Company profile: Wiegand-Glas
Wiegand-Glas started the second glass furnace at its Schleusingen plant in Thuringia, Germany after it was postponed at the end of 2021. Glass International spoke to Oliver Wiegand, who outlined the journey behind the decision.
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fter a postponed start-up, Wiegand-Glas fired the second furnace at its plant in Schleusingen, which completed the second step of the site’s investment strategy. In addition to the furnace investment, the German container glass manufacturer has also invested in three new warehouses. These are for: finished goods, outdoor storage for cullet, and a new logistics centre to meet the requirements of higher capacity and the group’s sustainability strategy. Wiegand-Glas has built a greenfield container glass plant next to its existing facility in Schleusingen, which Mr Wiegand said emphasised the importance of the site for the group’s strategy. With the plant now fully operating, the glass manufacturer believes it can meet its goal of continuous and sustainable organic growth according to market needs, as well as a clear commitment to its regions.
Wiegand-Glas fires up Schleusingen furnace
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Rising demand Market figures by the European Glass Container federation (FEVE), among others, show an increased demand for glass containers in recent years, which is why the company decided to up its production capacity. Building the new plant was further accompanied by the decommissioning of the old furnaces at the existing Schleusingen site – where Wiegand-Glas operated a flint and an amber glass furnace. The manufacturer therefore decided to rebuild the plant in a large, high-tech and energy efficient manner to better meet the needs of new and existing customers. In addition, the new furnace will allow Wiegand-Glas to produce coloured glass as well as amber glass.
The right decision In times of war in Europe and with energy markets and the whole economy “playing crazy”, it is hard to say if there is the right time for any decision these days, but Mr Wiegand believes not making any decision is the worst one. Consequently, Wiegand-Glas recently began the start-up of its second furnace in March, which had been postponed since late 2021. The postponement caused the manufacturer,
and the market, to lose thousands of tons of amber glass. “We got in some trouble trying to satisfy customer needs in terms of time and quantity. But our production planning and sales team did their best to overcome the situation without critical damages,” said Mr Wiegand. “In the plant, we used the time for further training of our new stuff and technical optimisation of the production lines. But, in the end, it is also true that every postponement costs you a lot of money – every single day.” Personnel had already been hired and trained to operate the new furnace at the end of 2021. “For the motivation of our people, and with a few on structural costs, we had to make a decision.” The most important factor was the commitment of Wiegand-Glas customers and their willingness to overcome these difficult times. Mr Wiegand also highlighted the company’s existing contracts and the system-relevant character of container glass to the food and beverage industry. In addition, due to the war in Ukraine and European sanctions against Russia, there is a lack of glass supply from Eastern Europe and consequently more demand on central European
10 Glass International May 2022
Company profile Wiegand Glas + horn.indd 1
25/05/2022 12:33:07
