Glass International Dec Jan 2017

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December/January 2017—Vol.40 No.1

O-I ORIGGIO PROFILE BOTTERO CEO INTERVIEW INDIA OVERVIEW I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

Glass International December/January 2017

SOUTH AMERICA 2017 29-30 March 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Contents

December/January 2017 Vol.40 No.1

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2 Editor’s Comment

December/January 2017—Vol.40 No.1

4 International news

O-I ORIGGIO PROFILE BOTTERO CEO INTERVIEW INDIA OVERVIEW I N T E R N A T I O N A L

12 Market overview: Beer bottling

How hybrid consumers have charged the glassmaking market

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

Glass International December/January 2017

16

16 Company profile: O-I Origgio Origgio modernisation meets changing customer requirements 19 Company interview: Bottero CEO

Bottero CEO embraces the digital age 23 Company profile: Revimac

Rebuilding the hollow glass market

SOUTH AMERICA 2017 29-30 March 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Front cover image www.sorg.de

26 Events world: ATIV conference

ATIV 2016 concentrates on furnaces

19

29 Country overview: India

Indian container glass sector set for rapid expansion 34 Guardian interview

Building towards the future 37 History

A pointless element?

34

Ware handling 39 Ferlam:Technology to choose spare parts for IS machines

44 Process control Industry 4.0: An important challenge

for glass manufacturers Plus find us on Linked-In and Twitter.

@Glass_Int

www.glass-international.com

46 Coating Selecting the best float glass coating

technology

41

www.glass-international.com

41 Sheppee: Integrating speed and stability: the ware handling goal

1 Glass International December/January 2017

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Editor’s comment

Greg Morris

www.glass-international.com Editor: Greg Morris Tel: +44 (0)1737 855132 Email: gregmorris@quartzltd.com Assistant Editor: Sally Love Tel: +44 (0)1737 855154 Email: sallylove@quartzltd.com Designer: Annie Baker Tel: +44 (0)1737 855130 Email: anniebaker@quartzltd.com

Container manufacturers react to market conditions

Production Executive: Martin Lawrence Managing Director: Steve Diprose Chief Executive Officer: Paul Michael

I

www.glass-international.com

Sales Director: Ken Clark Tel: +44 (0)1737 855117 Email: kenclark@quartzltd.com

t is the season to be jolly, and for most of us this time of year means an extra tipple or two at night to ward off those dark and cold winter evenings.

It is traditional, particularly in the northern hemisphere, for people to retreat indoors to a favoured bar or pub, to indulge in an alcoholic drink and escape from the biting cold outside.

In many European countries the favoured drink of choice was beer, particularly among men. But market research suggests that the trend of drinking beer is on the decline. People are drinking less beer than they were 11 years ago and consumption declined by 5% in the EU between 2005 and 2015 from 51.65 billion litres to 49.98 billion litres.

Market research suggests the reasons for this are changing health preferences and the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

Clearly this is bad news for glass manufacturers. A decline in consumption habits means less glass will be used and fewer bottles need to be made.

But it is not all bad news. According to Rabobank’s glass strategist, Susan Hansen, while consumption of mass-produced beer has declined, there has been a mushrooming of craft beer brewers in the EU. It is here where the opportunity lies for container glass manufacturers.

Instead of mass runs, container makers need to be more flexible and produce small runs for the craft beer market, Ms

Hansen suggests.

And container makers have been reacting accordingly by investing in the latest technology and modernising their equipment. In this issue we report on the modernisation of O-I’s Origgio plant, which has followed several of the company’s other European plants over the past two years. Similarly in recent issues we have reported on technology updates at fellow European container manufacturers such as Verallia and Stölzle.

This is a good reflection on the container sector. They’ve reacted to changing conditions and have rapidly invested - not bad for a supposedly slow-paced and conservative industry. The challenge from competitor materials and the threat they pose is often mentioned, less so the investment the glass sector has made to ensure it remains competitive.

As Bottero CEO, Marco Tecchio states in an interview in this issue, his company, a hollow glass forming specialist, is already well versed in Industry 4.0. With future investment, the company aims for full automation in hollow glass forming.

It is only by embracing the latest technology that the glass industry will ensure the material remains as attractive as possible to its customers. �

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Subscriptions: Elizabeth Barford Tel: +44 (0)1737 855028 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 Email: subscriptions@quartzltd.com Published by Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey RH1 1QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000. Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034.

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Glass International (ISSN 0143-7838) (USPS No: 020-753) is published 10 times per year by Quartz Business Media Ltd, and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Glass International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.

29-30 March 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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2 Glass International December/January 2017

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FIC - Double page ad 2016

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It’s always the smaller pieces... , Tomorrow s Technology Today

International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Adrian Curry named British Glass President

Adrian Curry, Managing Director of Encirc, has been appointed President of British Glass for a two- year term.

Effective from 1st January 2017, the appointment will see Adrian join the organisation’s board and work with industry colleagues to raise the profile of the industry as a whole.

Adrian was elected to the position at the British Glass AGM. He will take over from Davia Walmsley, Creative Director at Daedalion Glass Studios, UK.

Verallia’s Oiry plant chooses Iris Inspection machines

Vial investment

Gerresheimer has started an investment programme to install converting machines for vial manufacturing at all its plants.

The first two machines have been put into operation in Boleslawiec, Poland, location of one of Gerresheimer’s two Technical Competence Centres for vial production in Europe.

The third machine is scheduled for installation soon, followed by additional machines in 2017 and 2018.

PSR’s David Parkinson elected Fellow of SGT

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David Parkinson, of Parkinson-Spencer Refractories (PSR), has been elected to the fellowship of the Society of Glass Technology in the UK. Mark Brew, chairman of the SGT board of fellows said: “The Board has made diligent enquiries regarding his qualifications, achievements and service to the glass industry and consider him a fit and proper person to be elected to the fellowship of the society.”

Koch acquires Guardian

Guardian stockholders have approved the acquisition of the company by KGIC Merger Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries.

The deal is an all-cash transaction for the remaining 55.5% outstanding shares of Guardian Industries’ common stock not already owned by affiliates of Koch.

Verallia’s Oiry glass container plant has chosen the latest non-contact inspection technology from Iris Inspection machines to deliver the exacting quality expectations of local customers.

Oiry is located close to the town of Épernay, France and is a manufacturer of sparkling

wine bottles for many of the world’s Champagne brands.

The Oiry plant has been extensively modernised in the past two years and houses one melting furnace and four production lines, with Iris camera-based inspection machines now featured at the cold end of two lines.

The first installation was completed on one line at the beginning of 2015 and comprises two Evolution 5 machines for the detection of faults, in particular stress defects in base and finish areas.

Production flexibility is an essential element of Verallia’s manufacturing capabilities at Oiry, with the ability to make everything from small to very tall Champagne bottles.

The Evolution 5 machines were purchased to replace existing automatic inspection equipment and were selected because of their modular design and improved inspection results.

The machines feature motorised cameras and can inspect all ware sizes in heights up to 600mm and diameters up to 200mm.

Sisecam acquires Italy’s Sangalli Vetro Porto Nogaro for €84.7m Sisecam group member Trakya Cam Sanayii has acquired all assets of Italy-based flat-glass manufacturer Sangalli Vetro Porto Nogaro for a gross of €84.7 million.

Sangalli has an annual production capacity of 220,000

tons and means Sisecam has become the largest flat-glass manufacturer in Europe in terms of capacity.

Prof. Ahmet Kırman, Deputy Chairman and CEO of Sisecam Group, stated that the acquisition in Italy would cre-

ate synergies with the group’s flat-glass operations in Bulgaria: “The Italian operation will greatly contribute to our competitiveness especially in the West European flat-glass market in terms of production capacity and logistics.”

Juniper all set for Ethiopia Juniper Glass has received all regulatory approvals necessary to conclude the final investment in its $70 million greenfield container glass factory in Debre Birhan, Ethiopia.

Juniper is working with equipment suppliers, such as cm.project.ing and Clear Performance, to build the factory.

It will have the capacity to

produce 60,000 tonnes of glass a year, approximately 200 million glass bottles.

Juniper has agreed with most major bottlers in Ethiopia to allocate the majority of the capacity to replace imports.

Juniper has also evaluated opportunities with international customers to export

bottles into neighbouring countries. The plant is expected to be operational in 18 months.

The consortium behind Juniper includes South Africa’s Consol Glass, the largest glass packaging company in Sub-Saharan Africa, with manufacturing facilities in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

4 Glass International December/January 2017

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International News

Egypt’s New City Glass orders MAVSA machines Egypt’s New City Glass has ordered three MDP 2434 double gob press machines from Argentina’s MAVSA group.

The press machines will produce mugs in double gob and will be installed in February next year by Mavsa staff.

The press machines are the principal machines for three complete lines for tumblers and mug double gob production and includes the timing-drive,

feeder 194, loader conveyors, DG firepolisher with loader and unloader, front conveyor, stacker & 06 set of mug moulds.

The conveyors have been built with Pennine Industrial chain from the UK. The valves used on the press are from Ross Controls in the USA and the electronics are from Lenze in Germany.

Photo: The Mavsa MDP 24-34 press machine during cold test at its facility.

Zippe builds batch plant for Italy’s Vetri Speciali Italian container glass manufacturer Vetri Speciali has ordered a batch plant from Germany’s Zippe.

Zippe designed, built and commissioned Vetri Speciali’s batch plant with raw material feeding and premix plant, including a cullet return system with scraping conveyor and glass level controller. It will feed a furnace that produces 150 tonnes a day.

The plant was put into operation, on schedule, in November 2016.

Production has been trouble-free from the start and the customer is satisfied with the performance of the new plant.

Zippe was entrusted to execute the electrical control system with the latest PLC-generation system from Siemens (S7-1500).

The Siemens Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) portal is being used.

New Z-WI-102 weighing indicators, developed by Zippe particularly for the glass industry, were in-

stalled. They transmit the weight values of the raw materials, cullet weighing systems as well as mixer and check scales to the central control system. The precise electrical activation of the dosing aggregates allows a dosing precision from up to +/- 1 g.

Zippe was contract partner in the project and also responsible for the delivery of the electrical control system, including electrical commissioning and startup.

Verallia Argentina wins award The sustainable practices practiced daily by Verallia Argentina, won the gold at the Best of Wine Tourism 2017 event organised by the Mendoza Tourism Authority, Argentina.

The highest award, according to the General Manager of the company, Walter Formica, in Mendo-

za, was won thanks to the set of actions that work in his company.

Since signing, they have been promoting the ‘Glass, a transparent action’, programme which collects used glass containers and recycles them, converting the waste into new bottles.

Through this pro-

gramme a virtuous circle is generated because everything collected by the ‘purchase’ of this glass is contributed to the Foundation of the Children’s Hospital Dr. Humberto J. Notti, which received $235,000 this year.

Glass International December/January 2017

news dec jan.indd 3

13/12/2016 11:43:25

I’m intelligent, I see things others cannot, I never rest. I never sleep. I adapt.

I am SCOUT, the brand new intelligent system software from Bucher Emhart Glass, the foundation for all future inspection.

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International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Empak expands service

Empakglass has extended its range of services in glass defect analysis and glass composition determination.

By adding this new service, which allows a comprehensive sample analysis, the company is able to provide more technical solutions to its clients.

Empakglass’ technical expertise allows for the evaluation of glass defects for severity, composition, and root causes, particularly in the analysis and interpretation of stone and cord.

Allied creates bottle for RedLeg Rum Distil has unveiled a new bottle created by Allied Glass for their RedLeg Rum brand.

The elegant white flint bottle features a Red Leg hermit crab intricately embossed on the base and also on the front panel, creating a distinctive visual identity which captures

the brand’s island culture and laid back Caribbean spirit.

Kate Alexander, Marketing Manager for RedLeg Rum says: “We are delighted with the new RedLeg bottle which perfectly reflects the brand’s individual personality and infectious sense of fun.”

‘Inspirational’ Xpar

Xpar Vision is listed as one of many inspirational business stories from the Netherlands in ‘Dutch Industry’, a book covering more than 60 business stories.

The stories were brought together to promote the role of Dutch industry all around the world.

Xpar Vision‘s story was selected as an example of ‘industry changing innovation’, that a Dutch company has brought into a global industry segment.

Glass Recycling website

The Glass Recycling Coalition has launched its website, GlassRecycles.org.

Industry, public and private sector recycling professionals, as well as the public, will find case studies, best practices, and a building library of resources dedicated to understanding and successfully implementing community glass recycling. http://www.glassrecycles.org

Glass Service in Lohr deal The Czech Republic’s Glass Service has received an order to equip all forehearths at Gerresheimer Glass Lohr (GX Lohr) with its Expert System III (ES III) control.

GX Lohr, a producer of high-quality container glass, was among the first of its kind

to use the GS ES III for fully automatic glass melter control, and has successfully done so for more than 10 years.

The ES III is operating on all GX Lohr melters and is currently on several forehearths.

The decision has been made to extend ES III control to all

GX Lohr forehearths, allowing the ES III to improve glass gob homogeneity and stability, as well as improve control for fast, fully automatic job changes.

Glass Service has performed 170 worldwide installations of ES III during the last 15 years.

Guardian Glass to install North American jumbo size glass coater Guardian Glass is installing a jumbo coater in North America to serve its North American commercial glass customers.

Architects are increasingly designing projects with larger glass sizes.

Adding the ability to coat

jumbo-sized glass means Guardian can supply bigger sheets of coated glass to its customers for fabrication into finished sizes for glass facades and windows.

“The new coater will allow us to deliver jumbo-sized

glass to our North American customers with reduced lead times,” said Chris Dolan, Director of Marketing, Guardian Glass North America.

Guardian will announce the location of the jumbo coater soon.

www.glass-international.com

Buck stops at Libbey

Libbey Inc.’s chief financial officer is leaving the company at the end of the year.

Sherry Buck joined the Toledo, USA-based tableware maker in 2012. The company said Ms. Buck was leaving to pursue another opportunity.

Libbey chairman and CEO Bill Foley said Ms. Buck’s leadership had reduced the company’s debt and improved its balance sheet.

Borosil condenses business India’s Borosil Glass Works will amalgamate three related companies in order to simplify the group’s structure.

The board of directors of BGWL, Hopewell Tableware, Vyline Glass Works and Fennel Investment And Finance has approved the amalgama-

tion scheme with BGWL to derive synergies by bringing these entities under a single umbrella and to pursue growth opportunities.

The move would also reduce the extent of related party transactions and eliminate cross holdings to simplify the

group structure, BGWL said.

The scheme envisages amalgamation of Hopewell Tableware, a 100% subsidiary of BGWL, Vyline Glass Works, a promoter held company and Fennel Investment And Finance, an associate company with BGWL.

8 Glass International December/January 2017

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Glass is our Passion

International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Top 10 stories in the news

Pneumofore Mexican joy

Pneumofore has delivered a UV100, the world’s largest air-cooled twin rotary vane vacuum pump with up to 220kW nominal power to a Mexican brewer.

This unit is equipped with two variable speed drives, one for each motor, and designed for hot climates of up to 50°C. The UV100 was shipped on time and flew to North-Central Mexico to supply vacuum in glass bottle production.

Fenzi Brazil deal

A line of products will strengthen the collaboration between Fenzi Group and the Brazilian company Gusmão Representações (GR).

GR has been operating for more than 30 years in Brazil, as representative and distributor for players in the glass processing industry.

Drujba in profit drop

Bulgarian glassware and bottle maker Drujba Glassworks’ said its consolidated net profit fell to 11.5 million levs ($6.25 million/€5.88 million) in the first nine months of 2016, from 18.1 million levs in the same period of last year.

Our most popular news items, as determined by our website traffic All full stories can be found on our website, www.glass-international.com/news � 1 Encirc MD named new British Glass President � 2 Sisecam acquires Italy’s Sangalli Vetro Porto Nogaro for €84.7 million � 3 Koch Industries acquires Guardian Industries � 4 Vetropack Austria celebrates flint glass furnace � 5 Vitrum 2017 open for business � 6 Verallia Argentina wins sustainable practices award � 7 Steklarna Hrastnik co-creates trends in the industry � 8 Borosil to amalgamate three businesses � 9 Pneumofore Mexican joy � 10 Verallia’s Oiry plant chooses Iris Inspection machines

Vetropack Austria unveils Pöchlarn white-glass furnace

Praxair/Linde deal on?

Praxair has confirmed that the company has approached Linde AG about resuming discussions regarding a potential merger.

www.glass-international.com

AGC Automotive website

AGC Automotive has launched its new website: www.agc-automotive.com.

The site offers a user-friendly experience for reading and navigating on all platforms including PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Ferver’s Spain gain

The membership of Daniel Rosas, a Spanish glass recycler, was unanimously approved at a recent FERVER meeting in Brussels.

Ferver has now 39 members and is present in 19 countries throughout Europe.

Vetropack Austria celebrated two events with numerous guests and an anniversary.

The glass works in Pöchlarn has been part of the Vetropack Group for 30 years. In addition, the new flint glass furnace was completed and the Vetropack Group’s training centre was opened.

The hosts of the celebration, Claude R. Cornaz, CEO Vetropack Holding and Johann Reiter, Managing Director Vetropack Austria, welcomed

customers and partners as well as personalities from politics and business.

Among those present were KR Sonja Zwazl, President of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce, and State Parliament Deputy Karl Moser.

The guests enjoyed the opportunity to take a look at the newly constructed whiteglass furnace from the inside, before it is gradually heated up to 1580°C for melting glass again.

Following on from the visit to the modernised production facilities, Vetropack Austria invited its guests to Persenbeug Castle.

“Investment in the modernisation of our production facilities is essential in today’s economic climate.

“It secures our success and competitiveness in the long term,” said Mr Cornaz.

“We are proud to be able to look back on 30 years of dynamic development, an innovative spirit and high product quality at the Pöchlarn Vetropack plant, which can be attributed not least to the enormous commitment made by our employees.

“Production employees from all subsidiaries will benefit from the group’s newly built training centre.

“This will also help us continue to meet the high demands on our products,” added Mr Reiter.

10 Glass International December/January 2017

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13/12/2016 11:43:34

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Market overview: Beer bottling

How hybrid consumers have changed the glassmaking market European beer bottle glassmakers have been hit by a double whammy. Consumption of beer is declining among consumers and, at the same time, brewing companies are getting larger, meaning they have greater negotiating power when discussing contracts. Rabobank’s glass strategist, Susan Hansen spoke to Greg Morris about the changing face of the beer bottle market.

www.glass-international.com

B

eer consumption among European consumers is declining.

As unthinkable as this may seem to some readers, people are drinking less beer than they were 11 years ago. Reasons for this include the financial crisis, overall health trends and a new phenomenon called the hybrid consumer.

The hybrid consumer who, when food shopping, either wants the best, high-end products or the lowest priced, discount products rather than an average, massproduced item.

Between 2005 and 2015 total demand for beer in the EU declined by 5% from 51.65 billion litres to 49.98 billion litres.

The trend to drink less beer has had an impact on glass bottle packaging manufacturers who have also been hit by a second whammy: increased consolidation among brewers.

The recently proposed ÂŁ79 billion AbInBev takeover of rival SAB Miller is set to go ahead after shareholders of both firms agreed the mega deal. It is the latest in a long line of acquisitions in the beer brewing market which has seen increased consolidation in the sector and breweries becoming larger.

For glass manufacturers that make bottles for the beer market, their customers are getting bigger and this means they have increased purchasing power when it comes to negotiating contracts.

Susan Hansen, Global Strategist Food & Agri Supply Chains at Rabobank has published a report entitled The Glass Is (Still) Half Full for the European Glass Container Industry.

In it she states that although the EU food and beverage glass container packaging industry is a very stable business compared to other packaging materials with relatively high margins, the industry is faced with

a number of challenges specific to glass packaging. The most significant is the changing landscape of the beer sector and the risk from substitute materials.

Changing landscape Today, the trend among consumers doing their weekly shop can be summarised as they will buy premium chocolate but cheap tomatoes. In every aspect of retail life they don't care about the average; they either want a bargain, or something exclusive and special but not the items in the middle.

This is reflected in the beer consumption landscape. Demand from Western European consumers for general, mass-consumed beer has declined in place of either craft or discounted beer.

Glassmakers also face a growing level of off-taker (breweries) concentration, as beer brewers consolidate globally and regionally. The increase in size has led to a stronger position of brewers versus glass bottle manufacturers. This is evidenced by much shorter contracts and more frequent price negotiations than was the case 10 years ago.

At the same time, there has been a mushrooming of small craft breweries in the EU, with more than 6500 – double what it was in 2008. This provides a counterbalance for glass bottle producers who are eyeing opportunities to supply special products to craft breweries.

12 Glass International December/January 2017

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Market overview: Beer bottling

Competitor materials Despite the reduced demand for beer overall, demand for beer packaging grew by 2.2 billion units in 2015 to 58.7 billion units. But glassmakers failed to benefit from this trend as growth was fully driven by metal cans and aluminium bottles, while glass

packaging declined by 273 million units.

Substitution by competing materials has been particularly strong in the beverages segment, a traditional stronghold for glass packaging, where glass’s share is expected to fall from 44% in 2006 to 38% in 2020. Ms Hansen believes there has been more innovation among aluminium bottle makers than glass. Aluminium has been quicker at producing tailor-made products, with artwork and gimmicks that appeal to consumers. In the United States for example, aluminium bottles are popular at pool parties because they do not break.

“Suppliers of metal cans and aluminium bottles have been more active in launching innovative beer packaging than glass producers. Innovations that are attractive to consumers might include using fluorescent ink on metal cans with designs that would be especially appealing in bars or clubs, or aluminium bottles with unique artwork on each individual bottle.”

During the past 10 to 15 years at-home consumption of beer has increased at the expense of out of home consumption.

This has led to more demand for beer in metal cans, which are traditionally only consumed at home.

She believes the glass beer sector should follow the example of the spirits sector, where innovation has driven premium packaging, such as holograms embodied on the bottle, but the general mass beer segment has not introduced this yet.

Options The past 15 years has seen mass consolidation among container glassmakers in Europe. Before then the glass packaging industry was fragmented, with a lot of small players who only had a few plants in one country. Today, the top three players in Europe, O-I, Ardagh and Verallia, control an estimated 55% of capacity and the top 12 control 90% of capacity.

The advantages of consolidation are that as the glassmakers increase in scale, they have greater negotiating power with their off-takers. It also means they have become more pan-European.

Building a network of factories close to one another

geographically offers an opportunity to switch production between plants in periods of furnace repairs. This increases flexibility and day-to-day operational efficiency.

Expanding geographically allows beer bottle producers to supply to several locations – and thus take advantage of larger contracts.

While Ms Hansen believes the majority of consolidation among glassmakers has already occurred – ‘the big battle has already taken place’ – expect some more takeovers. There are still one or two companies in the market who may interest the larger glassmakers.

There are also a number of private equity-owned container glass producers in the EU – Allied Glass in the UK, France’s Saverglass and Verallia. Given the typical three to five year investment horizon of private equity funds it is likely that these companies will come up for sale or look to acquire competing companies in the coming years.

Glass is still half full It is important to remember the outlook for the glass container manufacturing industry is extremely stable, as glass is a steady industry. The report’s message is that glass is still a preferred packaging material for products such as beer, spirits, wine and olive oil.

As glass is considered a premium packaging material, the trend of the socalled hybrid consumer is an opportunity for the industry. Premium products are produced in smaller quantities but they also command a premium price.

The glass container industry cannot sleep though.

Substitution and innovation among competing materials has grown. It was unthinkable 20 years ago for anyone to drink from a PET bottle but soft drinks have moved from glass bottles to PET. Another example is the Heinz ketchup glass bottle, which was sold in glass for almost 100 years. In the 1980s Heinz replaced the glass bottle with plastic and now the glass bottle has all but disappeared from the retail shelf.

The Glass Is (Still) Half Full for the European Glass Container Industry is published by Rabobank Research of Rabobank, author Susan Hansen. �

www.rabobank.com

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

The upshot of the changing landscape is that glass manufacturers who were used to big runs of standard bottles now have to be more flexible. They have to deal with new entrants to the market such as niche and small breweries.

Ms Hansen said: “It is a challenge and an interesting opportunity for manufacturers. Big off-takers want large volumes, they have purchasing power and want low prices. The small off-takers don't have that bargaining power and require smaller batches, so will pay more for the products. So it’s an opportunity to sell higher priced products.

“Instead of producing big batches with long runs, glassmakers need to be more flexible and produce small runs quickly and with quick changing times. They have to be more flexible because they are dealing with more and smaller off-takers, who have different requirements to the big breweries.”

It means European-based beer bottle glassmakers have had to find a new equilibrium in how to organise production to be able to target that market.

“Every glass company is trying to see how they can re-invent themselves.

Some glass companies need to make a lot of changes and some need to make small adaptations. If you look at the larger ones that focus on the mass beer segment, they have had to do a lot of work,” continued Ms Hansen.

13 Glass International December/January 2017

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Market overview: Beer bottling

EU food packaging demand by material

EU beverage packaging demand by material

Heineken Carlsberg AB InBev InBev Radeberger Mahou San Miguel SABMiller Molson Coors Bitburger

Fig 2

Brau holding International

Total 2020f: 414 billion units

Krombacher Others

Total 2020f: 202 billion units

Fig 1 Flexible

�

Fig 3

Glass

Paper & board

Rigid metal

Rigid plastics

Fig 1. Market share of brewers in Western Europe (based on volume)

2005 versus 2015. Source Canadean, Rabobank 2016-10-14.

O-I

� Fig 2. EU food and beverage packaging demand by material, 2006-2020.

Verallia

Source Canadean, Rabobank 2016.

Ardagh Vidrala

� Fig 3. Market share of glass container producers in the EU (based on estimated furnace capacity) 2016 Source Rabobank 2016.

Vetropack BA Vidro Yioula Glasswords Stölzle Saverglass Wiegand-Glas Allied Glass Zignago Vetro (excl. Vetri Special JV)

www.glass-international.com

Other

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14 Glass International December/January 2017

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INDEPENDENT TRANSFER AND DRIVE UNIT WITH INTERMEDIATE BELT SYSTEM

System is designed to: Enhance container stability throughout the transferring stage.

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Company profile: O-I Origgio

Origgio modernisation meets changing customer requirements O-I Europe recently completed a â‚Ź25 million modernisation of its Origgio, Italy plant. Massimo Noviello, O-I Country Group Executive for Italy and Hungary, discusses the investment and benefits it will bring.

O-I

’s Origgio plant produces more than one million bottles a day and can produce jars and bottles ranging from 10cl to 2 litre capacities. The modernisation of the plant primarily involved the complete refurbishment of the glass furnace.

O-I also installed control software to enhance the management of the production process with advantages in terms of safety. Further investment in forming machines improved the sustainability and energy efficiency of the plant, which will be able to produce containers with lower average weights than before.

Can you describe what the refurbishment and modernisation involved?

The refurbishment has involved all the refractory parts of the furnace; many important portions of the general systems have been replaced.

We have also implemented new technologies in forming machines and inspection devices.

ďż˝ Mr Massimo Noviello.

Why did you to decide to modernise the plant?

www.glass-international.com

The last rebuild was done in 2005. The modernisation of the general systems was necessary to improve all the utilities necessary to feed and support the core production area.

For instance, we have been able to improve the quality of compressed air, the reliability of the electric system and our ventilation.

What benefits does the modernisation bring to O-I and its customers?

The new devices and equipment will make the plant more capable of managing new challenges and satisfying the demands of our customers in terms of quality and new products.

The market requires higher quality standards and, thanks to the new control systems that O-I has installed, we will be able to satisfy the most challenging customer requests.

What is the advanced control software you have and what safety advantages does it bring?

Safety is a core value for O-I. In our investments, we take safety of our people and of our installations seriously into consideration.

This new system enables a permanent production process supervision, allowing a lower human exposure and intervention directly on the most critical area of the melting process.

Furthermore, an upgrade of the electronic parts of the forming machinery has been performed Continued>>

16 Glass International December/January 2017

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Company profile: O-I Origgio

with an improvement of all safety devices.

The interaction between operator and machinery has been made safer, and this is also thanks to better accessibility.

Finally, the new system offers an improved human interface that, of course, dramatically reduces the possibility of human error.

How important has automation become in recent years?

� The new furnace is a traditional cross-fired furnace capable of producing around 450 tonnes a day.

Plant efficiency demands a careful balance between automation and the skills of a committed team of employees. You cannot obtain the best results for customers without paying attention to both elements.

Automation is bringing more benefits and O-I embraces technological enhancement wherever it makes the entire process better. One of the advantages of the internet is that we can share data and manufacturing trends within our plants and across the entire company in real time.

How important is sustainability and lightweighting to the plant?

The Origgio plant has been one of our pioneers in lightweight bottlemaking technology for the wine segment. We have several lightweight items at the moment in Origgio’s portfolio, which combine a good level of quality and a low environmental impact: these bottles use fewer raw materials, less specific energy consumption and create a lower weight to be transported on motorways.

Can you describe some of the recent customer trends?

Owens machines and three BDF machines, comprising four double gob machines and one triple gob machine.

� O-I’s Origgio plant produces more than one million bottles a day and can produce jars and bottles ranging from 10cl to 2 litre capacities.

What products are made at the plant and who are your main customers?

From Origgio, we serve some of the most important customers in the food, spirits, wine, NAB and ready-to-drink markets, such as San Pellegrino, Campari and Martini, producing some of their most well-known shapes.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

� The furnace supplies two

Our market has become more fragmented. As a consequence, we have seen more job changes than ever before and an average of 8-10 new products per year. These changes are caused by customers creating more niche products and using more bespoke bottles to make their products stand out in preference to standard ones.

Also, in the packaging industry, the trend is to add value to the offer, to help the consumer perceive the product quality through brandbuilding packaging; glass is a preferred material to achieve this, because of all the possibilities it offers. We have increased our flexibility remarkably with a higher number of job changes and higher production flexibility.

17 Glass International December/January 2017

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Company profile: O-I Origgio

Will the furnace allow O-I to increase its offering to customers?

Of course. We have a higher production flexibility in terms of shorter runs for a higher number of different items produced to increase our offer range

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How proud were you of your team, particularly considering the plant was brought back to full operating speed in just 20 days?

We have a highly committed team in Origgio, which did a great job. The success of this project resulted from a close collaboration between our own engineering and manufacturing personnel, along with our contractors and O-I experts from around the world. This global cooperation is a sign that O-I is operating as one company, learning from the best operations we run.

The work was not simply engineering excellence either; we took the opportunity to provide fresh development for our 180 Origgio employees, who received 3,500 hours of training in all aspects of the new furnace and production equipment.

Can you give details about the furnace?

The new furnace is a traditional cross-fired furnace capable of producing around 450 tonnes a day. It is primarily gas-fired with an electric boost.

Are the new forming machines double/triple gob?

The furnace supplies two Owens machines and three BDF machines, comprising four double gob machines and one triple gob machine. All these machines have been refurbished and upgraded. �

O-I Origgio, Origgio, Italy www.o-i.com

Origgio plant orders

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catalytic system for NOx removal

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PARKINSON-SPENCER REFRACTORIES LTD

The Origgio plant has led the way in NOx removal among Italian container glassmakers. It has ordered a catalytic system (SCR) for nitrogen oxide removal and, according to supplier Air Treatment System (ATS), is the first such system to be installed in an Italian container glass site.

The SCR involves the injection of ammonia solution inside the duct at the outlet of the ESP. The ammonia reacts with the nitrogen oxide in the flue gases on the surface of a catalyst, transforming them into nitrogen and water and allowing the release of those harmless compounds into the atmosphere.

ATS will be focused on the integration of the system in the existing flue gas treatment plant, by limiting the unavailability of the desulphurisation unit.

Holmfield, Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK. HX3 6SX Tel: (44) (0) 1422 254472 • Fax: (44) (0) 1422 254473 Email: admin@parkinson-spencer.co.uk • www.parkinson-spencer.co.uk

18 Glass International December/January 2017

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Company interview: Bottero CEO

Bottero CEO embraces I the digital age

talian hollow and flat glass solutions provider Bottero appointed Marco Tecchio (pictured left) as its group CEO in March 2015. The company appointed him, it said, because of his proven experience in managing high technology companies in different market sectors such as metal working, textile, automotive and electronics.

In his previous roles he was directly involved in developing high tech business incubators and has a personal aptitude for product and process innovations that further the competitive development of a company.

One of the appeals of joining Bottero, he says, was its comprehensive technological know how.

“Bottero’s strength is that it is a technological company and is very strong in its technological approach to products.

“It is a little bit weaker in other areas, such as marketing and so on, but in terms of how to process glass, both hollow and flat, it one of the strongest companies in the world.

“Bottero is a good company, a global company, that is constantly growing and improving. We have developed a number of products and technologies that will be on the market for many years.”

For such a technologically-driven company, Research and Development remains key and is the largest fixed cost for the group.

“It is the way to support the fact we are strong in engineering: the technological solution is more important than everything else. You need to be absolutely reliable. Glassmaking is a 24-hour, non-interruptible process, so clearly technological reliability is important.”

On the eve of Bottero’s 60th anniversary Greg Morris spoke to its CEO, Marco Tecchio, about his plans for the company. The group is already at the forefront of technology, but automation and simulation are two key areas that the business will continue to invest in, he tells Greg Morris.

Bottero was formed in 1957 by Pasquale Bottero, originally as a service company for a glassworks that processed flat glass. Since then the company has grown continuously, diversifying its activities into hollow glass, and spare parts and engineering.

Today it is a global operation with its headquarters in Cuneo, Italy as well as production plants or branches in the USA, Brazil, China, France, Germany and UK. Its solutions in the hollow glass sector include glass conditioning, forming, ware handling and control systems, while in flat glass it offers a range of cutting machines for float and laminated glass. It also offers comprehensive product support as well as training, either on site or in its Italian establishments.

Bottero products are Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

The company

19 Glass International December/January 2017

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Three key areas

exported to more than 50 countries in Europe, North and South Africa, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, the Far East and Oceania.

www.glass-international.com

Industry 4.0 One of the terms that has become increasingly popular in the glassmaking industry in recent months has been Industry 4.0, otherwise referred to as the Internet of Things, Plant Wide Automation, The Digital Age, process control or more simply, automation.

Mr Tecchio comes from a background of high technology companies that have embraced this.

He is keen to ensure Bottero remains at the leading edge of technology in future years.

“We have a strategy to try to reach full automation in hollow glass and in IS machines.

Everybody, even our competitors, are still very far from full automation in the process Companies are investing, just as we are.

“I personally came from a fully-automated process and I strongly believe in full automation, but it is a long path. To do that you need more automation in the machine, and you need more of a closed loop to control the machine and to use the automation to stabilise the process.

“This is the change we have to work on and this will be the ideal for the next 10 years in hollow glass machinery.

“We are very aware of Industry 4.0. We have invested and changed something inside because we are reviewing all our internal information systems. This will allow us to use the Internet of Things and other technology coming from Industry 4.0, which will be part of our products and integrated offer to the market.

“I expect this technology to spread out in the industry in the next five to 10 years. This technology normally grows very slowly in the beginning then at a certain point of time there is an exponential growth and everybody needs to be ready for that point.

“The flat glass industry is not far away from full automation, but in the hollow glass industry it is still a long path. And it is not just Bottero, but other companies too. There is still interaction between the operator and the IS machine during its functionality.

“The market from the customer point of view is a relatively conservative market, and large and small groups are not pushed strongly enough, so the speed of change is slow.”

Mr Tecchio admits that compared to his previous roles, at Italian groups such as Elettronica Santerno, Santex Rimar Group and as founder of M31 the glass industry is less automated.

� Bottero is headquartered in Cuneo, Italy and was established in 1957.

He believes three areas – sensors, automation and the closed loop – hold the key to the glass industry becoming fully automated.

It is paramount the industry invests in further know-how to explore how the process performs during the forming of the bottles which, states Mr Tecchio, is the parameter that really affects the glass distribution and stability of the bottles.

One other important point is the substantial investment Bottero has made in glass forming simulation. It now has a full, reliable simulation of the process in timing, temperature and in mechanical features. It offers a full, by the millisecond, simulation of the forming process.

The company already offered simulation in mould design and weight reduction but can now offer a full range of simulation services in order for its customers to have full control of the process.

“For full automation you need to know exactly what is happening. How each element changes the shape and the characteristic of the bottle, how to change the process and how to improve the bottle.”

One of the appeals when Mr Tecchio took on the role was the opportunity to invest in technology and to grow the company through solutions. He is a proponent of automation and believes in its advantages, and not just from a cost point of view.

A fully automated system leads to a reduction in oil and in lubrication, and so is effective in terms of an environmentally friendly solution.

“Automation used to be regarded as an expensive solution, but not today, that view is in the past. It is less expensive and very effective.

“Glass is a good material but the way to produce it is less advanced than other materials. We will try to close the gap. How to do that, technologically wise, is easy to understand, but not easy to implement.”

During the next five years Bottero will continue to invest in automation and maintain its flexibility in simulation.

Geographically, Italy and Western Europe remains its strongest market in the hollow sector accounting for about 40% of its sales, but it is a fairly flat market where it mainly sells substitute machinery. It is in developing regions and nations such as China, South East Asia and Mexico that it sees market potential.

The overall message is that there is plenty more to come from Bottero in the forthcoming years.

“Each day I receive a mass of information from staff and we are constantly talking about new ideas, new technologies and potential new applications, all related to glass.

“When I look to the future, the glass is definitely half full for Bottero,” he concludes. �

Bottero, Cuneo, Italy www.bottero.com

20 Glass International December/January 2017

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Tooth Chain

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Reliable, safe, efficient and always tailored to the specific application.

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Company profile: Revimac

Rebuilding the hollow glass market Revimac is a member of the Bottero group of companies and serves the hollow glass rebuild market for sectors such as ware handling and forming. Pietro Agnetti* discusses the company’s evolution since its formation nearly 30 years ago.

Can you explain Revimac’s role in the glass manufacturing industry?

Revimac is a member of the Bottero group of companies and was founded in the late 1980s to cater to an ever-growing market demand for re-built hollow glass forming machinery and allied ancillary equipment. In the early 1990s, Revimac started manufacturing and supplying ware handling equipment, ware transfer, stackers and cross-conveyors. Since 2001 Revimac has also supplied gas-fired forehearths.

Due to the growth of the forehearth line of business in the last five years and, having realised how important refractory materials are for the success of the forehearth as a system, Revimac has focused on improving the control of the process of designing and manufacturing of refractory materials. This improves the quality of the product and its time in service.

The natural outcome of this effort is the formation of a new company named Fusiontec.

It was founded by Revimac with the purpose of integrating under one roof all activities related to the industrial manufacturing of refractories as strategic component of the forehearth system, besides combustion and control equipment.

The new facility is strategically and conveniently located next door to the Revimac plant and is approximately 3000m2 in size, with a potential production capacity of nearly 4000 ton per year.

What are your strengths?

Revimac has some 60 people and its management and engineering team includes at least a dozen

professionals with no less than 25 years experience in the glass container industry.

Coupled with indispensable know-how, the solid experience accumulated over the years gives our team members the capability to adapt the features of a proven successful pattern to a different situation.

One of Revimac’s most regular and successful activities is to propose an original approach to challenging projects for our customers, and to make sure this solution fits just like a bespoke suit.

Almost 30 years ago, when Revimac started its activity, there were in the world no less than half a dozen factories producing reconditioned IS forming machines and allied equipment for the glass container industry. Similarly, some were subsidiaries of major machine manufacturing groups, whereas some were independent entities and a couple of them were definitely of remarkable size and capacity.

Not one of those factories is still in operation today except Revimac. Revimac is the only survivor doing the job on an industrial scale and is internationally recognised as the most sizeable and best-equipped company in the business.

Where are your main customers geographically?

Revimac machines and equipment are successfully running in overseas markets such as China, Thailand, Taiwan, India and Pakistan, South America and the USA. Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

33 zones firing & control system of working end and forehearths

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Company profile: Revimac

Our particular attention is also given to emerging countries, such as Iran, which after several years of import restrictions has recently reopened its borders. In fact, this year one of the largest Iranian glass manufacturers has confirmed an important order with us.

In the former Soviet Unions countries, despite their chronic economy slowdown in the last five years, we have recently gained two colouring forehearth projects, the technology for which is becoming one of Revimac’s strong points.

Italy and Europe represents a consolidated market for Revimac, particularly due to long term cooperation with Verallia Group.

� Refractory materials of the working end and forehearths.

How do you expect the glass forming industry to evolve over the next five to 10 years?

Toward an increased focus on process control.

How do you hope the company will evolve in the next five to 10 years?

We have already made our choice in line of reply of the previous question, and also by entering into the market of refractory material manufacturing, which is one way to contribute to the enhancement of the control and quality of the glass containers.

You are part of the Bottero group. Is there much exchange of technology know-how between each company?

Yes and no, considering the nature of equipment manufactured by the two companies is clearly identified as new, i.e. subject to continuous R&D activity and remanufactured with the tendency of recovering as much as possible within a strict given tolerance.

www.glass-international.com

Can you give a few facts about how many pieces of equipment you have supplied since your formation in 1988?

Revimac has overhauled and commissioned more than 105 IS machines in a range that spans from 2 to 12 sections operation in a single, double, triple and even quadruple gob configuration. In the same period, more than 100 of 144, 81 and 503 mechanical gob feeders have been re-built and delivered to several glass factories.

Revimac has installed over 1400 ware transfer, stackers, cross-conveyors and other machines in more than 40 countries. Since 2001, Revimac has supplied more than 100 gas fired forehearths.

Are there any particular trends that you have seen recently in the glass forming industry?

The ever-decreasing level of knowledge.

� Remanufactured IS machine.

What can customers expect from you if they choose your equipment?

Besides the professionalism of the organisation, we are convinced that the key factor to Revimac’s endurance over the years is the fact that we never let our customer down.

In a glass factory, accidents such as furnace leaks and fires can occur and that is the moment when help is needed in a hurry, be it with people or replacement parts.

Revimac is the kind of partner one can depend on at that very moment. �

*Export Manager, Montecchio Maggiore, Vicenza, Italy www.revimac.com

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Events world: ATIV conference

ATIV 2016 concentrates on furnaces

This year’s ATIV event was split into two sessions, one on flat glass and one on hollow. Sally Love attended the hollow glass session, and discovered that the industry’s focus is heavily invested in furnace design and technology.

� Erik Muijsenberg of Glass Service, Czech Republic. � Andrea Marostica of Bormioli Luigi.

� Ernesto Cattaneo (left) and Giorgio Minestrini of Stara Glass.

T

his year’s hollow glass session at the ATIV conference was unofficially dedicated to one thing: furnaces, and their surrounding technology.

The presentations focused on how to best optimise furnace design; how to achieve the lowest emissions; and how to collaborate across companies to achieve the best results from a furnace.

Hosted in the beautiful city of Parma and interspersed with cappuccinos, the conference took place at the Centro Santa Elisabetta (pictured above) at Parma University and was attended by 90 members of the glass industry.

www.glass-international.com

Optimising design

26

Erik Muijsenberg of the Czech Republic’s Glass Service started proceedings, giving a talk on ‘How mathematical modelling can improve furnace design, productivity and energy efficiency’.

Glass Service has developed its computer fluid dynamics (CFD) software in-house for the last 26 years. The GS GFM (Glass Furnace Model) technology is licenced by 35 companies across the industry, including Sorg, Horn, Teco, O-I, AGC and Praxair, to name a few.

He demonstrated that by using

computer models instead of physical models, it is easier to optimise a new furnace’s design or troubleshoot an existing one. Issues such as where to place the burners can be addressed to increase the furnace’s efficiency and lifetime.

20 years ago, mathematical furnace modelling was only used for studying the optimisation of the glass bath of existing furnaces. Today, furnace modelling is used on a daily basis for almost every glass furnace build or rebuild, and is considered a standard tool. Glass Service estimates that each year around 200 furnaces are simulated and optimised before a furnace rebuild, and Glass Service itself has optimised over 650 furnaces.

Other speakers focused on one particular type of furnace, and how to optimise its design in order to achieve the best efficiency.

Ernesto Cattaneo of Stara Glass delivered a paper on ‘New solutions and new design criteria for end port furnaces’. He discussed the reasons for using end port furnaces, namely that it is an ergonomic solution in terms of its compact geometry, which results in less surface heat loss, reduced thermal bridges, and a good heat recovery from

waste gas to preheated air.

It is the most commonly used type of furnace in Europe, with almost 40% of the 630 furnaces that operate across the continent being end port. This trend is repeated in Italy itself – of the 74 furnaces in the country, 48 are end port.

Andrea Marostica of Bormioli Luigi gave an update on the latest developments in electrical melting. Normally this is used for special glass, which Bormioli Luigi uses for its perfumery and tableware.

He showed the developments that have occurred over the past 30 years in electric melting, and how an energy reduction of around 20% has been obtained at the same time as a threefold increase in maximum pull has been achieved.

He underlined that the glass market offers applications with different volumes, quality demand and prices, so it is difficult to have a general comparison between the all electric furnace (AEF) and the gas fired furnace. However, over the last 30 years, there has been a massive improvement in all electric furnace technology, which has closed the gap between them.

Continued>>

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The economic considerations are still important in many countries in terms of glass melting costs, but Mr Marostica believes that this is partly compensated for by the reduced investment, including the waste gas solutions offered by AEF technology.

Other speakers discussed how the surrounding technology can be used to optimise furnace design.

Bruno Malphettes of Saint-Gobain Sefpro discussed the ‘Technical and economical optimisation of glass furnace regenerators with cruciforms’, and Roland Heidrich of RHI discussed the ‘Technical selection of refractory materials’, while Iris Inspection’s Eloy Garza spoke about the ‘Latest improvements to increase

allow manufacturers to achieve the CO2 emissions that the industry has to aim for, and how conventional furnaces have reached their limit and require boosting.

He presented various techniques and equipment that Sorg has introduced into its furnace design, to best enhance energy efficiency (which he described as the ratio between energy in glass being released, to fossil power input).

Fabrice Fasilow of AGC Glass Europe spoke about ‘Energy efficiency in furnaces and product optimisation’, but in the context of float glass.

He discussed what he sees as being two main trends, which are economic and environmental. The economic context refers to the global recession from 2008,

and HCl in fumes from two of Bormioli Rocco’s end-port furnaces.

They analysed the SO2 content in flow gas and the mass balance of HCl across the two furnaces and experimented with the temperature of the flue gas to see how it affected emissions. The aim was to access how to reduce NOx emissions, while also keeping other pollutants under acceptable levels.

They found that an increase in flue gas temperature increases the amount of SO2 and HCl. At 240˚C, the pollutant emissions were higher than when the fume temperature was reduced to 180˚C. Emanuele Bonomolo of Rivoira (Praxair) discussed a collaborative project also involving Bormioli Rocco and Stara

� Fabrice Fasilow, of AGC Glass Europe.

� Roland Heidrich of RHI.

� Milena Marchegiani of Bormioli Rocco.

hollow glass quality and consumer safety’.

Representatives from Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro (SSV) gave two talks on the day, one focusing on ‘Refractory materials: How to assess the performance of safety melting’, which again focused on how to optimise furnace design in terms of refractory materials, to achieve the best results from a furnace.

Walter Battaglia of SSV gave a paper that discussed the optimisation of combustion settings, as an energy efficient approach to the reduction of emissions in glass melting furnaces.

when flat glass in Europe was in a period of over-production.

The environmental refers to the difficult targets manufacturers are required to achieve in Europe. EU float glass producers are facing strong economical and environmental challenges and constraints. Despite this AGC achieved a 10% energy reduction and 20% CO2 reduction from 2007, and Mr Fasilow discussed how this occurred.

He concluded that with the looming long term challenge of 80% CO2 reduction by 2050, it would be useful for more collaboration between float glass producers. By uniting forces and resources, technically viable solutions could be discovered for future generations.

Glass. The project was the conversion of an existing boron glass furnace to oxyfuel. The aim was to lower investment, so therefore not to use regenerators, and to keep production constant.

The full conversion to oxy-firing process was carried out with Optifire technology.

The Bormioli conversion case had the aim of controlling NOx emission, lowering capital expenditure and improving performance of the furnace.

No production increase was required.

The results from the project resulted in lower than expected fuel consumption of up to 30% fuel saving, which remained constant over time; NOx was kept under the required limits; and boron volatilisation was kept constant.

The results confirm that the Optifire solution from Rivoira (Praxair) can be used successfully on a boron glass furnace, and that collaborative efforts across the board can improve business for everyone involved. �

Achieving emission targets Other presentations that focused on achieving emissions targets included Air Liquide, which discussed its HeatOx combustion technology, an energy saving solution for the glass industry.

On the topic of energy saving, Matthias Lindig of Sorg took the opportunity in his presentation, ‘Energy performance of glass melting furnaces – update and opportunities’, to present data from a valuation by Prof. Reinhardt Conradt. He spoke frankly, showing how conventional furnace design doesn’t

Collaboration Many of the talks on the day discussed the benefits of collaboration between manufacturers and suppliers, to further the interests of both parties.

Milena Marchegiani of Bormioli Rocco discussed the results of work carried out in conjunction with Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro (SSV), which investigated the origin and reduction procedures of SO2

ATIV, Parma, Italy www.ativ-online.it

www.glass-international.com

Events world: ATIV conference

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Country Overview: India

Indian container glass sector set for rapid expansion India is emerging as one of the most important container glass markets in the world due to its market size, large population and potential for future growth. Seema Gahlaut reports.

A

and supplying at consistent quality will be the key issues for the sector to cater to the domestic and export markets.

Industry structure The Indian container glass manufacturing industry is concentrated in the west of the country.

The industrialised states of Gujarat and Maharashtra have the most container glass production plants. Since a number of end user Continued>> Company

Location

Production Capacity

Rishra

860 TPD

Hindusthan National Glass Company

Bahadurgarh

840 TPD

Nasik

980 TPD

Naidupeta

650 TPD

Virbhadra

460 TPD

Puducherry

330 TPD

Neemrana

180 TPD

Hyderabad

650

Currently 300 TPD of capacity

Bhongir

950

at Hyderabad furnace is closed.

Jambasur

355

AGI Glaspac Piramal Glass Can-Pack India

Remarks

Kosamba

340

Aurangabad

860 TPD

� Table 1. Tier I container glass producers in India.

Company

Location

Production Capacity

Remarks

Haldyn Glass Limited

Vadodra

320 TPD ( 220 + 100 )

Formerly Gujarat Glass Limited

Mohan Mekins

Ghazibad

240 TPD

Janta Glass

Vadodra

230 TPD

Surat

225 TPD

Ghaziabad

220 TPD

Hyaline Glass

Indore

150 TPD

Vitrum Glass

Mumbai

Sunrise Glass Industries Universal Glass

Pragati Glass Industry Enki Glass Industry Schott Kaisha Gerresheimer India

130 TPD 130 TPD 120 TPD

Daman Jambasur

2.4 billion pieces

Kosamba

800 million bottles

Four furnaces at its Kosamba site

� Table 2. Tier II container glass producers in India.

www.glass-international.com

fter a subdued two-year period, Indian container glass manufacturers are preparing to meet the increased consumption demand from different end users on the back of robust economic growth in the first six months of 2016.

The 11,000 TPD (total installed capacity) of the Indian container glass industry is composed of four large, 11 medium and an equal number of small scale producers (Tables 1 and 2).

The country’s container sector is currently coming out of one of its lean phases. It suffered from overcapacity as a result of huge capacity addition in 2012 and 2013, which coincided with a drop of demand in 2013 and 2014. Demand for containers started to pick up in the second half of 2015 and remained steady for the first half of 2016.

Container glass producers are optimistic about the recovery in the domestic market on the back of projected economic growth of 7.5% in financial year 2017. More public investment and government initiatives to tackle supply-side bottlenecks and repair corporate and public bank balance sheets should also help increase private investment and steady growth in container glass demand.

A number of industry insiders believe the Indian container glass industry has bottomed out. From here on, it is expected that glass consumption will increase in coming years. Per capita usage of container glass in India is among the lowest in the world and with the growth in the broader economy this use is expected to rise in the medium and long term.

Lightweighting of glass bottles has become a focal point in the Indian industry, with tier I players adopting lightweight bottle production technologies. Even mid-scale producers are graduating towards lightweight bottles to stay competitive.

Multinational food and beverage companies have taken a keen interest in India, which should lead to more premiumisation of glass bottles in the country. Absorption of modern technology

29 Glass International December/January 2017

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Country Overview: India

industries are based in these states, it is not surprising that the container sector has flourished in the region (Table 3).

The state of Maharashtra is the country’s beer production hub. Aurngabad city is considered the beer capital of the country (Can-Pack has a container glass plant there). The state is also the epicentre of wine production in the country and accounts for 90% of the wine produced in India.

Indian packaging industry The container glass sector has about a 13% share of the total packaging market in the country.

As per a report by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG), the overall packaging industry in India is expected to reach US$73 billion in 2020 from $32 billion in FY 2015.

In the coming years, as per the same report, the Indian packaging industry is projected to enjoy an attractive 18% annual growth rate.

Demand drivers Alcoholic beverages, food and beverages and the pharmaceutical industry are the three largest end user segments of the container glass industry in the country.

www.glass-international.com

Alcoholic beverages The Indian alcoholic beverage industry accounts for 64% of total container glass consumption in the country and is more than $40 billion in size.

The alcoholic beverages market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% in the 2016-2020 period according to the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) is the largest segment of its alcoholic beverage industry, which is composed of whisky, rum, brandy, vodka and gin and accounts for the largest share of the container glass market. India’s favourable demographics of a large working age population, increased disposable income and growing social acceptance of alcohol consumption is stimulating the IMFL market, which in turn fuels container glass demand. The total IMFL market was about 320 million cases in 2015-16, compared to 316 million cases in 2014-15.

Beer, the second largest market share, is the fastest growing sub-segment for the container glass industry. The beer market in the country grew from 286 million cases in 2014-15 to 303 million cases in 2015-16. Since beer is predominantly packaged in glass bottles (over 98%), an increase in beer consumption will directly result in an increase in container glass consumption.

The wine industry is another important segment but currently has a small share in overall container glass consumption. It is expected to play a larger role in the future. Wine consumption, which is at a nascent stage, is rapidly growing in larger cities. By 2017, Indian wine consumption is estimated to rise to 2.1 million cases per year – an increase of 73%

Region

% of total production

Main producers

North India

18

HNG, Universal Glass, Firozabad Glass Cluster

West India

48

HNG, Piramal Glass, Haldyn Glass, Janta Glass, Vitrum Glass

South India

20

HNG, AGI Glaspac

East India

6

HNG

Central India

10

HNG, Hyline Glass

� Table 3. Indian container glass industry installed capacity by region

Sub-Segment

% of total container glass production

Alcoholic Beverages ( Liquor & Beer Industry )

64

Pharmaceuticals

13

Food Industry

12

Beverages

7

Cosmetics & Perfumery

4

� Table 4. Sub-segments of container glass production in % from 1.21 million cases in 2013. (Table 4).

Food and beverages The food and beverages sub-segments cumulatively account for 19% of total container glass consumption in the country and are the second most important end users of container glass.

Again, changing demographics, increased income, urbanisation and a growth in organised retail is driving India’s food and beverages sector.

The combined food and beverage market is worth about INR305 billion (US$4.43 billion), growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23-24% and is expected to touch INR 308 billion ($4.55bn) by the end of 2017.

Pharmaceutical industry Currently at 13%, the pharmaceutical sub-segment is emerging as a key growth area for domestic glass producers. The Indian pharmaceuticals market is the third largest global market in terms of volume and 13th largest in terms of value.

Branded generics dominate, constituting nearly 70-80% of the market. India is the largest provider of generic drugs globally, with Indian generics accounting for 20% of global exports in terms of volume.

To take advantage of rising pharma glass demand, pharma container glass producers such as Schott Kaisha and Gerresheimer have set up manufacturing plants in India recently.

Hindusthan National Glass Limited Hindusthan National Glass Limited (HNGL) is the largest container glass producer in the country.

With an installed capacity of 4300 TPD from its seven manufacturing plants located in seven states across the country, the company serves all three major sub-segments of the container sector.

The company reported a total income of INR 19, Continued>>

30 Glass International December/January 2017

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19/12/2016 10:37:32

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847 million in 2015-16 compared to INR 20, 602 million in 2014-15.

HNG management said lower capacity use had impacted performance. According to the management: “We have added capacity of 1300 MT per day in financial year 2012- 13. A capacity of 650 MT per day each was added in Nasik and Naidupeta to cater to the west and the south.

“During the same period, other players in the industry also commissioned capacity. The addition was done mainly due to good demand envisaged in financial year 2010. All this addition has increased the supply in the market and resulted in lower capacity use.”

The company also blames a subsidised fuel supply that created what it believes is as an uneven playing field for some container glass producers.

According to HNG management: “Subsidised gas pricing at half the rate of market price for glass manufacturers in the Firozabad area has resulted in a severe competitive disadvantage for other container glass players in India.

“In the last two or three years, seven glass companies were forced to shut down their operations and others are running at under capacity.”

The company sold its German unit, HNG Global, based in Gardelegen in July 2016 for €23 million to Portuguese container manufacturer BA Vidro.

AGI Glaspac Based in the south of the country in the state of Telengana, AGI Glaspac is a subsidiary (SBU) of HNG and is the second largest container glass producer with a total installed capacity of 1600 TPD from its two manufacturing facilities.

Like other players in the sector, AGI witnessed a drop in sales recently.

According to Sandip Somany, Joint Managing Director of AGI Glaspac: “Despite the lower net revenue by around 1.2% of INR 90.9 billion during the financial year 2015-16, we have made EBIT growth of around 35% over the previous financial year.

We have pioneered the manufacture of lightweight, user friendly bottles to boost competitiveness and profitability in the business.”

www.glass-international.com

Piramal Glass Piramal Glass is particularly strong in the cosmetics and perfumery sector. The company also produces glass bottles for the speciality food & beverages (SF&B) and pharmaceutical industries.

The cosmetic and perfumery division accounts for 40% of the company’s total revenue.

The company has two production facilities, both in the state of Gujarat. Its Kosamba facility has an installed capacity of 340 TPD. It is equipped with six furnaces – three for pharma, and three for cosmetics and perfumery.

The company produces USP Type I, II and III amber and flint bottles and vials for the

pharmaceuticals business.

The company also produces Type III glass containers for nail enamel, perfumes, skin care, foundations, aroma oils and miniatures.

The company’s second production facility at Jambusar has a capacity of 355 TPD and produces Type III amber for food and pharmaceutical vials and bottles, and Type III flint glass for food and perfume bottles.

Schott Kaisha A joint venture between Indian company Kaisha and German company Schott, Schott Kaisha is one of the country’s largest pharmaceutical tubing producers. With its two manufacturing facilities located at Daman and Jambusar in the state of Gujarat, the company has an installed capacity to produce 2.4 billion pieces per year.

Schott Kaisha’s Jambusar plant, which commenced operations in early 2013, is one of the few fully automated pharmaceutical packaging plants in the country.

This greenfield facility, set up with an initial investment of €20 million, has increased its production capacity by about 50% to around 2.4 billion pieces per year.

Schott Kaisha’s management said: “This high-end technology is not available with any other company operating in this product category.

“Such technology guarantees an extremely efficient and reliable production process of consistent quality, underlining company’s commitment to the international good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards.”

Gerresheimer German pharma packaging producer Gerresheimer entered the Indian market by acquiring a 70% stake in the Indian company, Neutral Glass & Allied Industries in 2012.

Neutral Glass & Allied Industries manufactures type I and type III glass bottles and vials for the pharmaceutical industry at Kosamba in Gujarat and has an installed capacity to produce about 800 million bottles annually for type I and III pharmaceutical applications in amber and flint options. Gerresheimer management said: “We are investing in India at a time when its pharma sector is gaining international significance on the back of sustained high growth rates.

“This acquisition significantly broadens our production facilities, customer base and our distribution capabilities there.” �

glasspex 2017 takes place in Greater Noida, Delhi, India, February 23 - 25. www.glasspex.com

32 Glass International December/January 2017

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19/12/2016 10:37:33

Stay in touch: Join the Glassman Events Group

SOUTH AMERICA 2017 29-30 March 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina

@glassmanevents

WWW.GLASSMANEVENTS.COM/SOUTH-AMERICA

REACHING THE SOUTH AMERICAN MARKET South and Central America has been one of the most dynamic regions in the hollow glassmaking sector in recent years. There have been a host of new glassmaking facilities that have opened recently and there has been a renewed interest in the region thanks to its favourable economic and political conditions. This, coupled with an increased disposable income among the population’s consumers, has seen a surge of confidence in glass packaging.

Argentina, and its surrounding region, epitomises this renewed optimism. New President Mauricio Macri has moved the country to one that is more free market-orientated compared to his predecessor, easing trade and currency controls.

Several glass facilities have opened recently thanks in part to increased trade and the popularity of its wine and olives. Global glassmakers O-I and Verallia already have factories in Argentina, while domestic manufacturers such as Cattorini and Rigolleau are strongly represented. In addition, a new glassmaking site has opened recently in nearby Uruguay while neighbouring Chile has an established hollow glassmaking industry.

In short, there has never been a better time to expand your business within this region and we are delighted to be taking Glassman to Buenos Aires in 2017. Don’t miss out, reserve your exhibition stand now.

WHO WILL VISIT? As an exhibitor at Glassman, you can expect to meet and do business with: • Presidents / owners • Technical / production directors • Factory managers • Plant engineers • Technicians / engineers • Production / R&D / test & inspection personnel • Education & training personnel • Consultants / researchers • Sales & marketing managers Who have purchasing influence in the following areas: • Melting equipment • Forming equipment • Raw materials • Annealing equipment • Inspection / quality control • Batching equipment • Decoration equipment / materials • Cold end equipment • Processing equipment

CONFERENCE The conference will run alongside the exhibition and is free to attend for all visitors to the show. If you would like to present a paper please contact: Greg Morris | Tel: +44 (0)1737 855132 | Email: gregmorris@quartzltd.com

Glassman-Insert_South_America.indd 1

12/04/2016 13:01

Guardian interview

www.glass-international.com

What would you say has been the most exciting project that Guardian Glass has worked on recently?

Kevin Baird: It’s difficult to say the most exciting project, because we have so many. One that comes to mind is the Opera House that was recently completed in the Middle East, in Dubai. There are 1500 different pieces on the facade. That’s one personal favourite, but it is very hard to pick because of our global scale. We have so many different applications that we see at Guardian, that picking a single favourite is like asking me which one of my children is my favourite.

Sheldon Davis: That one does have the cool factor, and incorporates different glass and façade technologies. A great example of what’s possible with glass.

Kevin Baird: There’s also the Cité du Vin, in Bordeaux, France.

Gabor Andrasi: This is a museum for winemaking. Outside you have 900 different pieces of glass in different shapes, and there are 20 different patterns that were applied on the glass for appearance. The building shape is a decanter, so at the top you have a great view of the surrounding vineyards, and it used Guardian UltraClear and SunGuard Solar Gold 20 glass for an extra-clear, shiny appearance with gold colour.

We think this is very special, both because of the application of the glass and the building, and also

Building towards the fu Guardian Glass took the opportunity to launch its new branding and announce the winner of its Student Design Award at glasstec 2016.

Sally Love met with Kevin Baird, Sheldon Davis and Gabor Andrasi to discuss the company’s latest projects and plans for the future.

Photo © XTU Delphine Isart

G

uardian started out as a windshield manufacturing company in 1932 in the US. Today, it produces high performance architectural glass in 25 float plants around the world, on top of its 24 sales and distribution offices and its research centre. During a press conference at glasstec 2016, Kevin Baird set out the company’s three-step plan for future success and highlighted the geographical regions that are of interest to Guardian, before awarding a €10,000 prize to Angelo Blythe and Anastasia Tasoula Kontzes, winners of the Student Design Challenge.

Of interest to Guardian is Brazil, which despite being in a deep recession is expected to recover, and India, described as “exciting” due to its rising middle class. Europe is an area the company is optimistic about, and the Middle East, despite being described as “challenged” due to energy prices, is still interesting “for the long term”.

As for the company’s three-step plan for the future, its key points consist of commercial excellence, based on a customer focused approach and improved customer service; operations excellence, relating to optimising assets and improving quality, as well as environmental health and safety; and, of course, innovation.

Sally Love sat down with Kevin Baird, President and CEO of Guardian Glass, Sheldon Davis, Vice President of R&D, and Gabor Andrasi, Director Demand Creation (Europe) to discuss the company’s vision for the future.

the way we worked together with the architect.

The architect had a dream of what he wanted the building to look like in terms of different shapes of glass and the appearance and reflectivity, the colour, and he found Guardian glass delivered the best results and the most modern aspect.

Does Guardian normally collaborate closely with architects on a project?

Kevin Baird: We focus on commercial efforts in a few different areas and one is demand creation.

That team works with architects, and their role is to pull through the demand of our products, and to make sure the architects know what glass products we can offer and how we can support them. The architects are the artists, in the end, and when they create an image they need to know what they have to work with. In this case, our experts do work alongside architects.

Gabor Andrasi: There is a consultancy, and there is always a conversation about what architects have in mind and what we can do together. In the case of Cité du Vin, the idea was special and I think Continued>>

34 Glass International December/January 2017

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Guardian interview

e future

� Kevin Baird, President

� Gabor Andrasi, Director

and CEO of Guardian Glass.

Demand Creation (Europe), Guardian Glass.

� Sheldon Davis, Vice President of R&D, Guardian

� The Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, France. The building is in the shape of a decanter.

� Close up of the Cité du Vin building.

we were able to bring it to reality. In any building, there is always a discussion.

How does the R&D team come up with new ideas? Do ideas come from your customers, or in-house?

Kevin Baird: The truth is, it can come from either. It can come from our own R&D team that is constantly looking outward at what is trending in the segments we serve. It can come from an

employee working with a customer, or even from something like our student design competition announced at glasstec – creative people coming from different cultures and different backgrounds, who are seeing the world differently.

Sheldon Davis: We don’t keep statistics on it, but I would estimate that about a third of our ideas for product and service innovations come from this type of interaction, where an architect or designer will come to us with a vision, to achieve not only the aesthetic that they’re going for, but the performance and function as well.

About a third comes from our employees – in fact some of our best ideas – who are out in the field talking to our customers.

The remaining third comes from actively listening and working to understand the whole supply chain, from fabrication to architects to owners and occupants, who experience glass and live with our products every day. We’re really focused on seeing how we can help them solve their problems.

Those are probably the three key areas from which we are constantly evaluating and expanding upon our capabilities

What trends are you noticing in the construction industry at the moment?

Kevin Baird: Daylighting. Offices today use more Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

Photo © XTU Paul Desmazières

Glass.

35 Glass International December/January 2017

Guardian.indd 2

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Guardian interview

� The winners of Guardian’s Student Design Award envisioned this tourist boat.

glass in the facades and the interiors to bring light in. Offices are also smaller today, and glass gives an illusion of space.

The consumers’ appetite for daylighting drives demand and architects like to use glass. Here again the Cité du Vin is a great example. Glass is not only beautiful it is energy efficient. Guardian Glass products are able to meet both trends in performance and aesthetics.

Gabor Andrasi: Yes, daylight, so you want to have the maximum amount of light coming in, together with excellent thermal performance so it helps maintain a comfortable climate inside regardless of the temperature outside.

If I had to summarise everything, what architects today are asking for is maximum visibility, maximum thermal and sound insulation, with the maximum neutrality in appearance.

In terms of the increasing importance of aesthetics another trend is reflectivity – reflectivity from inside to outside in buildings.

In cities such as London, Paris, Dubai, New York, you want to enjoy views in residential buildings, so it’s important to have a good visibility. Outside reflection is also really important in big cities – there is a lot of visual noise, and it’s another trend.

Kevin Baird: Two other things: Safety and security. This is why we see a growing demand for laminated glass, two pieces of glass with an interlayer, generally a PVB, for sound insulation and for safety. As an example, many hurricane areas now require use of laminated glass.

www.glass-international.com

Geographically, where is Guardian’s business currently seeing the most increase?

Kevin Baird: There are a few different places. In India you have more than 1 billion people, a rising middle class, and a focus on the environment, so all these things play to our advantage. India is a growth region and we will be adding an advanced sputter coater at our joint venture plant in Gujarat.

The US and Europe are also growth opportunities.

Why? These are more developed regions, but as economies get better there is always an increased use of glass. Here you’ll find trends to triple glazed laminated, high performance glass. So, in more developed countries you have the actual demand for glass growing at a rate higher than GDP.

Where do you anticipate your most important region being in, say, five or 10 years?

“We want people to immediately understand that our vision is to create value for our customers, our company and the communities in which we live and work

”

Kevin Baird: Emerging markets for sure. As an example, if you look at the history of Brazil economically, it would suggest that in four or five years it will again be a leading region. We see strong growth in Latin America overall.

Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific – Malaysia, Vietnam, these are also important regions. Also, Russia certainly has geopolitical issues but that is also a country where Guardian Glass has longterm interest.

Is the trend for Industry 4.0 having much of an impact on Guardian?

Sheldon Davis: It is something that we are striving towards. We try to use the fewest possible resources to produce and provide our services. The idea of Industry 4.0 is to do exactly that. We are on that arc, by trying to improve our manufacturing assets and by making better decisions.

You talked about attracting talent into junior roles – what does Guardian do to attract young talent?

Kevin Baird: We recruit using some of the traditional methods, going to universities and job fairs, and through professional recruiters, as well as through new avenues such as the recent design award. We have also increased the number of expatriates that we have working in the company, so we have more people who move country to country, and we know that is attractive for millennials, who also place a great deal of value on companies being good corporate citizens and stewards of the environment. We pride ourselves on this, and it supports our efforts around attraction and retention.

We’re also doing a lot of work with our websites, because today, if people want to know something about Guardian, the first place they go is to our website. We want people to immediately understand that our vision is to create value for our customers, our company and the communities in which we live and work. �

Guardian Industries, Auburn Hills, USA www.guardianglass.com

36 Glass International December/January 2017

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History

Prof. John Parker

A pointless element?

F

ans of ‘Pointless’, the popular UK television quiz programme, will recognise that neodymium is well worth remembering when seeking that elusive pointless answer. In chemical parlance, it’s one of the 15 lanthanide elements from lanthanum to lutetium, where each extra electron through the sequence is added to a 4f orbital (lutetium has an extra d electron).

These orbitals lie deep inside the atom or its ion and are largely unaffected by chemical environment; consequently all lanthanides have similar chemistries.

They are also known as ‘rare earths’ (REs). Actually neodymium is not that rare - the natural abundances of copper, cobalt and nickel are similar. What differentiates it and other rare earths is their similarity, which makes isolating individual species difficult. So in 1841 a pink oxide was extracted from a cerium rich ore and was given the name didymium from the Greek for twin (didymus) it being ‘an inseparable twin brother of lanthanum’.

Not until 1885 did von Welsbach discover that didymium could itself be separated into 2 components: praseodymium (green twin) and neodymium (new twin)!

The 4f electronic energy levels are well defined, unperturbed by surrounding atoms, and only partially filled by electrons which are not necessarily paired. Unpaired electrons give atoms a magnetic moment and powerful neodymium alloy magnets are common in modern microphones, loudspeakers, motors etc.

Electronic transitions between these 4f levels by absorption of visible light at specific wavelengths gives the doped glasses their colour, generally more of a pastel shade than the brighter colours linked to transition metal dopants (Cr, Co…). Excited RE atoms do not easily transfer their excess energy to their surroundings; instead energy loss is often by fluorescence.

Our glass collection at the Turner

Museum of Glass has two beautiful Bohemian vases coloured by neodymium.

Their colour ranges from violet to winered depending on how far the light has travelled e.g. just through a wall or much further through the base.

The colour also depends on lighting conditions i.e. sunlight versus incandescent versus fluorescent light sources. The glass is termed dichroic to indicate the sensitivity of its perceived hue to light source and pathlength.

From the late 1920s, Moser in Czechoslovakia made glassware with up to 5wt % Nd2O3 called alexandrit, the beryllium aluminate mineral it mimicked.

Other glassmakers produced similar products from the 1930s under various trade names: wisteria, heatherbloom and twilight; examples are still available in the Czech Republic, USA and China.

Vessels coloured by ‘didymium’ i.e. the unseparated mixture were also made and welders’ protective glasses were once coloured by it.

Dichroism is linked to the sharpness of the spectral absorption lines responsible for the colour. For similar reasons neodymium glasses have had other uses e.g. calibrating spectral line positions in astronomy. Another bizarre suggestion in WW2 was to glaze factory sky-lights with neodymium doped glasses. It absorbs sodium yellow light strongly and the aim was to allow night working under sodium lighting without blackout blinds. Although never implemented, neodymium doped filters are used to reduce yellow hues for indoor photography and to increase the colour temperature of incandescent lamps by shifting the principal emission to shorter wavelengths. They have even been patented for car rear-view mirrors to reduce glare at night (under Na lighting).

Another potential application during WW2 was signalling. Any attempt to send messages by encoding a light signal using shutters was bound to be spotted because

flashing lights stood out, while steady beams went largely unnoticed. So the proposal was to encode a signal using an Nd doped glass shutter to cut out a specific wavelength(s) i.e. a small part of the total beam. Thus no intensity variation was noticeable but a viewer with a filter that transmitted just the modulated wavelengths could read the message.

As mentioned, optically excited Nd ions can fluoresce depending on host glass composition. In a neodymium laser the excited ions emit light in a coordinated way, stimulated by a ‘seed’ beam reflected to and fro. The neodymium energy levels allow creation of high power lasers giving coherent IR radiation at 1.06 microns.

One application is the generation of intense light beams to initiate nuclear fusion (Inertial Confinement Fusion) and this has recently shown the potential to produce more energy than it consumes.

Neodymium is also capable of lasing at 1.3 microns, of significance because it is one of the wavelength windows of silica telecommunications fibres. Considerable research effort has been spent in optimising such systems because they offer the possibility of a built-in amplifier within the fibre. Currently though another rare earth ‘erbium’, which lases at the 1.5 micron telecoms window, is more efficient and the preferred choice.

Now can you guess which rare earth has been studied as a glass decoloriser, balancing the green iron shade as the Co/ Se system does? Of course it’s neodymium - perhaps not quite so pointless after all! �

Bibliography Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Neodymium Weyl ‘Coloured Glasses’. Society of Glass Technology, 1951

*Curator of the Turner Museum of Glass, The University of Sheffield, UK. www.turnermuseum.group.shef.ac.uk j.m.parker@sheffield.ac.uk

www.glass-international.com

Prof. John Parker discusses the evolution of the rare earth neodymium and its pivotal role in the glass industry.

37 Glass International December/January 2017

History.indd 1

12/12/2016 14:14:52

Ware handling

� PBO/Aramid/stainless-steel braid. � Swabbing brushes made of high temp resistant fibre.

Technology to choose spare parts for IS machines F

erlam Technologies is known in Steel part, which will lead to increased the industry for its know-how in efficiency and longer lifetime, reducing technical textile fibres such as maintenance time and costs on the lines.

Stainless-Steel, Para-aramid and PBO. It The application can be found by is proud to introduce its new application searching for Ferlam Technologies on the for the hollow glass sector.

Google Play Store and the Apple Store.

The application is a user-friendly app The company has also developed a which will help the IS maintenance team mould cleaning swabbing brush. make a quick decision on the type of part The hollow sector usually uses cotton to use. brushes which are resistant to 120°C. With this application, operators can Ferlam said its special fibre brushes can choose between several types of IS spare resist up to 450°C. part products such as the pusher, stacker, This high temperature resistance transfer, guide and gripper. means its swabbing brushes have a six to Users of the app will find their own eight times longer lifetime that reduces product with a 3D view of it, the drawing lubricant consumption, with less orange of it, and also a quick animation video to marks on the bottles. It also decreases see where to use it if needed.

All Ferlam’s parts are made with its 100% Stainless-Steel 316L braid.

Ferlam Technologies has supplied the worldwide hollow glass sector with its braid for more than 10 years.

Its Stainless-Steel braid is a markfree product thanks to its low density. This will help to get more pp. air in the braid and ensure better rlam’s a ule on Fe d o m rt a results. spare p ew of the � A 3D vi The graphite part can be easily replaced with Ferlam’s Stainless-

the checks on the bottles.

The swabs are made to measure with a special blend of fibres – anyone interested should contact the company for a free trial.

The company is also a partner for all kinds of 100% stainless-steel nonwoven felts, with or without scrim in the middle. It has also developed a 70%/30% Stainless-Steel/Aramid felt to be used as a vacuum pad in the Tableware & Crystal Industry. Several thickness and densities are available.

For more than 30 years, it has supplied stainless steel square braids and tapes in different thicknesses and widths. It can also provide stainless steel/para-aramid blending or stainless steel/PBO blending.

These braids or tapes can be used to replace the existing graphite/carbon part.

It can also be used for the wheel transfer machine and the stacker bar.

Ferlam Technologies masters the entire process from fibre to finished product, and is thus able to develop the product on a tailor-made basis. �

*Glass Market Manager, Ferlam Technologies, Roubaix, France Email grardel@ferlam.com www.ferlam.com/

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Victor Grardel* describes how Ferlam Technologies has developed a series of products for ware handling in the hollow glass industry.

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Ware handling

� Stable, high-speed transferring.

Integrating speed and stability: the ware handling goal T

he speed and the efficiency of an entire hollow glass container production line is reliant on good quality ware handling. Production speeds on today’s Quad Gob, 12-section forming machines are rapidly approaching the 760 bottles-per-minute mark and critically it is at the hot end where good quality containers can be lost.

It is essential the equipment is set up correctly to optimise ware handling. It can take the same amount of time to set up a machine correctly as it does to set it up incorrectly. Therefore it is logical that an integrated ware handling system that incorporates the elements of ware handling machinery into one unit could be the key to assisting consistent and correct equipment set up.

Such a system should combine the disparate elements of IS machine conveyor drive, Ware Transfer drive, IS machine Intermediate (dual) belt conveyor drive and an integrated cross conveyor idle end.

Add to this a proven, high-speed transfer unit and an increase in the pack rate into the lehr of 3% is certainly achievable.

The ITS-1000 system is engineered to enhance the stability of containers as they make the transition through 90 degrees.

There are several factors to successful transferring of containers:

� Position of containers on the IS machine conveyor. � Stability of the container in the transfer pocket. � Stability of container entering the cross conveyor. � Position of container on the cross conveyor.

The synchronisation between the containers on the machine conveyor and the transfer pockets is critical and with poor set up of the sweep-outs and not compensated for belt stretch, a misalignment of containers is detrimental to consistent ware handling. To counteract unequal positioning, the VFT-2000 highspeed transfer features an elongated leadin to an already enlarged transfer curve, ensuring that the misaligned containers are collected, guided and stabilised prior to entering the transfer curve.

Once in to the transfer pocket, the changing direction of the container subjects it to varying adverse forces, decreasing its stability. The role of an intermediate belt is to provide consistent momentum in one single direction, which in turn holds the container firmly in the transfer pocket. This secondary belt should have the ability to have its speed adjusted, either independently, from

the software of the Sheppee Triflex servo lehr loader or from the IS machine drive system’s control software.

The intermediate belt should also be considered as a replacement for the traditional transfer dead plate, often looked upon as an area of concern for the stable movement of containers and as a potential source of thermal shock being imparted to the base of any article passing over it. The 150mm width of the moving silent chain conveyor belt eradicates the need for the wide, static transfer dead plate, reducing it to little more than a 30mm transition strip. This minimises the amount of friction generated at the container base and also removes another source of instability or un-evenness at this critical point. A further benefit is that the plant’s inventory gets smaller as frequent dead plate changes are no longer required.

As the container is transited through the transfer curve, the transfer can reduce the container spacing, and in some cases by 18%, eliminating the necessity of decreasing the cross conveyor speed to reduce container spacing, in turn helping to sustain high production speeds.

Continued>>

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Andy Ross* describes how an integrated ware handling system, could be the key to assisting consistent and correct equipment set up. The system is in place at Turkish glass manufacturer, Gürallar Cam Ambalaj, with successful results.

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Ware handling

Point of transition Another frequently overlooked cause of container instability is the point of transition on to the cross conveyor. As the silent tooth chain rolls over the conveyor’s idle sprocket, the toothed chain often sags causing a dip in the transferring surface. This creates instability in the container and can be a contributing factor to container misalignment on the cross conveyor. To counter this, the integrated cross conveyor idle end encompasses a lower wear plate positioned beneath the silent tooth chain at the point it disengages from the idle sprocket. This ensures that the transfer surface of the chain remains level.

Instability leaving the transfer can be caused by the transfer finger conflicting with the container as it arrives on to the cross conveyor. A transfer should incorporate a finger retract at this point, ensuring that as it leaves contact with the container it does not move or reposition it in any way.

There should also be some compatibility between an intermediate belt drive system and the existing cross conveyor, meaning that the end user can benefit from all the advantages of totally integrated ware handling without the expense of replacing equipment.

These elements, when combined properly, will ensure that perfectly synchronised and positioned containers arrive in front of the stacker and push-bar, ready to be loaded into the lehr.

� Integrated Transfer System.

to complement the existing transfers and transfer drive units. The facility has been operational since the end of 2014 with a capacity of 300 tons/day from a single furnace, with plans and the infrastructure to increase capacity soon. The plant

contains modern technology and automation systems throughout. With over 300 new employees, it is the first stage of a large investment by the Gurallar Group, which has a broad portfolio of commercial interests, including the world’s 5th largest tableware manufacturer, LAV. No longer frustrated by transfer and ware handling performance, Mr. Bekir Ekin Gezer, Production Engineer for the Turkish container manufacturer stated: “Our priority is to produce as many high quality bottles as possible. We asked Sheppee to help us improve their transfers’ performance. The intermediate belt gives the bottles more stability and we don’t have the problem at the dead plate area any more. We were able to reuse our existing IS machine conveyor drive and the units [Sheppee] supplied are easy to operate. Our ‘lehr in’ ratios are higher, too.” �

*Regional Sales Director – EMEA, Sheppee International, Elvington, UK www.sheppee.com

Case study GCA Gürallar Cam Ambalaj of Turkey was Sheppee’s first business partner for an intermediate belt-drive system, taking two units for its Kütahya facility,

Gürallar Cam Ambalaj, Kütahya, Turkey www.gca.com

� Intermediate Belt Drive + very fast transfer in

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typical configuration.

� 12-Section TG production.

42 Glass International December/January 2017

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Process control

Industry 4.0: An important challenge for glass manufacturers Ulas Topal* and Marie-Claude Cens** discuss how the latest software supports glass manufacturers tackling the challenge of Smart Industry.

44

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T

he digital revolution is entering our daily working life with new technologies such as online information platforms, mobility, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, cloud, big data and social media.

Manufacturers struggle to integrate these evolutions inside their factories and enter into what is commonly called the 4th industrial revolution.

To be considered as a Smart Industry, a factory or system must meet four requirements: � Interoperability: machines, devices, sensors and people are connected and communicate with one another; � Information transparency: the systems create a virtual copy of the physical world through sensor data to contextualise information; � Technical assistance: both the ability of the systems to support humans in making decisions and solving problems, and the ability to assist humans with tasks that are too difficult or unsafe for humans; � Decentralised decision-making: the ability of cyber-physical systems to make simple decisions on their own and become as autonomous as possible.

but information must arrive directly to them; � Managers need to know performances in real time and on mobile devices; � Operators must be flexible and mobile on-line, when using line information systems.

Customer requests

Connected objects in the factory can send and receive information, offering more added value.

All equipment may be connected: batch, furnaces, feeders, IS machines, lehrs, inspection machines, sensors and so on.

A palletising robot, for instance, can send real-time information about its speed, current pallet reference, stock status for wooden pallets and intermediate layers, power consumption and operation alarms with duration and

In parallel to these transformations of industry, customers are getting more demanding. They require higher quality, better price, quicker and scheduled delivery, customised products, traceability of their production data and a high level of support from their suppliers.

Consequently, manufacturers face new challenges such as: � Flexibility and mobility; � Direct information: managers should not have to look for information,

down-time reasons.

Equipment will communicate without knowing who will use its information.

Data transmission is no longer made via fieldbus, which required knowledge of PLC programming, but thanks to web services inherited from the web2.0 and XML tags which may be either globally standardised or defined by manufacturers.

The information collected from factory equipment helps operators and managers to take corrective and preventive action to improve supplies, energy management, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), line efficiency, quality level and costs.

Information exchange � Fig.1: Manufacturing Execution System.

Regular and detailed analysis needs to be performed to improve quality and performances. Stronger analysis can dramatically improve product development.

However, analysis requires getting data from the equipment and devices located in the factory and saving data on a longterm basis.

Connected equipment

At the heart of the digital revolution, the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is a control system for managing and monitoring work-in-process on a factory floor. The goal of a manufacturing execution system is to improve productivity and reduce cycle-time, the total time to produce an order. In the factory pyramid, the MES is the lay between the ERP system and the machines and connected devices.

MES ensures data collection (information from equipment and devices), data extraction for analysis, data display (on monitors, tablets, smartphones) and data exchange (with ERP systems and external reporting systems) Fig. 1.

New technologies also have an impact on MES suppliers and software developers.

Software innovation is made possible through collaborative innovation, associating the expertise of the MES suppliers, mobile application developers, Continued>>

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Process control

� Fig. 3: Data extraction solution.

� Fig. 2: Plant information dashboard. inspection equipment suppliers and customers’ experiences.

For software developers, it is essential to place glass manufacturers at the centre of discussion, listen to their requirements and make relevant developments through active collaboration.

Flexibility has become essential, even to industrial applications such as plant management systems. Applications used to be displayed on plant PCs, then on managers’ laptops.

Now, applications for production monitoring and quality control management are fully online and can be displayed on tablets and smartphones.

Personalised dashboard for plant management To help glass manufacturers to increase their competitiveness and reach the key step forward, Industry 4.0, the SIL solution for plant performance management supplies a personalised dashboard to monitor production information in real time (Fig. 2 and Fig .3).

Managers, supervisors, quality controllers, line operators and so on, can personalise their own dashboard with useful indicators suitable for their particular needs. A comprehensive suite of more than 50 configurable widgets with notifications allow direct access to

GLASS HAS A GREAT PAST.

key information.

The SIL dashboard is the entry to a complete production monitoring solution to monitor glass manufacturers performances in real time and ensure traceability of production data on a long term basis. �

*This is an abridged version of a paper given

by Mr Topal at the 40th AFGM conference held in Hua Hun, Thailand in October 2016.

* CEO **Marketing Director, Vertech, Chalon-sur-Saône, France, www.vertech.eu/

YOUR PRODUCTION HAS A GREAT FUTURE. An IS machine keeps going almost indefinitely – provided the control system doesn’t let you down first. In practice, however, discontinued products or obsolete interfaces can seriously impact your competitiveness ahead of time. This is where we step in.

With more than 40 years’ experience in automation, FMT24S distributed control systems and FDU24S

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drive solutions, we have the know-how to refurbish any IS machine in the market. Now and in the future.

automation in a new dimension

futronic GmbH · Tolnauer Strasse 3-4 · 88069 Tettnang (Germany) Tel. +49 7542 5307-0 · Fax +49 7542 5307-70 · info@futronic.de

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Coatings

Selecting the best float glass coating technology Ron Hunt* and Chris Cording** discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques available to deposit thin films on to flat glass. � An under coater.

A

variety of techniques is available to deposit thin films on to flat glass.

The most widely used of these for producing high quality functional coatings can be subdivided into two classes: Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD).

PVD processes include a number of approaches of which sputtering is one, and is also the one most widely used for glass. Sputtered coatings are generally referred to as soft coated and are applied using PVD processes. Pyrolytic coatings are applied using CVD methods and are often referred to as hard coated.

Both have advantages and disadvantages. It is important to consider the performance and handling factors that best meet product and manufacturing needs when evaluating which system is right for a glass manufacturing facility.

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Magnetron sputtered technology Sputtered coatings are applied offline independently of the float glass manufacturing process. Thin films are formed by accelerating high energy ions from targets toward the glass surface at low temperatures. The ions bombard the glass surface forming uniform thin layers.

The bond is weak, and this is why the process is called ‘soft coating’.

Commercial sputtered coatings are produced by depositing 6 to 12 layers of thin metallic and oxide coatings on to the surface of the glass in a vacuum chamber.

Silver is the active layer for low emissivity sputtered coatings. Additional layers include barriers, colour modification oxide layers and sacrificial metal layers.

Sputter manufactures can use these additional layers to offer more products than pyrolytic producers offer.

Off-line batch sputtered soft coatings offer a few benefits such as: � Sputtering can be done by companies not involved in glass production; � Sputtering is an established process with a range of target materials; � Short delivery times are possible with less inventory per product; � By depositing more layers sputtered coatings can offer better properties for some applications.

Many companies embrace sputter coating for the above advantages. Glass distributers have little choice but to install sputter systems to grow their businesses, which accounts for the popularity of sputter systems. However, glass manufacturers have other options and should also consider the disadvantages of sputter coating: 1. Capital costs are higher for sputtering equipment relative to production capacity.

2. Manufacturing costs are high due to materials, energy, maintenance and depreciation (often 2 to 3 times the price of CVD coatings), resulting in low margins.

3. Yields decline as more layers are deposited.

4. Sputtered coatings are soft and scratch easily during normal handling and fabrication.

5. Sputtered coatings are sensitive to moisture, requiring sealed bags with desiccant.

6. Shelf life is limited with sealed packaging and further reduced after packaging is opened.

7. Sputtered coatings have weak adhesion that can cause sealant failures in insulated glass units. Edge deletion of sputtered coatings is recommended, adding to manufacturing costs. Sputtered coatings that don’t require edge deletion can experience rapid seal failure due to certain detergents and brick washes.

8. Sputtered coatings cannot typically be used with single pane applications.

9. Toughened soft coat requires unusual skill and often results in increased toughening losses.

Pyrolytic CVD technology Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is used to produce aesthetic and functional coatings. Specialised coaters produce CVD coatings by passing metal oxides over semi molten glass (600°C to 700°C) during the glass manufacturing process. A chemical reaction occurs joining the vapour on to the glass surface permanently with a Continued>>

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Coatings

strong covalent bond, the result is a hard and robust coating that enhances the strength and stain resistance of the glass.

These hard coatings are more durable than soft and fragile sputtered coatings, which can be accidently wiped off during normal handling. Manufactures and fabricators handle CVD coatings with the same procedures and equipment as standard float glass, resulting in higher yields, higher profit excellent lead times and improved customer service.

Pyrolytic CVD coatings offer benefits: � Lower capital investment; � Higher yields; � Lower manufacturing cost: CVD coatings cost ~$1/m2 versus sputter coatings ~$4/m2; � CVD is an on-line process, resulting in unmatched throughput; � CVD coatings are bonded to the glass with covalent bonds resulting in increased shelf life, scratch resistance and stain resistance; � CVD coatings can be used in speciality applications such as monolithic, touch screen and anti-microbial. Conductive coating applications such as solar panels and appliance glass are more practical with CVD coatings; � Special handling equipment and procedures are not needed; glass is handled and shipped with the same equipment as base glass; � CVD coatings are not susceptible to delamination caused by moisture in the air, resulting in an unlimited shelf life; � CVD glass is toughened similarly to standard float glass products, resulting in improved throughput and cost effectiveness; � There is no visual differentiation between annealed or tempered CVD products. Projects requiring a mix of toughened and annealed glass benefit from a more pleasing uniform colour.

While possessing several benefits from a production standpoint, CVD is not as widely used as sputtering because: 1. CVD technology, for on-line use, was not readily available on attractive commercial terms until recently.

2. CVD system must be installed on-line at a float glass manufacturing facility.

3. Some manufacturers mistakenly believe CVD cannot be installed due to space constraints.

4. Some manufacturers mistakenly believe CVD can only be installed during a cold repair.

Which is best?

Which type of coated glass is best depends on several factors for a glass manufacturer, including where customers are located, the size and type of operation, inventory turns and desired durability.

For most glass manufacturers though , pyrolytic CVD technology is superior due to lower capital and operating costs, and higher throughput.

For downstream customers, both sputter coated and pyrolytic glass are viewed as high-performance glass products. Architects and building owners are generally open to using both products and are primarily concerned with aesthetics that slightly favours CVD. �

SCRAPER CONVEYOR

Automatic Chutes

CULLET CRUSHER

*Process Engineer, **Technical Director Stewart Engineers, Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA info@stewartengineers.com. www.stewartengineers.com Glass International December/January 2017

• Belt and spindles tempering lines • Decorating lehrs • Chemical tempering ovens • Roller annealing lehrs • Mold pre-heating kilns • Stackers + cross conveyors • Scraper conveyors • Cullet crushers • Thermal shock test systems Contact us: vidromecanica@vidromecanica.com

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CLASSIFIEDS

COMBUSTION

COMBUSTION EQUIPMENT

ANNEALING LEHRS

SYSTEMS/BURNERS

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TEMPERING LINES ON BELT / SPINDLES for Tableware and Stemware

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Tel: 0049 9603/1295 Fax: 0049 9603/2995 info@bock-energietec.de www.bock-energietec.de

HOTSheppee ENDClassified WARE advert.pdf HANDLING

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Lubricating and Coating Solutions for the Glass Container Industry Graphoidal Developments Ltd, Broombank Road, Chesterfield, S41 9QJ, England

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Contact Esme Horn T+44 (0) 1737 855136 to book your space

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Defects no longer know where to hide

Intelligent engraving inspection The Evolution 12 engraving identification and inspection module is a software innovation that allows the machine to identify engravings in a container’s body or base.

Because it is very difficult to predict how an engraving will look, this module dramatically improves inspection in these areas. By calculating the position of the engraving, the machine identifies the pixels related to the engraving, as well as those that relate to a defect.

This algorithm has been improved and tested over recent months on several production lines, including those devoted to beers, carbonated beverages, wine and high value spirits.

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