 the glass market has globally registered a growth in the business and after a moment of “expansion” we can expect a moment of “selection”, in which competitiveness will be measured on the actual quality of the machinery.

Both in residential and commercial glass sector, quality and efficiency of the final product will be the key-points for the success of the Processors: when they will need to invest, they will look at something superior. And we want to be that “something”.

AG: As companies get bigger, do you consider that your focused, family-style approach is actually a big advantage in dealing with certain markets?

FS: Actually Forel is growing too, we have just completed a further expansion of 2.500 square meters which, added to the extension of 2017 and the acquisition of a second plant in 2018, now allows us to dispose of 13.500 square meters of production area.

Nevertheless, our focused approach to the business has always been the key of our success. That is what makes our company different and is a value we offer to the customer. Our compromise is to keep on growing, giving continuity to our process of optimizing our organization, but without modifying our style of approaching the customer.

AG: Are your product developments consumer-led, or do you prefer to be an innovator internally first, and then take your ideas to the market? Have you ever had a situation where you have developed a bespoke solution, and then, despite its success, been unable to replicate it elsewhere because of customer-imposed restrictions?

FS: Our orientation is definitely innovation. Innovation created to

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ADVERTISER SUPPLIER FEATURE FOCUS

anticipate market trends but which is never an end in itself, but instead developed together with those customers who come to us to find technical solutions to their production inefficiencies. A real tailor-made suit, from which we then extract the technologies that we consider necessary to integrate into our standard production, in a continuous perspective of technological growth.

AG: Do you have an “ideal” customer in terms of the stage of their development, overall size and ambition? Or, alternatively, do you consider Forel a company capable of servicing from the very smallest to the very largest of suppliers? There is a re-focus on the areas of North Africa and also the wider Middle East, whilst Central Asia is also getting more attention. Are these areas that Forel is looking towards, and how adaptable is your product offering for these rapidly expanding markets?

FS: Our range of products and our flexibility give us the opportunity to satisfy different types of customers, from the smallest and most artisanal to the largest and industrial ones: different customers, with different dynamics, but always guided by the ambition to improve their production and to stand out from the rest.

By the way, in the markets of Middle East, south-east Asia and the Far East our goal is to establish relationships with the biggest groups, with the purpose to explain how our technology can help them in optimizing their processing flows, improving their quality

“our focused approach has always been the key of our success”

and increasing their safety. Furthermore, we show them how our organization can support them in postsales, both in terms of technical advice and service assistance.

This with the intention that these relationships can be referential for the entire markets and make even the smaller processors willing to contact us.

AG: Finally, economically, what is your target for the coming year, and how do you think you will be able to achieve that?

FS: Our target is to further increase our turnover, thanks also to the growing requests of automatic sorting and handling projects, in which we are specializing and on which we focus a lot, since they are the best opportunities for us to concretely demonstrate to the customers our high degree of flexibility and our competence. Indeed, we are now developing innovative and very unique projects that will soon help us convince even the most skeptical Processors.

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Anaylsis

Refractory Zone AZS technology development a guide to an evolving scenario

In the first of his exclusive articles for Asian Glass for 2019, P.Carlo Ratto looks at the ubiquity of AZS refractories has created a need for technological development to drive marketing impetus…

Fused cast refractories, and particularly the AZS chemistries, were conceived about one century ago, as a revolutionary kind of refractory, coming from the hybridization between chemistry of traditional refractories (mostly shaped by pressing or casting and then sintered) and the foundry technology including electrical fusion and casting of the liquid body (hence the “fusion-cast” name) in moulds adequate to the composition and temperature of the liquid that, in this case, is a fused ceramic refractory mix.

A ceramic foundry, working at extremely high temperatures, around 2,000°C, produced an entire class of new refractories, including different kinds of AZS (Al2O3-ZrO2-SiO2), by means of a technological platform properly managed by less than a handful of companies at world level. These new materials, as said in various occasions, determined such a huge difference in the performance of glass fusion tanks, to be considered as one of the major factors (if not THE major factor) supporting the impressive evolution of glassmaking technology in the last several decades, leading to entirely new types of glasses of outstanding performances and quality, at accessible costs.

But as soon as the AZS fused cast refractory lining rapidly became the standard application in glassmaking furnaces of all segments, and as soon as the quality of glass produced went up with the progressive decline of refractory as a primary source of glass defects, it gave rise to one peculiar source of gaseous defects (blisters) linked to these new refractories.

And, with the increased capability of analytical investigation of glass defects, it was soon determined that these gases, developed at the glass/refractory contact during campaign and particularly at the begin of it, were “combustion products” of reduced impurities (e.g. carbon, carbides, sulphur and more complex compounds) capable to generate gases when getting oxygen from the fused glass and furnace environment.

Cutting losses

It was not difficult to trace the origin of these

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“reduced impurities”, detected at trace levels (ppm) in the AZS fused cast. Since these pollutants were not already present in the virgin raw materials undergoing electro-fusion, the peculiar fusion process went under scrutiny.

The electro-fusion furnace, not differently from the equipment used to fuse special steels, is a three phases electric arc furnace equipped with three electrodes that input energy to the liquid ceramic. These electrodes, for technical and economical reasons, are mandatorily made of graphite that is a peculiar form of carbon: this is clearly the primary source of reduction, particularly when in contact with the liquid ceramic, causing the dispersion of reduced pollutants, capable of developing gases when the refractory will eventually be in contact with liquid glass in the glassmaking furnace.

The first attempt to reduce this effect was therefore to minimize the contact between electrodes and the liquid ceramic; with modification of the electrical operational parameters the handlers of this technology achieved the goal to transmit the energy from electrodes to liquid ceramic through an “arch of plasma” and not anymore by direct contact, as it is in the steel foundry. As a result, up to sixty millimeters of gaseous plasma (ionized air) can separate the tip of electrodes from the melted ceramic surface, still capable to transmit currents of the order of thousands of amps.

This is the so called “electrical refining”, a technology that was perfected in US to the point to get to pretty clean AZS casts, with ice-white color and relatively low blistering potential, at least for the first heat-up phenomenon, that is directly linked to reduced pollutants presence.

In the same period of time, at the middle of former century, in EU a different approach was devoted to resolve the problem. Here, the fusion process was still carried on without contact between electrodes and liquid ceramic but, in addition, at the end of the fusion process, a chemical refining stage was added, injecting an oxidizing gas (oxygen) inside the liquid pool, so as to burn all the reduced impurities in a relatively

P. Carlo Ratto

short flash with energetic stirring effect. In this case the AZS ceramics obtained show a distinct yellow-buff color, due to the complete elimination of reduced impurities and the oxidation of metallic impurities like iron and titanium to the highest valence level.

It is to be stressed the fact that injecting oxygen into a liquid ceramic pool, at temperatures in the range of 2,000°C and in presence of mechanic solicitations, is easier to say than to do. It is a matter of materials and technology.

The first and obvious choice, due to the extreme refractoriness and good mechanic properties at operating temperature, was to use a graphite lance (like a simple pipe). Nevertheless the oxygen injection orifice and all the high temperature portion will be rapidly “burnt” from inside by the gas flow, so that the possibility to maintain a relatively steady gas velocity and flow orientation went seriously compromised, requesting a very frequent replacement of the lance. The utilization of a steel lance with a graphite screwed terminal (the high temperature portion that when in operation stays submerged in the liquid pool), will only reduce the operation cost, reducing the amount of graphite rejected frequently as consequence of internal oxidation.

Other refractory metals with acceptable cost, like Molybdenum, cannot withstand high temperature oxidation.

Non-refractory common and cheap metals

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ADVERTISER FEATURE

New-generation machines changing the glass production landscape Renowned for its state-of-the-art technology and machinery for the manufacture of glass, Austrian-based Forma Glas is raising the output rate of tumbler and stemware lines and cutting production costs with its newgeneration machines and technology Known for possessing the world’s most advanced technology in glass manufacturing, creating glass production machines for stemware, tumblers and pressed articles, Austria-based Forma Glas is taking its innovative manufacturing spirit to greater heights in 2018 with the development of new and improved machines.

With its new-generation machines, Forma Glas - which has more than 120 years of expertise in the field and counts major glassware manufacturers such as Crystalite, Rona and also customers in Asia (Shandong Huapeng Glass, Deli Glass) among its clients wanted to raise the output rate of tumbler and stemware lines.

“To exceed customer demand, our goal was to raise the output rate of future tumbler and stemware lines, while reaching even higher product quality,” says Andreas Pirchegger, technical manager of Forma Glas. “The problem is, by raising the machine’s speed, it reduces the processing time for each item.”

In attempting to solve this problem, Forma Glas came up with the idea of implementing a servo-electric double servo press and transfer station for loading of the blowing machine.

“This almost doubles pressing time of each item, raising the output rate to a considerably higher level,” says Andreas Pirchegger.

And in order to keep the stem press machine in step with the blowing machine, a new press machine with two hydraulic pressing stations was invented and implemented.

“Using double presses in both machines not only helps to raise the maximum output, but also dramatically improves glass quality. As a result, up to 2,700 high-level stemware products or 3,000 tumblers can be produced per hour.”

But that’s not all. With proper post processing systems necessary for the production of high-quality glassware, Forma Glas has recently decided to re-enter this market, and is build up a new automatic cracking off machine, which was commissioned in 2017.

This new-generation machine, now being sold to customers as ASA – Automatic Crack Off, and available with 13, 26 or 39 stations, depending on customers’ speed demands, uses three separate high-level lasers, allowing cutting rates to almost exceed the output of stemware and tumbler lines.

In addition, Forma Glas has recently implemented automatic tableware control systems. “Manual quality control of tableware products has always been a high expenditure for glass manufacturers,” says Andreas Pirchegger, “but advanced image processing and software technology now allows for implementation of an automatic tableware control system”. This system also allow to provide datas which are necessary in production. In times of implementing Industry 4.0, making this data available is extremely important.

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Enter TCS (Tableware Control System), the first fully automatic checking system for the inspection of tumbler, stemware and pressed products, which has recently been put into operation by Forma Glas in cooperation with external experts. Currently 13 machines from Forma Glas are running at several customers.

TCS uses up to 13 cameras in combination with a sophisticated software solution, thus allowing companies to detect virtually all possible flaws in varying sizes at the end of the production line contributing to high profitability.

For Forma Glas, putting into operation the firstever cracking off system and tableware control system, fulfils the company’s aim of becoming an all-in-one-supplier for tableware products, providing an array of machineries for the production of highend tableware.

Already, the company offers a variety of machinery to produce glassware, such as blown stemware and tumblers with a pulled stem, decorated pressed stems, cut stemware and tumblers, pressed stemware, finished pressed candlesticks, vases, bowls and frames.

Among its machine offerings are several kinds of presses, along with high-end blowing machines, a servo gob feeder, stem stretching equipment, flame polishing systems, conveyor belts, cracking off machines and tableware control units.

“Forma Glas boasts the world’s most up-to-date high-speed tumbler and stemware line with 24-position press machine for the production of stemware, tumbler and big items, as well as other new-generation machines, such as the ASA and TCS,” says Andreas Pirchegger.

The company offers much more than just the machines themselves, however, and works with clients to analyse their technical and economical requirements to create size-tailored machine solutions, helping them to optimise their production output.

“Our company philosophy of ‘we do not want to be the largest, but the best’ is driving us continuously to develop, build and optimise machines for the production of glassware at a unique quality level.”

To find out more, visit www.formaglass.com or contact Mr. Andreas Pirchegger at a.pirchegger@formaglass.com 80 The number of complete production units that Forma Glas has sold worldwide to date. Clients include glassware manufacturers and brands such as Stölzle in; Pasabahce in Turkey, Crystalite Bohemia and Crystalex, both in the Czech Republic; Krosno in Poland; Steklarna Hrastnik in Slowenia; Rona in Slovakia; Shandong Huapeng Glass and Chuzhou Deli Glass, both in China; Luckyglass and Ocean Glass in Thailand; and Iran Glass, among others.

AG 19-3 asianglass

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Anaylsis

“We do not have a crystal ball to see what the future will hold” like Iron have fusion temperature well below the AZS liquid ceramic, and can survive only few seconds in that environment, beside of being a serious pollutant for those refractories.

In spite of the instinctive resistance to consider the utilization of a water cooled lance, and in absence of a clear alternative, in Europe, the leading manufacturer of fused cast refractories developed, for the AZS production, a metallic lance water cooled with a complex internal cooling circuitry, making it possible to maintain alive such a lance at temperature extremely higher than the metal fusion point.

In this case the choice was for a metal having excellent workability and weldability, being a good thermal conductor and with an accessible cost. The choice was for Copper.

The Copper lance and the support equipment is today, indeed, the most sophisticated facility in the AZS fused cast production, and therefore the proprietary technology most protected by the owners.

A Copper lance is, in fact, a copper pipe with an internal gas pipe and a distribution system to a number of terminal nozzles, aimed to deliver the gas deep into the liquid pool, all around the lance terminal. The internal gas pipe and the entire lance has an internal distribution system that conveys a forced water flow, in and out, in order to maintain the Copper temperature in a comfort zone in spite of the monster temperature of the liquid.

The water stream parameters (hydraulic and chemistry/physic) are regulated in order to operate for several minutes in presence of mechanical solicitations (liquid turbulence), when necessary in power-on conditions, distributing the oxidizing gas homogenously in the liquid pool and, most of all, granting no water leakages outside the lance, under whatever regular or exceptional conditions. The presence of water at the extreme temperature of the liquid ceramic, in fact, will surely determine an explosive behavior projecting hot liquid all around the furnace, with imaginable consequences.

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That is why “around” the lance, beside the gas metering system, there are several active safety devices, controlling parameters like water pressure, flow, ∆t (in-out), electrical conductivity, all of them capable to strip out the lance in case of any critical anomaly; for the same reason the lance movement (up/down) is generally operated by a gas-motor utilizing gas cylinder packages, and all the electrical/ electronic circuitries are under continuity groups so as to be operational (particularly capable of a fast strip out of the lance) also in case of total power blackout.

Having said so, it is quite clear that the utilization of a full copper lance technology is still a privilege of the most advanced western manufacturers of AZS fused cast.

A wider range

Other manufacturers, like most of the oriental independent low-cost producers, utilize a range of other devices (hybrid, graphite, steel) vertically or diagonally inserted in the liquid pool, generally not utilizing any water cooling system.

All of these solutions cannot guarantee the level of homogeneity and reproducibility of the oxidation process performed with the Copper lance, but represents the achieved specific level of compromise between efficacy, efficiency and safety.

Other manufacturers still rely on only electrical refining (long arch) to bring down the level of reduced pollutants, with variable success and stability, depending on the specific understand of the electrical

process parameters.

As previously mentioned, the refining technology adopted reflects in the AZS ceramic color, well visible when a block is cut. So, an electrical well refined material will be ice-white, while a properly oxygen injected AZS will have a variety of yellowish-buff color. A material not well oxidized (whatever the process) will assume a shade of greys, the darker the worse.

This peculiar situation had and has intriguing sales and marketing implications, since utilized by the holders of the oxygen-lancing technology to pass on the message to glassmakers that ice-white materials were somehow inferior in quality, when compared to yellow-buff blocks, not granting the minimum possible blistering potential, and therefore the minimum risk of

pollution to the customers’ glass.

This argumentation was so convincing to generate a kind of marketing barrier, so hard to overcome that, in the second half of previous century, one leading US manufacturer (that was mastering the electrical refining but having not developed any type of oxygen blowing for their AZS fused cast production) faced serious obstacles to develop an export outside north America, to customers not belonging to US major players, that were already familiar with the quality and color of the electrically refined AZS. So, to remind to the technical people (like me) how much marketing drives technology evolution, during the last decade of previous century, this US manufacturer, well determined to globalize its market, decided to overcome the “color issue”, mostly for marketing reasons, and only secondarily to manage a process capable to grant a superior level of oxidation.

And this, following the US management directions, had not to be a me-too operation and the determination was to find a different way to inject an oxidizing gas into the liquid ceramic, a safer way not utilizing water cooling, possibly cheaper than the “European lance” and exempt from the complex and expensive ancillary equipment necessary to operate a copper-water-cooled lance under acceptably safe conditions.

After a few years of try and error attempts, this US leading manufacturer went to develop and patent a completely new way to operate, injecting oxidizing gas by means of a bottom inserted tuyère, delivering a continuous stream of gas directly from the bottom of the liquid ceramic pool.

I was part of the team developing this entirely new process, and I can testify the fact that, sometime, very simple solutions are extremely hard to find!

This bottom injection, that today represents the only equally effective alternative to the copper lancing, hit the target to produce a well oxidized AZS, exhibiting the “preferred color” and grossly reducing costs and risks.

The story of the two major owners of the two technologies (copper lance and bottom tuyère), has evolved differently for major independent reasons, to the point that the copper lancing is today more and more the most diffused at global level for world-level AZS quality, owned by the global leader that fiercely protects this technological “detail”.

We do not have a crystal ball to see what the future will reserve to this and other aspects of the fused cast refractory technology. I liked to share with the interested readers of Asian Glass this aspect, to show how much even specific and apparently minor details can be exciting, when put in the proper historical perspective.

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