Glass technology SCHOTT

CREATING SMARTER GLASS TECHNOLOGY

SCHOTT Flat Glass is a division of SCHOTT AG and a global leader in glass solutions for home appliances and commercial refrigeration. Philip Yorke spoke to Astrid Rotarius, the company’s global director Marketing, about the many innovative products being launched and its continuing investment in new technology.

SCHOTT Glass & Electronics solutions

SCHOTT® MetalLook

SCHOTT is headquartered in Mainz, Germany, and has more than 130 years’ experience in the manufacture of speciality glass and advanced technology materials. Its core markets are the home appliance, pharmaceuticals, electronics, optics, transportation and architecture industries. SCHOTT Flat Glass’s main activity is the production of speciality glass for home appliances such as ovens, cookers and refrigerators as well as glass door systems for commercial freezers for supermarkets. With many decades of knowhow in glass processing and customised solutions, SCHOTT Flat Glass is the preferred partner in the home appliance and commercial refrigeration industry worldwide.

The SCHOTT Group maintains close proximity to its customers with manufacturing facilities and sales units in over 35 countries worldwide. In 2013 its workforce of around 15,500 employees generated sales of more than €1.8 billion.

Innovative glass solutions

SCHOTT Flat Glass continuously develops new products that add to the convenience of consumers and the aesthetic appeal of home appliances around the world. One of the company’s latest innovative products is SCHOTT® CleanPlus – an easy-to-clean inner oven door, which is designed to ensure that virtually nothing sticks to the inside of the oven window, thus saving time and making oven doors much easier to keep clean. SCHOTT is now offering its customers a clever way of upgrading their standard appliances into ovens that feature the comfort function ‘easy to clean’. Another innovation is SCHOTT® MetalLook: this special glass has a metal-like appearance printed on glass similar to brushed stainless steel and brings trendy design into the home, allowing for completely new design approaches. The glass is easy to clean, and the ability to include very fine and complex graphics are just two of the many advantages offered by this innovative material.

Rotarius said, “We are always looking for ways to meet new market trends. One of our other innovation topics is SCHOTT® SeeClear for mirror-coated glasses. This new technology combines transparency and reflection in one glass surface which offers designers a whole new range of creative options including 3D effects. It’s already in use in a baking oven front and also as a control panel in a professional coffee machine.

“Yet another big area for us is what we call ‘Glass&Electronics’ solutions. In this area we offer a wide variety of glass covers for Human Machine Interface solutions that connect with electronic components. This involves special printing options where we print circuits on the glass control panel for connection to electronic components. With this technology thinner control panels are possible, because part of the function is integrated onto the glass. In addition, our SCHOTT® SmartTouch technology offers intuitive control of switches. We have put a groove in the glass, which acts like a modern on-off button. All these new technologies are about ease of use and attractive design.

“We have also developed products for some brand new applications as glass is becoming more popular. Currently there are two new areas for us: the first is coffee machines which go towards glass control panels with bigger displays; and the second is sanitary products. Surprisingly this glass is not for shower cabinets, but we have devel-

SCHOTT Glass & Electronics solutions

Ideal partner for tightly controlled thermal processes

Eisenmann is a leading global industrial solutions provider for surface finishing, material flow automation, environmental engineering and thermal process technology. The Process & High Temperature Technology business unit offers a comprehensive range of products – from simple chamber kilns to gas-tight roller-type kilns with vacuum doors, and from test facilities to fully automatic production lines.

We would like to congratulate Schott on its 130th anniversary, and look forward to continuing our positive and productive working relationship for many years to come.

Coffee machine with a control panel with SCHOTT® SeeClear

Glass hob top for gas cookers including assembly SCHOTT Termofrost® solutions for commercial refrigeration

oped a glass for the back of WCs in which the flush can be activated without actually touching the glass. It is our in-depth experience and commitment to innovation that keeps us well ahead of our competition.”

Energy saving door systems

Another focus area for the company is glass door systems for commercial refrigerators and freezers for supermarkets. The glass door systems from SCHOTT Termofrost® make chilled products more appealing and save up to 60 per cent more energy, the company says. These glass door systems meet the needs of food retailers by enabling products to be displayed in an attractive manner inside the coolers, and this significantly reduces electricity costs. The SCHOTT Termofrost® AGD3 offers a perfect view of food products thanks to its slim design and new technology. The company also launched its latest sliding door system – the ‘Termofrost® SDS2. Both of these new systems can reduce energy use by up to 60 per cent compared with the standard open refrigeration cabinets in use in supermarkets.

With its self-closing condensation-free door systems, SCHOTT helps the retail food industry to present foods in a more appealing way. The new door and frame systems from SCHOTT consist of single, double or triple insulating glass and are ideally suited for refrigerated products up to +2C and for deep freeze products down to –25C.

Global investments

SCHOTT Flat Glass is very much a global business with 13 production facilities located in 10 countries. Recently the company has expanded its operations in Brazil, Turkey and China. “North America and Europe are still our biggest markets, however it is South America, Asia and Turkey that are driving our global growth” added Rotarius. n

For further details of SCHOTT Flat Glass’s innovative speciality glass products and services visit: www.schott.com/flatglass