Glass International February 2017

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February 2017—Vol.40 No.2

ARDAGH LIMMARED EXCLUSIVE PROFILE SOUTH AMERICA OVERVIEW GERRESHEIMER PROFILE I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

Glass International February 2017

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

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Contents

February 2017 Vol.40 No.2 2 Editor’s Comment WWW.GLASS-INTERNATIONAL.COM

5 International news

February 2017—Vol.40 No.2

12 Company profile: Ardagh Limmared Limmared’s €21 million upgrade to

ARDAGH LIMMARED EXCLUSIVE PROFILE SOUTH AMERICA OVERVIEW GERRESHEIMER PROFILE I N T E R N A T I O N A L

meet needs of drinks market

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

Glass International February 2017

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17 South America overview: Hollow glass South America remains a hollow

glassmaking hub 20 Company profile: Vidroporto

Vidroporto enjoys benefits of furnace No.3 23 Company profile: Cristalerias Toro

Family-owned group with a focus on the environment

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

Front cover image www.teco.com

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26 Company profile: Gerresheimer Lohr

Maintaining high standards in the pharma sector 30 Company profile: Gerresheimer Wertheim

Eliminating defects in ampoule production at Wertheim 32 Inspection: Bucher Emhart Glass Kuwait group installs FleXinspect 35 Refractories: RHI Bonded refractories an alternative to AZS in furnace superstructures

40 History A glass jaw 42 Technical Topics An illuminating subject

Plus find us on Linked-In and Twitter.

45 Events world: Horn Safety Seminar A question of safety @Glass_Int

www.glass-international.com

45

46 Events world: AFGM

Thailand welcomes international guests at AFGM event

www.glass-international.com

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38 People profile: MTC Chairman

MTC Chairman encourages more youngsters to participate in glass

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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

Ardagh unveils revitalised Limmared glassmaking site

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 had been a long, cold and arduous morning.

I’d been up since 4.30am after a sleepless night, plagued by worry I had missed my early alarm call.

I had a head cold and the landscape around me was bleak, frosty and grey. I was miles from home, the temperature was dropping to below zero and then I realised I had forgotten my gloves.

Then, like something out of an old MGM musical – or latest Hollywood blockbuster La La land – my world was suddenly filled with vivid and inspiring colours. Gobs of flame torpedoed in front of my eyes, equipment shimmered like freshly opened toys from a Christmas present, while all around me the hum of recently annealed amber and transparent bottles clinked in my ears.

Such was my first impression of Ardagh Limmared’s revitalised site in Sweden.

I had travelled there in the depths of winter while under the weather, but there was something about the site (or any glass site) that lifted my spirits. The plant has undergone a huge modernisation, which included a new furnace, IS machine and cold end as well as structural.

I was privileged to be one of the first outsiders from the company to be able to tour the upgraded plant and I must give my thanks to Ardagh for permitting me to visit. A tour of any glass plant is always compelling, but this one, with its paint

still metaphorically wet on the walls, was particularly stimulating.

One thing that stood out was how much pride the plant staff, led by Ardagh’s Nordic Operations Director, BoLennart Nilsson, took in their plant.

The plant is in a relatively remote area of Sweden and most workers live locally, so it plays an important part of their lives.

The site is renowned as the bottlemaking plant for Absolut vodka bottles, which have won awards as a result of some of the decorative genius applied by the workers to the bottles.

This upgrade though will allow the site to move further into the field of cider and beer bottle making, many of which will be exported around Europe. Expect to have a Made in Limmared bottle in your hand any time soon.

Glass plants are the focus of this issue.

Gerresheimer also very kindly provided me with a tour of two of its German plants, in Lohr and Wertheim. The process of forming glass is fundamentally different in each. Lohr is dedicated to container production while Wertheim makes ampoules for pharmaceutical use.

Ampoule production may not win awards like an Absolut bottle, but proves how glass remains vital to our existence. � Greg Morris, Editor gregmorris@quartzltd.com

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29-30 March 2017, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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2 Glass International February 2017

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International News

Europeans sign contracts with Bolivian glassmaker, Envibol The new glass plant in the municipality of Zudáñez is expected to produce 120 tons of glass per day, the equivalent of 200,000 glass containers a day.

The glass packaging company was created by a Bolivian government’s Supreme Decree in April 2015, with the aim of manufacturing and marketing glass containers.

Officials of the Bolivia-based Productive Public Company of Glass Containers (Envibol), a subsidiary of the Public Enterprises Development Service (Sedem), signed contracts with the overseas officials in Chuquisaca last year.

The plant’s operation will generate 150 direct and 500 indirect jobs.

Revimac installs 500th stacker Vetri Speciali’s Managing Director, Giorgio Mazzer, was presented with a plaque of appreciation by Gilberto Volpato, Revimac Sales Director, on the inauguration of the Gardolo glass factory, where the 500th Revimac stacker was installed. Also present were Vetri Speciali’s General Manager, Mr Camarin and Technical Manager, Mr Pastore, as well as Mr Marco Tecchio, Bottero CEO.

in 2014 for Emhart to launch its BlankRadar (based on two of Xpar’s products – the Gob Assist and the Blank Temperature Control.)

As with the BlankRadar, Emhart will provide full support for the FlexRadar system, including sales and marketing, installation and training.

Mr Dirk Jongert With sadness, VDV Lubricants has announced that its General Manager, Mr. Dirk Jongert, pictured, passed away on December 15th, 2016.

He was a dedicated manager, a good mentor and above all a warm and committed person, said VDV.

Glass production equipment supplier Fives has provided furnace technology for Turkish glassmaker Düzce Cam’s float line.

The complete float glass line with a melting capacity of 800t/day can produce a glass thickness from 3mm to 10mm.

The start-up took place as planned on 15 November at the Düzce site, 220km from Istanbul in the presence of staff, commissioning teams and suppliers to the plant.

Schott uses big data

Schott is integrating a big data solution into its pharmaceutical tubing production.

The data solution will replace statistical samplebased quality assurance with 100% on-line measurement.

Its new IT-based process, called perfeXion, processand product-quality data of each individual glass tube is collected online and in realtime.

Allied’s bottles

Xpar and Emhart agreement Xpar Vision and Bucher Emhart Glass have extended their cooperation agreement.

Emhart will sell the Xpar IR-D system under Emhart’s ‘FlexRadar’ brand. It will replace the actual FlexRadar system, developed by Emhart.

The two companies originally formed an agreement

Fives furnace joy

“We thank him for all these years of dedication and commitment.We will continue to build our business success on his foundations,” it said.

His function as General Manager of VDV Lubricants will be taken over by François Breye.

Xpar Vision will continue to sell, market and support its own IR-D system independently. It will also implement future developments to the system based on customers’ and Emhart’s requests.

The new FlexRadar will be available through Emhart from Q2 2017 onwards.

Allied’s new range of premium bottles has been designed to showcase any gin, whisky, vodka or rum product as a premium offering.

Named after Isaac Newton and Isambard KingdomBrunel, the bottles were designed and manufactured to celebrate the best in forward thinking.

BDF in Argentina event

Italian company BDF Industries is the latest group to confirm its participation to a forthcoming Argentinian container glass exhibition.

BDF, among the four largest suppliers of engineering solutions and equipment to the glass industry worldwide, has taken a 36m2 stand at the Glassman South America exhibition.

The event involves an exhibition and free-to-attend conference and takes place at Centro Costa Salguero, Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday 29 March and Thursday 30 March.

www.glass-international.com

Bolivian packaging group Envibol has signed contracts with European suppliers to implement its glass plant.

Italian companies BDF Industries, Bottero, Antonini, Zecchetti and French inspection group Tiama have all signed contracts with the Bolivian government, which is constructing the plant.

NEWS IN BRIEF

5 Glass International February 2017

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International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Linde and Praxair merge

Linde and Praxair, Inc. plan to merge. The two companies said they intend to combine in a merger of equals under a new holding company through an all-stock transaction.

The companies have signed a non-binding term sheet and expect to execute a definitive Business Combination Agreement as soon as practicable.

The proposed merger would bring together two companies in the global industrial gas industry.

Turkish delight

A new company, Derya, has been launched in Turkey with a mould manufacturing facility that will operate under the brand name Glassymould.

Mehmet Sahin, CoFounder of the company, has worked in the tableware glass industry for 18 years, supplying moulds to the sector.

Glaston Chile deal

Glaston has closed an important deal for a FC Series flat tempering furnace with Chinook convection system to Comercial Dialum, located in Santiago, Chile.

Measured by size, this is the biggest flat tempering furnace that Glaston has ever sold in South America.

The furnace will be delivered in the summer.

www.glass-international.com

Glass Service to host seminar on Industry 4.0

6

Glass Service will host the 14th International Seminar on Furnace Design – Operation and Process Simulation, on the 21-22 June 2017 at the Hotel Horal mountain resort in the Czech Republic.

In conjunction with the seminar, on the 20th June the ICG Technical Committee 15 & 21 Meeting and the GS Glass Furnace Model (GFM) User Meeting will be held.

The seminar is open to all wanting to learn more about Industry 4.0 and the optimisation of their glass melting furnaces.

For further information, visit www.gsl.cz or email seminar@gsl.cz

VOA celebrates the restart of furnace No.2 in Albi, France VOA (Verrerie d’Albi) has marked the restart of furnace no.2 with a match-lighting ceremony at the plant.

Verallia has invested more than €46m in one year to modernise VOA’s two furnaces.

VOA’s furnace No.1, dedicated to the production of very high quality flint and extra-flint glass, underwent a complete rebuild at the end of 2015 and came into service at the beginning of 2016.

Fully refurbished in turn, furnace No.2, which produces green, dead-leaf and cannelle-colored bottles, has restarted.

With these new installations, VOA can rely on flexible manufacturing to ensure the continuous production of a variety of bottles.

VOA, which celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2016, employs more than 300 people and manufactures 800,000 bottles every day.

Benoît Chatillon, Managing Director of VOA, stated: “The modernisation of furnace No.2 and all its manufacturing lines concludes an investment programme that is historically

high for our site.

“Today, our plant is newly equipped with industry-standard tools.”

Pictured: Pierrette Marty and Simon Duran, two retirees from the VOA plant, light the matchstick at the furnace reopening event.

Pennine launches power transmission chain Pennine Industrial has launched its new range of Penn-Power Inverted Tooth Power Transmission Chain.

Pennine’s new PP and PPV range use components manufactured in its assembly facility in Yorkshire, UK and its own press shop also in the UK. All steel used in its new

power transmission chains is sourced from either the UK or within Europe The new PP range is available in both 3/8” and 1/2” pitch designs with standard widths between 3/4” (19mm) and 6” (150mm). Typical applications for the new Pennine PP chains would be chain drives with high loads and speed where space is limited.

The PPV range of chains and sprockets redefines high performance for inverted tooth chains, capable of speeds in ex-

cess of 2000 metres/min.

The PPV chain is interchangeable with our competitors chains and like the PP range are available in both 3/8” and 1/2” pitch.

Both types of chain are available in Centre and Side guide assemblies. All the link plates used in these chains include special processes which increase the load bearing contact points and relieves material stresses, giving uniformed components.

Pennine can either supply replacement chains and sprockets, or design and develop complete new drives.

Its own in-house sprocket facility means it is able to give its customers excellent service and deliveries.

Glass International February 2017

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International News

Mavsa completes O-I Argentina order Mavsa has completed an order for O-I Argentina.

The order consists of a Refiner Chanel for Furnace #3 and a Radial Alcove for Line 31 – KW-48.

Mavsa is an Argentinian supplier of production lines for the container and tableware sectors.

In October 2016, Mavsa delivered a Straight Alcove and Equalising Chanel KW-48 for Line 33 at the same site. Mavsa has also completed the start up of three press lines at Egypt’s Mansoura Glass plant in

Owens-Illinois Argentina Forehearth KW-48 Alcoba Radial - Linea 31 (2016)

Ramadan City.

Mansoura’s new furnace has a capacity of 45 tons per day of soda lime glass.

Each of the three lines con-

sists of equipment including loader conveyors, cross conveyors and stack with electronic drive and timing system.

Cristalchile appoints new General Manager Cristalchile has appointed Eduardo Carvallo Infante as its General Manager.

He replaces Cirilo Elton González, whose decision became effective as of January 1, 2017.

The company said: “The Board of Directors and all those who have had the opportunity to work with Cyril recognise his 42 years of experience and successful career, his enormous human quality, great knowledge of the business, high level of responsibility

and leadership.

Mr Eduardo Carvallo Infante joined Cristalerías Chile’s finance department in 1994 and later occupied

the positions of Quality Manager (2003), Administration and Finance Manager (2008) and Commercial Manager (2016).

Bottero secures €5 million Vetri Speciali order Italian company Bottero has supplied three IS machines to compatriot Vetri Speciali’s plant in Spini di Gardolo, in Trento.

The 10-section machines were installed in the autumn of last year and will

be used for the production of glass bottles. The bottles are intended for a market on the rise such as that of wine, oil and distillates; produced in small series and with a refined design.

Bottero commercial

manager, Paolo Mazzone, said: “The machines guarantee the production of high range for wines and spirits, and high quality standards, in a field in which our know-how has again proved decisive.”

Glass International February 2017

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The World’s leading glass companies come to FIC for E-Glass, Container glass, Float glass, Display glass and Electric furnaces, for more information... www.fic-uk.com +44 (0) 1736 366 962

, The World s Number One in Furnace Technology FIC (UK) Limited, Long Rock Industrial Estate, Penzance, Cornwall TR20 8HX, United Kingdom

International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Glaston appointment

Juha Liettyä, Senior Vice President, Americas and member of the Executive Management Group, has been appointed Senior Vice President at Glaston Emerging Technologies.

Liettyä will continue to be a member of the Executive Management Group, reporting to President & CEO Arto Metsänen. Liettyä will be based in Florida, USA.

AGR European director

Agr International has appointed Mr. Christian Kapsamer as its Regional Director of Agr Northwestern Europe.

He will head a new regional sales territory that was created to address continued growth and increased demand for Agr products in North and Western Europe.

The region includes Austria, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, the Nordic countries and some of the surrounding areas.

Vidromecanica website

Vidromecanica has launched its new website with improved functionality, design and navigation.

Besides these technical improvements, the new website also contains new sections and updated content.

The website is www.vidromecanica.com

www.glass-international.com

Piramal Ceylon CEO elected President of Sri Lankan Glass Council

The Sri Lanka Ceramics and Glass Council has elected Sanjay Tiwari, Managing Director and CEO of Piramal Glass Ceylon as its new President.

Mr Tiwari is the fourth President of the Council and took over from Mahendra Jayasekera, CEO of Lanka Walltiles.

Speaking at the council’s recent AGM the new president appreciated the efforts and the contribution of all the past Presidents, namely, Sunil Wijesinha, Dayasiri Warnakulasooriya and Mahendra Jayasekera.

Top 10 stories in the news 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 VOA celebrates the restart of furnace no.2 � 2 Cristalchile appoints new General Manager � 3 Bangkok Glass installs Vertech’ SIL system in two plants � 4 Glass Service to host seminar on Industry 4.0 and furnace design � 5 Pennine launches power transmission chain � 6 Ramsey’s Lifeguard chain granted European patent � 7 Agr International appoints European Director � 8 Bottero secures €5 million Vetri Speciali order � 9 Schott uses big data for pharma tubing measurement � 10 European suppliers sign contracts with Bolivian glassmaker

Ramsey’s Lifeguard chain granted European patent US group Ramsey Chain was recently granted a European patent for its Lifeguard wear protected conveying chains (EP 2368816 B1).

Already covered by three United States patents, Lifeguard chains utilise interlocking side links that guard against pin head wear and greatly reduce the size of gaps between adjacent side plates.

With much smaller gaps be-

tween the side plates, smooth product transfer on and off the conveying surface is assured and the potential for snagging on lateral guides is reduced.

These features are particularly beneficial when conveying small bottles. Lifeguard is only available from Ramsey and is currently available in 1/2” pitch, as well as 1” pitch extended pitch

Bangkok Glass installs Vertech’ SIL system in two plants Bangkok Glass Industries, Thailand’s largest provider of glass and packaging, has installed Vertech’s SIL system to four lines in its Ayutthaya plant and three production lines in its Pathumthani plant in the south of Thailand.

The installation was successfully completed in June 2016 with the implementation of SIL for the lines and quality control management of both plants.

An additional furnace at the Ayutthaya plant is scheduled

to receive the next SIL extension. With more than 25 years experience in IT solutions for the glass industry and over 100 plants equipped worldwide, SIL is helping to improve operations and performance at the group’s plants.

10 Glass International February 2017

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Conveying glass around the world for over 30 years

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Company profile: Ardagh Limmared

Limmared’s €21 million upgrade to meet needs of drinks market

� Ardagh’s Limmared plant in Sweden.

Ardagh recently completed the €21 million expansion and modernisation of its Limmared, Sweden plant.

Greg Morris was the first outside visitor to view the upgraded facility and, while there, met with Ardagh’s Nordic Operations Director, Bo-Lennart Nilsson.

www.glass-international.com

W

hile Ardagh’s Limmared plant in Sweden is famous for its production of Absolut vodka bottles, it is also a substantial producer of other container glass too. A number of high profile beer and cider bottles are produced at the plant as well as an array of soft drink bottles.

The site, 100km east of Gothenburg, is nestled in serene Scandinavian countryside and is one of the oldest glass plants in the world, dating back to 1740.

The facility manufactures 450 million items a year from its two furnaces. One flint furnace predominantly produces spirit bottles while the other furnace, which until the recent modernisation was smaller, manufactured pharmaceutical and container bottles.

The recent trend of increased consumption of craft beer and cider in European and Nordic countries has led to a corresponding rise in

�The Limmared plant produces the Absolut bottles.

demand for these bottles. To meet these changing market conditions, Ardagh updated its product portfolio and replaced its second furnace with a larger, more energy efficient oven.

Upgrade The site underwent a €21 million upgrade between September and December last year and, as a result, is better equipped to serve the cider and beer bottle sectors.

Bo-Lennart Nilsson, Operations Director, Nordic, Ardagh Glass, said he was happy with the modernisation.

“It has been a very large project but we have done a lot in a very short space of time. When you replace as much as we have it is a large project.

Continued>>

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Company profile: Ardagh Limmared

In fact it has not been too far away from being a totally greenfield project. But now we are at the start up I believe we have got a lot for our money and the value we will get out of this will be good. I am extremely pleased.”

The modernisation included a new furnace from German group Horn, a new Heye International IS machine, an annealing lehr from Antonini, pusher bars and new inspection equipment from France’s Tiama group.

Furnace capacity has increased to 240t/day from 150t/day with an amber, brown and green colour offering. The furnace’s two new IS machines have 22 sections – one with a 12-section double gob and one 10-section producing double gob.

The revamp will bring the plant’s total capacity to 640 tonnes per day, producing glass from five production lines – three on its 400 tones per day flint furnace and two from the new, multicoloured oven.

As well as the new equipment, the project also involved a substantial amount of civil works, which saw the building extended by approximately 20% to house the new equipment. To accommodate

a larger furnace the company had to extend the building both in height and depth. The cold end building dated back to the 1950s so this was demolished and reconstructed.

Orders for materials and machinery were placed in January 2016 and civil works to extend the building began in April last year. The project officially started on September 5 and was completed on December 14, meaning the company can now increase its offering of bottles such as Kopparberg and Rekorderlig cider.

While most bottles are destined for use in Scandinavia, a substantial amount are exported to European countries such as the UK.

Benefits Ardagh will quickly reap the benefits of the investment, Mr Nilsson stated.

� The plant has installed a new IS machine.

� The new annealing lehr was supplied by Antonini.

“It means we will be more operationally efficient, we will reduce our cost footprint because we will produce much more but with basically the same fixed costs. The furnace also has a better melting efficiency so will save on the running costs, which is also a benefit to our customers because it means we are more competitive. The furnace has been designed for today’s market demands so fits perfectly with customer requirements.”

The furnace was also chosen for its environmental benefits. It is more energy efficient than its predecessor and has extra electricity capacity to reduce its carbon footprint.

The plant is already known for its forwardthinking environmental strategy: In 2009 it was announced that waste heat would be piped from the plant to be used for district heating in the Swedish municipality of Tranemo. In 2014, Ardagh’s other Nordic plant, Holmegaard in Denmark, followed suit with a similar renewable energy programme.

The new, automated machinery will bring benefits for the plant’s production staff too.

“We have done a lot from an automation point of view, particularly on the cold end. There is much more data in the process now which will help employees and operators on the shop floor.

In the hot end we have lowered the IS machines to floor level which makes for an improved working environment.”

The plant is also the regional headquarters for Ardagh’s Nordic operations and is a decoration specialist with 10 decoration lines. As such, its staff are employed in administrative roles and on decoration lines as well as in production.

Mr Nilsson was particularly proud of the plant’s 450 staff while the work and upheaval took place.

Continued>>

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Civil works

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Company profile: Ardagh Limmared

DECORATING LEHRS

“The process to produce glass is fantastic, it is difficult and complicated and

STACKERS

”

I like those challenges

� The IS machines have a 12-section double gob, and a 10-section double gob.

Such is the strong culture at the plant, that the staff are proud of their new surroundings.

He was also complimentary about Ardagh’s Central Technical Services (CTS) organisation, a specialist team dedicated to help with modernisation projects and who liaise with potential equipment suppliers for such projects.

Suppliers to the plant include Sorg, Zippe, Bucher Emhart Glass, Agr International, Pennekamp, Sipac, DMA, Symplex Inspection, Xpar Vision, Zecchetti and Fermac screen printing machines.

“We want suppliers who offer value for money and a package that fits with their approach, but also reliability is key.”

Mr Nilsson has worked for Ardagh for 28 years and, like 90% of the plant’s staff, lives locally.

His love of glass remains undiminished. “It is a living material, a nice material, let’s say it is an honest material.

“The process to produce glass is fantastic, it is difficult and complicated, and I like those challenges. The company has been great to work for and all the people I work with are great as well, it’s a nice environment.

“The general trend in Nordic countries is that glass is increasing, so overall everything is positive.” �

COLD-END COATING

Belt Cleaning Brush

Ardagh Glass, Limmared, Sweden, www.ardaghgroup.com

Glass International February 2017

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South America overview: Hollow glass

South America: a glassmaking hub Argentina

Bolivia

Argentina is home to five hollow glass manufacturers: domestic producers Rigolleau, Cattorini and Durax, as well as international companies O-I and Verallia.

Cattorini was founded in 1952 and is Argentina’s largest manufacturer of glass bottles. It has three plants and manufactures glass bottles for the food and beverage industry, including wine, liqueur, and oil and sauce bottles.

The oldest glass producer in Argentina is Rigolleau, founded in 1882 by Leon Rigolleau. The company produces hollow glass for the food and beverage, cosmetics pharma and tableware industries.

Rigolleau is now one of the largest glass factories in Latin America, directly employing more than 1,000 people. The plant has five furnaces and 16 lines, with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes or 2 million units per day. The company has also recently invested $40 million in upgrading one of its furnaces.

Durax produces domestic glassware such as tumblers, and came in to being in 2002 when a government cooperative reopened a closed factory, and installed the first furnace. By 2005 the company had added two more furnaces and was manufacturing more than 80,000 tableware items per day. In 2014, following the addition of another furnace, the company began to export its tableware products outside of the Argentinian market and in 2016 the company branched into producing glass containers for the food and beverage industry.

Argentina is also home to international manufacturers Verallia and O-I. O-I has one plant in Rosario and Verallia has one plant near Mendoza, which supplies the country’s wine and olive oil industries and employs around 390 people. O-I has one plant in Rosario which is due to undergo a furnace rebuild in February.

Bolivia has one O-I plant in Cochabamba and a government plant under construction called Envibol (Envases de vidrio de Bolivia/ glass containers of Bolivia). According to local media, the plant has secured contracts worth a combined US$6.1 million with Bottero, Antonini, Zecchetti and Tiama, to build the plant in the Zudanez region. The plant will produce 120 tonnes/day, or more than 200,000 glass containers.

Brazil O-I dominates the Brazilian landscape, with its website listing five plants located throughout the country.

Verallia has three plants located in the south of the country, which between them have four furnaces and produce 730 million bottles for the food and beverage industry annually. In 2016 Verallia also branched out into a joint venture to create a plant in Estancia, located in the northeast of the country, called Industria Vidreira de Nordeste (IVN).

The factory has 195 employees and manufactures glass containers for the food and beverage industries. It has two furnaces, with a capacity of 740 tonnes/ day. The plant comprises a total of 30,000 square metres and extends Verallia’s reach into the north of the country, strengthening its presence in the market.

Most of Brazil’s container glass manufacturers are clustered in Sao Paulo city and state. With an annual production of 160,000 tonnes of glass, Nadir Figueiredo is the country’s largest tableware manufacturer.

The company has one plant near Sao Paulo and employs around 1800 staff.

The company was founded in 1912 but only moved to producing glass in the 1930s, and in 2011 the company acquired the popular Marinex tableware brand from

Saint-Gobain. Its production of glasses, bowls, plates and jars is predominantly sold to the domestic Brazilian market, although 30% of its products are exported to around 100 countries.

Also based in Sao Paulo, Wheaton Brasil produces for the perfume, cosmetics and pharma industries. With four furnaces and 21 production lines it has a production capacity of 300 tonnes/day or 1 billion flasks per year.

The plant has clean rooms dedicated to the pharma industry, and climate controlled rooms for cosmetics. It also has four colour feeders and a decorating unit for its perfume and cosmetics bottles.

Verescence – formally SGD Perfumery before the company rebranded in late 2016 – produces bottles for the perfume and cosmetics industry. The plant has been in operation since 1896, and was acquired by SGD in 1960. The plant has a capacity of 1.3 million bottles a day, or circa 16,000 tonnes/year, and produces for the Brazilian market and further afield in South America, for example Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Vidraria Anchieta produces glass for the perfume & cosmetics and food industries, with one furnace producing 83 tonnes/ day. A family owned company, it was established in 1955 by the Ricardi family.

And finally, Vidroporto makes bottles for beer, wine and spirits. The company was founded in 1977 and started production in 1981. Gian Bortone, Marketing Director of Vidroporto is interviewed later in this issue.

Chile Chile has three container glass manufacturers. The largest is Cristalerias de Chile (Cristalchile), which has two plants with six furnaces and produces Continued>>

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Ahead of the Glassman South America exhibition and conference in Buenos Aires on March 29 and 30, Sally Love provides an overview of the main container and hollow glassmakers in the region.

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South America overview: Hollow glass

bottles for the food and beverage industries. The company is over 100 years old and has a partnership with O-I, whereby O-I trains their production staff and Cristalchile uses equipment designed

by O-I, such as its regenerative end-port furnaces designed to be energy efficient whilst increasing productivity. The company’s environmental credentials are further boosted by its 75% investment in a wind farm, which provides part of the plant’s power.

Verallia also has a presence in the country, with one plant located in the Rengo VI region. Finally, Cristoro (Cristalerias Toro) is a family owned manufacturer that started production in 1952 and makes bottles for the food and beverage, pharma, cosmetics and perfume industries. The company prides itself on its environmental credentials, having created a wind farm in 2007 that generates power for its plant. The company also invests heavily in recycling, building its own glass recycling plant in 2014. Today it is the leader in glass recycling in Chile, and has achieved over 90% cullet use in its green bottles. Pedro Toro Harnecker, Operations Manager at Cristoro, is interviewed in this issue.

Colombia and Ecuador O-I is the only container glass manufacturer in both Colombia and Ecuador, with three plants in Colombia located in Envigado and Zipaquira, which make bottles for the food and beverage industry, and Soacha, which focuses on the speciality Covet bottles. The plant in Ecuador is located in Guayaquil.

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Paraguay Paraguay is home to Fabrica Paraguaya de Vidrios (FPV), which was acquired by brewing conglomerate AB InBev in 2004. Since then, production has been dedicated to glass bottles for alcoholic beverages, producing 35,000 tonnes/year in amber, flint and green, and 90% of its production is for AB InBev companies.

As well as supplying the Paraguayan market, the bottles are exported to Argentina, as well as Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile.

Peru In 2006, Germany’s Heinz Glas aligned with Peru’s Peruvian Ferrand Glassworks to create Heinz Ferrand, a US$15 million plant designed to cater to the perfumes and cosmetics industry.

Starting production in 2008, the plant makes

Venvidrio Ivila

Vidrios Domesticos Venvidrio

O-I (three plants)

O-I Cridesa

O-I GMEC O-I Peru Envisac Heinz Ferrand Glas

O-I Brasil (two plants)

O-I Brasil

IVN O-I Bolivia Envibol

O-I Brasil (two plants)

Fabrica Paraguaya de Vidrios Cattorini Cristalerias de Chile

O-I Argentina

Cristoro Cristalerias de Chile

Wheaton Brasil Verallia (two Verallia plants) Verescence (SGD) O-I Brasil Nadir Figueiredo Vidraria Anchieta Ebigold

Verallia Verallia Cattorini

clear, opal and feeder-coloured glass.

With a capacity of 35 million bottles a year, 50% of its products are exported, with the strategic location of Peru chosen

by Heinz to increase its presence in the Latin American market.

O-I has two plants in Peru not far from Lima in Callao and Lurin, meanwhile Envisac has one plant and caters solely to the Peruvian market making bottles and jars for the food and beverage, pharma, perfumes and tableware industries.

Uruguay The sole container glass manufacturer in Uruguay is Ebigold (Envidrio), a one plant operation in Montevideo which manufacturers bottles of up to three litres.

Venezuela Venezuela has three container glass companies, including Ivila, which manufactures stemware and tableware.

In terms of glass bottles, Vidosa was

Durax Rigolleau Cattorini

established in 1962 and is dedicated to the tableware and alcoholic beverages industries. The plant has one furnace with a capacity of 40 tonnes/day and is located south of Caracas.

Venvidrio has two plants, which were repatriated by the government from O-I in 2010, more than 50 years after the company had begun manufacturing in the country.

It has since been ruled by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes that the seized ownership of the two O-I plants was unlawful, and it awarded O-I US$455 million in compensation from the Venezuelan government. O-I remains unsure as to how much money it will receive, or when. �

Glassman South America is in Buenos Aires, Argentina 29th and 30th March. www.glassmanevents.com/ south-america/

18 Glass International February 2017

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Company profile: Vidroporto

ďż˝ An aerial view of the plant.

Vidroporto enjoys benefits of furnace No.3 Brazilian glassmaker Vidroporto is reaping the benefits of its recently unveiled furnace no.3, which was installed by the Container Glass Alliance. Gian Bortone* answers some quickfire questions about the company.

Vidroporto said the â‚Ź60 million plant will provide greater competitiveness for the company and raise its market share from 7% to 16% as the furnace can produce an average of 42 million bottles per month.

The new production line is also composed of a raw material storage system and mixing technology, forming equipment, an annealing lehr, and an inspection line. Equipment was imported from Germany, Sweden, Italy and the USA. The company is also ISO 9001 certified.

What products do you make and what is your most popular product?

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B

razilian container glassmaker Vidroporto recently unveiled its third furnace, which it said will increase its capacity by 150%.

The bottlemaker was established in Porto Ferreira, Sao Paulo state, Brazil in 1977 and started production in 1981 with one furnace with a production capacity of 33,000 bottles a day from a double gob machine.

It inaugurated its second furnace in 1986, which was increased in size in 2005.

Furnace No 1 was modernised in 2012 and then in 2014 the company contracted the Container Glass Alliance, consisting of German companies Zippe, Horn and MSK and Swiss group Bucher Emhart Glass, to build its furnace number 3.

Zippe provided a 400t/day batch plant, while Horn supplied a 350t/day complete regenerative end-fired furnace.

We produce around 90 items, which includes exclusive and standard bottles. We have large volumes in products like Long Neck 355 and Cerveja 600.

We produce glass packing in emerald green, olive green, amber and flint colours. We have machines for double and triple gob, B&B and NNPB processes.

What makes Vidroporto stand out from its competitors in the glass industry?

We try to give more agility to negotiations, with a differentiated customer-to-customer service.

ďż˝ The furnace No.3 project also included an annealing lehr and inspection line.

Continued>>

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Company profile: Vidroporto

he plant.

2014 was an important year for Vidroporto with the start up of Furnace No.3. Can you tell us more about the modernisation?

We had the inauguration of a new manufacturing unit, with production machines and the latest generation electronic inspection equipment.

When you select your equipment suppliers for your glass plant, what key attribute should they have in order for you to consider them?

There are many requirements to be considered when selecting a machine and equipment supplier, but the most important are: a) the technology employed; b) know how; c) reliability and credibility; d) competitiveness; and e) warranty and technical assistance.

What markets do you serve?

We serve several segments, among them the brewing, alcohol and food sector. Our market is concentrated in Brazil with some small exports to Mercosul (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) countries.

What trends are you noticing from your customers?

Pressure Testing and Volume Measurement in One System Industry-leading pressure testing and volume measurement, with laboratory precision, on the plant floor!

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We realised the need to customise the packaging to consolidate their quality.

Do you face much competition from rival materials such as plastic?

This competitiveness has never been greater. Today we notice that the products that have migrated to the plastic have lost (consequently) their image of quality, causing them to think about reusing glass containers.

How important is environmentally friendly technology to you?

By its nature, glass is already the largest ecological packaging.

Vidroporto has a glass recycling plant that contributes to the use of this type of material.

How would you like to see the company evolve in the next five to 10 years?

*Marketing Director, Vidroporto, Porto Ferreira, Brazil www.vidroporto.com.br

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21 Glass International February 2017

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Company profile: Cristalerias Toro

Family-owned group with a focus on the environment Pedro Toro Harnecker, Operations Manager at Chile’s Cristalerias Toro, discusses how the company’s forward-thinking environmental plan has resulted in the production of certified containers made with 90% recycled green glass.

C

ristalerias Toro is Chile’s second-largest glass container producer, making 450 tonnes a day from three furnaces and nine production lines.

The company was formed in 1952 by Guillermo Toro Gonzalez who is still actively involved as president today. The company remains family owned with Mr Toro Gonzalez’s sons, Pedro Toro Harnecker (Operations Director) and Guillermo Toro Harnecker (Administration and Finance Director), heavily involved in the day to day running of the organisation.

The facility in the country’s capital city of Santiago employs 850 people and is a focal part of the community, delivering education and assistance. The environment is an integral part of the company and this year it achieved more than 90% cullet in its green glass compositions. It was also one of the first manufacturing companies in Chile to install a wind plant dedicated to producing some 35% of its electricity. The wind power site is located 600km south of Santiago.

What products do you make and what is your most popular product?

We produce glass containers for wine, liquor, foods, olive oil, water, soft drinks, etc. The most popular products are wine bottles.

Can you tell me more about the plant in terms of staff, furnace capacity and number of production lines?

What makes Cristalerias Toro stand out from its competitors?

Our flexibility and quality.

When you select your equipment suppliers for your glass plant, what key attribute should they have?

High performance and technical assistance.

�The Toro family, including Mr Guillermo Toro Gonzalez, company founder and President, seated.

What markets do you serve?

Argentina, and we export 35% of our sales to North, Central and South America.

What trends are you noticing from customers?

Flexibility and shorter runs have become strong, and it is common for us to produce two or three bottles from the same machine.

Continued>>

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We produce with three furnaces and nine lines – single, double and triple gob. We produce six colours: antique, olive and dead leaf green, standard and extra flint, and amber. Our total production is 450 tonnes/day and our most popular products are wine bottles.

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Company profile: Cristalerias Toro

� The company installed a wind plant for electricity generation in 2007.

Cristalerias Toro timeline: 1952

1997

After four years working in the resale of packaging, on May 19, 1952, the first glass bottle is produced, marking the start of Cristalerías Toro, located at Calle Ecuador Nº4646, Estación Central.

1959

The company begins its campaign to recycle glass, installing new collection bells in different municipalities of the country. This transforms the company into the largest glass recycler in Chile, a position it maintains to this day. Its main partners are the local municipalities and private employees.

The company moves to its present location, on Dagoberto Godoy Nº 145, Cerrillos.

2005

1968 The automatic production of bottles starts and the Neutral Glass section is created, producing ampoules and pill bottles.

1975 The company manufactures the first bottle for yogurt in Chile.

1985

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With greater economic stability in the country, it is possible to give a new impetus to the company with the construction of new furnaces and the importation of new forming machines.

1996 Land is purchased on the road to Lonquén, Maipú, where a new product warehouse and distribution centre was installed.

� The plant has a varied output of wine, liquor, foods and olive oil bottles.

The company obtains ISO 9001 2000 Certification ‘Quality Management – Quality Control’, consolidating production in quality, efficiency and technology, with international standards.

2007 Keeping to its vision of the future and its commitment to the environment, the company installs the first wind farm belonging to a manufacturing company for electricity generation and the self-sufficiency of its production plants, in the commune of Lebu, Eighth Region.

2014 The company installs the most modern recycling plant in Latin America, with systems for the separation of glass colours and contaminants, in its land in Lonquén Road, Maipú.

2016 Continuing its leadership position in glass recycling in Chile, and following its conviction to be a sustainable company, in 2016 the company achieves the record for recycled glass used in the production of green glass bottles, surpassing 90%, thus reducing the raw material consumption and energy consumption.

24 Glass International February 2017

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Company profile: Cristalerias Toro

Do you face much competition from rival materials such as plastic?

Plastic, Tetra Pak and aluminium cans are very strong in these countries. But fortunately wine exports are 100% in glass and growing slowly.

How important is environmentally friendly technology to you?

Very important, we are leaders in glass recycling: we have reached 90% of recycled glass in our olive green production. We have the best recycling plant in South America.

� (above) The company has what it describes as the most modern recycling plant in South America. It achieved a 90% recycling rate with its green glass in 2016.

We are a family owned company so we are proud to have been an important glass container supplier for 64 years.

How would you like to see the company evolve in the next five to 10 years?

� (right) The plant produces

We see good market opportunities so I hope we can achieve an important growth in the next 10 years.

450 tonnes a day from three furnaces and nine production lines.

GLASS HAS A GREAT PAST.

What makes you most proud of working for Cristalerias Toro?

Cristalerias Toro, Santiago, Chile cristoro@cristoro.cl www.cristoro.cl

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Glass International February 2017

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Company profile: Gerresheimer

Health and hygiene standards in the production of bottles for the pharma sector have to be even more stringent than the already high levels in the food and cosmetics sectors. The fully modernised Gerresheimer site in Lohr-am-Main, Germany ensures medicines can be filled and stored safely inside its glass bottles. Greg Morris visited the site.

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Maintaining high standards in the pharma sector M ost readers of Glass International will be familiar with the manufacturing layout of a container glass plant: batch plant for the raw materials, furnace for melting, IS machines for forming and moulding, then the annealing lehr. But it is after annealing that things become slightly different at Gerresheimer’s Lohr plant in Germany, which has a focus on pharma products.

The inspection and packaging processes take place in a tightly contained, glassed-in, cleanroom.

Inside, workers wear hair nets and face masks to ensure extra hygiene standards. The clean room is a class eight 100,000 clean room, which means air is filtered 35 times an hour.

Most of the site’s production is for the pharmaceutical market and, understandably, its customers have exceptionally high hygiene standards. Should one glass bottle – to be later filled with medicine, tablets or drugs - be contaminated, there could be serious repurcussions for the patient, customer and glassmaker.

Andreas Kohl, Senior Plant Director at Gerresheimer Lohr, states: “We at Gerresheimer are responsible for ensuring that every patient gets a safe product.”

As the bottles enter the clean room, they pass through inspection devices at a rate of 500 bottles a minute. Each bottles receives a 100% inspection during a 360 degrees rotation. A total of 12 cameras

takes pictures of each bottle for all theroretical defects such as cracks and wall thickness as well as horizontal, vertical and bottom check detection.

Each photograph is then analysed by modern, optical computer software.

Mr Kohl confirms: “This is state-of-the-art, very sensitive, technology. Even if all the other cameras are OK, the bottle will be rejected if just one camera detects a defect.”

The articles are then arranged into a Safe Pack cleaning module and shrink wrapped in a special oven before leaving the cleanroom.

The shrink wrap uses vacuum technology to cover the bottles completely, while a shrink hood on an MSK packaging machine ensures extra protection.

They then leave the cleanroom and, like in any other container plant, are stored on pallets, ready for distribution to some of the pharma sector’s largest customers, such as GSK, Novartis and Pfizer.

� Senior Plant Director Andreas Kohl.

Food and cosmetics The Lohr plant makes 1 billion units a year. Most are for the phrama sector but it also serves the cosmetics and food and beverage industries.

The glass for some of the world’s most famous food and cosmetics brands are made at the Lohr Continued>>

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Company profile: Gerresheimer

site. For UK readers, its most famous food product is the Marmite jar, all of which are made in Lohr before being distributed to Burton-on-Trent in the UK for filling.

For Germans, its most famous food product is the Maggi spicy sauce jar. Its list of food and beverage customers includes multi-nationals such as Unilever, Nestle and Knorr., while its cosmetics customers include Avon, Clarins and Lancome.

The Lohr plant produces Type III glass, which is of the highest

quality and has a special internal treatment. The plant offers two colours: flint and amber glass.

It has a capacity of about 500 tonnes a day from two furnaces – one from Sorg the other from fellow German group Horn.

All the plant’s raw materials arrive by truck or train and ingedients such as quartz sand, soda, lime and dolomite are mechanically unloaded into 20 silos. Internal and external cullet is then added to the recipe in the batch plant and the ingredients are then fed into the furnaces. The furnaces are gas fired but inside there are internal electrodes heated by electricity to aid heating up to temperatures of 1600˚C. The furnaces have two regenerator towers to store exhaust gases, which are then re-used to aid heating.

The furnaces feed nine IS machines all supplied

by Bucher Emhart Glass, adapted to meet Gerresheimer’s requirements.

Each of the IS machines are triple gob but can be adapted to single or double gob. The machines range from eight to 12 sections in size. In addition to standard products in large numbers, Gerresheimer sees its strength in flexibility when doing job changes. It offers 600 different shapes and typically goes through five job changes a day.

Its products range from tiny 3mm bottles for drops to 4-litre bottles. In the past its machines would stand still for a day while a job change took place, now it can be done in two hours, stated Mr Kohl.

The plant has its own mould design and all mould manufacturing is done in-house which, states Mr Kohl, gives the plant extra flexibility.

“Mould parts are a very important technology because they create the shape and the glass distribution, which is defined in those moulds.” The glass enters the IS machine at 1200˚C but in the three to six seconds it is in the machines its temperature is reduced to 500 degrees – and the mould plays a large part in this.

Continued>>

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Cleanroom specification

� Line 12, 13, 14, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 � Class 8-EN ISO 14644-1 � Class 100.000 acc. US Federal Standard 209E � 100,000 particles/ft³<0.005mm � Room area:~1,360m² � Room volume: ~4,680m³ � Air exchange: ~35 times/h � Filters: � Pre-filter F5 � Main filter F7 and F9 � Final filter for suspended load H10 and H14 � 7 Air condition 165,000m³/h

27

Company profile Gerresheimer.indd 2

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Company profile: Gerresheimer

� The inspection equipment in the cleanroom has to be of the highest standard.

� The Lohr plant.

articles leave the IS machines at 500˚C into a Pennekamp annealing lehr, they are completely sterile, ready for inspection in the cleanroom.

While the clean rom is predominantly used for its pharma customers, several of its customers from other sectors request their glass is put through the clean room procedure to ensure extra hygiene.

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Cosmetics

Mr Kohl states: “We have expertise in creating moulds. We have developed specialities in recent years to be more efficient and to meet quality expectations.

“We have our own mould shop and this knowledge is kept here and improved all the time, it is part of our continuous improvement process.”

As Philipp Amrhein, manager of New Product Development and Mould Design confirms, the development period of a new product design has been massively reduced thanks to investment in new computer simulation software.

What used to take sometimes up to three months in empirical tests has been reduced by 70%, meaning a new mould design can be introduced in less than a month. Perfectly homogeneous glass distribution is crucial for strength. In just moments, the programme calculates how the glass is distributed in the mould and at what temperature, and which tensions and weak points result from the design desired by the customer. It means the mould is optimised before production even starts.

Mr Amrhein said: “The new product and development and production process used to take three months now, without samples, we can do it in less than four weeks thanks to the computer simulation.”

The software was bought for a supplier but in the past two years has been optimised to meet the Lohr plant’s particular requirements he added.

Back to the production line: By the time the

� The plant uses Type III glass.

Gerresheimr’s moulded glass portfolio encompasses six production sites globally, operating 13 furnaces. Four sites are in Europe, which have eight furnaces, one site is in Chicago Heights, USA with one furnace, while its solitary Indian site has four furnaces.

It offers all three glass types as well as coloured and opal glass from its global operation. The coloured and opal glass is used in the cosmetics sector in particular. Cosmetics is another offering from Gerresheimer Lohr.

“The cosmetics sector is very different to the pharmaceutical sector,” states Frank Egert, Gerresheimer’s Vice President Sales, Pharma and Food, Moulded Glass Europe. “It requires a lot more innovation. A cosmetics product typically has a two-year life span before it is replaced with a new product. Therefore in this business it is key to be innovative and to have stable processes in terms of new product development and a high degree of knowledge in product management and refinement processes.”

Its cosmetics product range varies from fragrances to skin care jars and bottles. A customer will typically approach Gerresheimer with a design idea and then Geresheimer will work with the customer to meet its requirements, such as the ideal shape the customer wants to achieve. Once an idea is approved, the glass manufacturer will manage the project developing the glass bottle as well as ensuring that recent trends such as decoration and spraying are added to the bottle.

“In the cosmetics world the bottle is a big part of the marketing process. It is very different to the pharma business which often uses standardised bottles and are not easy to differentiate from the competition,” concludes Mr Egert. �

Gerresheimer Lohr, Lohr Am Main, Germany www.gerresheimer.com/

28 Glass International February 2017

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Company profile: Gerresheimer

Gerresheimer’s Wertheim, Germany plant is the company’s international centre of excellence for ampoule manufacturing. Quality Director Volker Rekowski told Greg Morris how the company has met the increasingly stringent production demands of the pharmaceutical packaging market.

Eliminating defects in ampoule production at Wertheim

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U

nderstandably, medical technology products have to meet exacting quality requirements.

Just one defective ampoule could have devastating repercussions on a person’s life.

Should an ampoule, for example, be incorrectly colour coded it could lead to the wrong drug being administered, which could then lead to an incorrect vaccination to a patient, who could then potentially catch a disease later in life.

Such serious consequences means quality has become the number one driver at Gerresheimer Wertheim as it aims for zero-defects in its production of ampoules.

The company has six ampoule manufacturing sites globally, making 2 billion ampoules a year.

The Wertheim, Germany plant is its centre of excellence for ampoule development and production.

It makes 3 million ampoules a day from its 32 production lines. The facility’s customers are large, international, household name pharmaceutical companies. If just one ampoule is found by a customer to be defective, it is not unknown for the ampoule to be shipped back to Gerresheimer for further inspection by the company.

Gerreshimer’s Quality Director Volker Rekowski said: “We have to have the highest standards because a mix up is the worst thing that can happen. You can imagine the scrutiny we use to ensure that the product is perfect, there is no room for error. Just one incorrect ampoule will lead to a complaint.”

The company recently invested €2 million in new production technology at Wertheim, to ensure the company remains competitive in the high-demanding healthcare sector.

Manufacturing process � Mr Volker Rekowski, Gerresheimer’s Quality

The manufacturing process for ampoule production is different to container or flat

Director.

Continued>>

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Company profile: Gerresheimer

glassmaking. Gerresheimer sources thin-walled Type 1 borosilicate glass tubes and then, at Wertheim, 30 chutes on each forming machine spin the glass while a flame cutting process forms the ampoules, which range in diameter between 10.75mm and 22.75mm. The flame is between 800°C and 1100°C and Mr Rekowski describes the manufacturing of the ampoules as a ‘minor miracle’. No tools are used in the forming process, yet the ampoules are formed to the precision of millimetres. The company uses a stem burner control system on the lines, which corrects any imperfections in the glass. It means a high process stability for the forming of the stem and leads to a homogeneous stem diameter – which is important for filling the ampoule.

Once the ampoule has been formed the next stage of the production process is the application of code rings, break rings or the OPC dot and the scoring of the ampoule surface between the body and neck. The ampoules are then annealed in a lehr before rigorous inspection by a number of cameras. Every manufactured ampoule is inspected in detail by automated camera systems before the packaging process takes place.

They are rotated in front of the camera to ensure non-conformities and defects can be detected on the ampoules’ entire surface area.

The inspections cover up to 28 parameters, such as lengths, diameters, OPC parameters, code ring positions, stem and radius. Random samples are regularly taken off the production line and tested for wall thickness, material stress and alkali leach rates. The camera inspection systems are one of Gerresheimer’s core competencies.

renamed Gerresheimer Wertheim in 2007. It has several ISO certifications as well as DIN 50001.

The company has six ampoule production sites worldwide in Queretaro, Mexico (30 production lines), Boleslawiec, Poland (18 production lines), Zhenjiang and Danyang, both in China (12 and four production lines respectively), and its latest plant in Kosamba, India.

Its sites have standardised machines so, should disaster strike at one site, back up can easily be provided at any of its other facilities.

The company adheres to a Japanese quality standard. The quality requirement demands ampoules without cosmetic defects, ampoules with perfect code rings and OPC points and ampoules with low breaking force values of, for example, 15-50N. Mr Rekowski said: “Japan is leading the industry in terms of quality control. The rest follows Japan.

That drove us to improve processes. We accepted the challenge ahead of the industry and are now recognised in the Japanese market.”

He added: “A defective ampoule could put the life of a patient at risk. We have to ensure that we get that message across on the shop floor, just how important it is that they do their job 100% correctly every time.”

Ampoule Ampoules are the most frequently used pharmaceutical packaging in the world. They have an advantage in that the content only comes into contact with the inert and gas/vapour impermeable material of glass during its storage period. They are also completely tamper proof.

The systems are not standard and have been optimised and developed by the company to ensure all potential defects are eliminated.

Once they have passed inspection, the finished ampoules are packed in plastic trays and stacked on pallets. The pallets are wrapped in shrink foil and transported by truck to the customer.

Global footprint The Wertheim plant has more than 60 years experience in ampoule manufacturing. The plant was established in 1957 as Fritz GmbH. The former family-owned company has been part of the Gerresheimer group since 1989 and was

Ampoules vary in volume from 1ml to 30ml, and while most are made of transparent glass amber glass is also used for some ampoules to protect sensitive content from UV light Although they face competition from vials and pre-filled syringes they are still the first choice of primary packaging for injectables. Although demand has decreased for ampoules in developed nations, this negative trend has been offset by demand in emerging nations. �

Gerresheimer Wertheim, Germany www.gerresheimer.com

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� Gerresheimer’s Wertheim plant in Germany.

31 Glass International February 2017

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Inspection

Kuwait group installs FleXinspect Kuwait’s Gulf Glass Manufacturing Company undertook a modernisation in 2016 at its 300 tonnes a day plant. It selected Bucher Emhart Glass’s inspection machinery for its cold end and was pleased with how smoothly the installation went.

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G

ulf Glass Manufacturing Company (GGMC) has chosen machinery from Bucher Emhart Glass for its cold end.

The Kuwait container glassmaker upgraded its production and inspection lines in 2016 and selected a combination of Bucher Emhart’s (BEG) FleXinspect C with FleXinspect M, fitted with BEG’s recently launched Scout technology.

The plant has two furnaces with a total melting capacity of 300 tonnes per day and manufactures glass containers of all shapes and sizes. GGMC serves major customers in the soft-drinks industry such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, CadburySchweppes, Sinalco and Vimto, as well as several customers in the food industry.

FleXinspect is Emhart’s main inspection range. The range comprises the flagship FleXinspect T, FleXinspect M, and the modular FleXinspect B and C, which are also available in a combined unit, the FleXinspect BC. Scout, launched last year, is BEG’s system platform for controlling its FleXinspect machines. BEG says it is more than software, delivering concrete benefits in terms of inspection capability, including better lighting, higher resolution optics, faster and more powerful processors, and more advanced inspection algorithms.

Most existing BEG inspection machines can be upgraded to Scout and on all new FleXinspect machines it is supplied as standard, meaning almost all customers can take advantage of its capabilities.

Testing and training The GGMC project began in summer 2016, when a combination of FleXinspect C & FleXinspect M machines were installed on a test loop built by GGMC itself. A BEG Field Sales Engineer spent time on

site to make custom improvements to both hardware and software, at the request of both GGMC and BEG itself. The test setup also facilitated operator training before full production began.

“The project got off to a strong start, with everyone relaxed and confident,” said BEG’s Project Manager Martin Frieg.

“From the very beginning, there was a positive, collaborative atmosphere between the two companies.

Training had been planned in from the start, which helped to strengthen the customer’s confidence and facilitate startup too.”

Installation In September, the first of three FleXinspect units, a FleXinspect C, was installed and commissioned in GGMC’s shop 1.1. By this time, GGMC and BEG had built up a solid working relationship, and this phase unfolded practically without a hitch.

After a few days the FleXinspect C was ready to begin operation, with just minor tweaks once production had begun.

In parallel, two FleXinspect M machines were also installed, with no issues. With comprehensive training provided by BEG, GGMC’s operators were able to hit the ground running and handle all the equipment from day one.

By November, GGMC was ready to move on to the next phase of installation, with shops 2.4 and 2.5 receiving one FleXinspect C and two FleXinspect M machines.

Again, startup went smoothly and was completed in a short time.

Acceptance tests were carried out directly after commissioning. The customer had no complaints and was fully satisfied with the work.

� The FleXinspect C machine from Bucher Emhart Glass.

Plug and play Following the installation, GGMC was able to immediately take over management of the machines for themselves, and was handling them independently with only minimal off-site support from BEG. As well as more precise inspection and the resulting improvement in quality, job changes have been sped up dramatically, particularly on the FleXinspect C where changeovers can be completed in minutes.

“Thanks to all of the teams involved on both sides, this was the smoothest installation of completely new technology that I’ve ever seen,” says Mick Simmons, Service Engineer at BEG. “More importantly, the customer is telling us that they love the technology and the quality it helps them achieve. I’d like to express special thanks to GGMC for all their assistance during this project.”

“We were delighted with how smoothly this project went,” confirms François Laenen, GGMC’s Plant Manager and, coincidentally, a former BEG employee. “It was ‘plug and play,’ which is extraordinary—you might expect that for something like a conveyor or pusher, but not something as complex as an inspection unit. Now we’re looking forward to the quality gains that FleXinspect and Scout will bring us for many years to come.” �

Bucher Emhart Glass, Cham, Switzerland www.bucheremhartglass.com Gulf Glass Manufacturing Company, Safat, Kuwait. www.ggmc.com.kw

32 Glass International February 2017

Emhart Kuwait.indd 1

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Refractories

Bonded refractories an alternative to AZS in furnace superstructures F

used cast alumina zirconia silica (AZS) has frequently been used for superstructure walls. The glass industry has searched for alternatives due to the exudation of the fused cast AZS and price pressures. Two bonded refractories, zirconia mullite and alumina were tested in the laboratory and in a field test in a superstructure. The performance of these two materials is reported in this article.

Bonded Zirconia Mullite Durital AZ58 is a ceramic-bonded AZS material consisting of fused zirconia mullite and alumina, and fired at a high temperature (Table 1). It consists of baddeleyite (~28%), corundum (~34%) and fused mullite (~36%) and its advantages are: � High corrosion resistance against SiO2 attack because of the high amount of mullite. � Insignificant glassy phase, and consequently no exudation. � High refractoriness under load (T0.5 = 1690°C, in the same range as fused cast AZS).

These properties make Durital AZ58 the ideal material for installation in the superstructure of glass furnaces. A test field was lined in the superstructure of a soda lime container glass furnace to prove the performance of Durital AZ58 in glass furnaces. The field was the equivalent size of one fused cast AZS block in the superstructure and was placed near the doghouse (Fig 1). After two years of operation a Durital AZ58 sample was drilled from this position. On the hot face of the sample, no spalling or significant corrosion was observed.

The hot face appeared dry and showed, when compared to the fused cast AZS, no exudation. The sample had the same thickness as an unused one (Fig 2).

Table II shows the chemical and mineralogical analysis of the sample after two years in operation. On the cold face the main components (Al2O3, SiO2 and ZrO2) are comparable with an unused material. On the hot face and in the transition zone (50mm beneath the hot face), some components from the carryover (CaO, MgO) and from evaporation (K2O, Na2O) are enriched in a minimal range (≤0.3%). Na2O infiltrated into the brick as well. However the Na2O content at the hot face (0.7%) is lower

corundum, mullite, and baddeleyite are unchanged on the cold face of the sample (Table II). The secondary ZrO2 remains on the hot face together with corundum as phases showing the strongest corrosion resistance in the system.

In the transition zone the mullite decomposed to corundum and silica, the silica then reacted with infiltrated Na2O to form glassy phase, as it did on the hot face (Table II). However this glassy phase was not removed, but acted as a sealing agent. Consequently the

� Fig 1. Test field in the superstructure of a con-

� Fig 2. Drilled core sample of Durital AZ58 after

tainer glass furnace partly lined with Durital AZ58.

two years in operation.

than in the transition zone (2.9%). The SiO2 content at the hot face also decreased compared to the other components of the sample. The reason may be that Na2O decomposes mullite into Al2O3 and SiO2 and builds a glassy phase with SiO2.

This glassy phase on the hot face (only a few cm in depth) was removed from the brick structure during application (Table II). The colouring agent for green glass, Cr2O3, is also enriched on the hot face.

The main brick components

structure in the transition zone is much denser compared to the hot face. This is clearly visible macroscopically (Fig 2) and microscopically. This dense structure in the transition zone prevents further infiltration and corrosion of the brick, which is the main reason for Durital AZ58’s good performance.

Continued>>

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Rongxing Bei*, Bernard Schmalenbach*, Stefan Postrach*, Klaus Santowski** and Stefanie Redik** report how two bonded refractories – zirconia mullite and alumina – could offer an alternative to AZS.

35 Glass International February 2017

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Refractories

a

furnace. This field is situated in the breast wall and near the throat. This area shows a temperature level of nearly 1600°C. After two years in operation the sample was removed (Fig 6). The original length was unaltered and a material loss could not be observed. No spalling or significant corrosion was found on the hot face of the sample. The hot face showed no indication of melting and, as expected, did not show any exudation.

The Al2O3 content was decreased from original 99% to approximately 94%, not only on the hot face, but also through the whole sample to the cold face. Some components from carryover (Si2O, CaO, MgO) and from evaporation (K2O and Na2O) infiltrated into the whole brick. In addition the colouring agent for the green glass, Cr2O3, was enriched on hot face and can be observed in the red colour, which is caused by the formation of (Al,Cr)2O3 solid solution on the hot face.

The enrichment of Na2O and SiO2 in the brick (together approximately 4.5%) caused a densification of the brick structure. Consequently the porosity decreased from 16.5% to 6–9%.

The photomicrographs of the samples show strong crystal enlargement of corundum on the hot face of the brick.

This formed a dense layer on the hot

b

� Fig 5. Cross section of crucibles after testing at 1550°C showing (a) the Durital AZ58 crucible and (b) the impregnated Durital AZ58 crucible.

Silica sol impregnation Durital AZ58 can be impregnated with silica sol after firing for further improvement of the corrosion resistance.

The impregnation results in the silica sol filling a large part of the pore spaces and results in improved brick properties. The impregnated bricks show an increase in density and mechanical strength while porosity and gas permeability decrease.

Despite the dense structure, the brick doesn’t lose its thermal shock resistance after impregnation.

To evaluate the corrosion resistance of Durital AZ58 with and without silica sol impregnation a laboratory test was performed to examine the combined attack caused by alkalis and carryover.

In this test, a crucible was manufactured directly from the refractory material to be tested. The crucible was filled with sand, lime and alkali and tested at 1550°C. The results of the crucible test show that the impregnated Durital AZ58 crucible suffered significantly less corrosion than the crucible without impregnation (Fig 5).

On the basis of these results further field trials are being conducted in the superstructure of industrial furnaces.

Upon completion the samples will undergo further analysis.

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Bonded Alumina The possible installation of bonded alumina, Durital K99Extra in the superstructure has been discussed in the past. The grade is based on fused α-alumina. The grade Durital AZ58 is fired at high temperatures and has good creep resistance. The creep behaviour is measured at 1600°C. The typical creep under load between 5 and 25 hours is 0.2% or less. In comparison to fused cast AZS this grade has nearly no glassy phase and hence no exudation during application in the superstructure.

To prove the performance of Durital K99Extra a test field was installed in the superstructure of a container glass

� Fig 6. Sample of Durital K99Extra after two years in operation.

Durital AZ58

Chemical properties Al2O3 (wt.%)

58.0

Fe2O3 (wt.%)

0.1

SiO2 (wt.%)

13.0

ZrO2 (wt.%)

28.0

Determination on fired substance (1025 °C) acc. to EN 12677 Physical properties Bulk density (g/cm³)

3.20

Apparent porosity (vol.%)

13.5

Cold crushing strength (CCS) (N/mm²)

125.0

� Table I. The chemical and physical properties of Durital AZ58.

Distance to hot face (mm)

Hot face

Transition zone

Cold face

0.0

50.0

280.0

Unused

Chemical analysis Al2O3 (wt.%)

64.1

57.9

57.4

58.0

SiO2 (wt.%)

2.7

12.0

13.6

13.0

CaO (wt.%)

0.3

0.3

0.1

MgO (wt.%)

0.2

0.1

0.0

K2O (wt.%)

0.1

0.3

0.0

Na2O (wt.%)

0.7

2.9

0.2

Cr2O3 (wt.%)

0.5

0.0

0.0

ZrO2 + HfO2 (wt.%)

31.3

26.2

27.2

28.0

X

Mineralogical analysis Corundum

X

X

X

Mullite

X

X

Baddeleyite

X

X

X

X

� Table II. Chemical and mineralogical analysis of the drilled core sample of Durital AZ58 after two years in operation.

36 Glass International February 2017

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Campag

Refractories

face and protected the brick against further attack. The crystal enlargement is a crystal growth under temperature by means of attacking components which react with the origin material. This process can be accelerated in the presence of liquid phases which allow the crystals to grow free in a viscous matrix. On the cold face there was infiltration from the waste gas as well, however neither strong crystal enlargement nor corrosion were observed.

It is well known that α-alumina can react with sodium from the furnace atmosphere to form so called ß-alumina.

This reaction can occur theoretically at temperatures lower than 2000°C according to Na2O-Al2O3 phase diagram[4].

However according to thermodynamic calculations[5] the temperature stability range for ß-alumina is much lower (<1300°C). The reason is that in this calculation a NaOH content is considered which has been measured in waste gas from an industrial glass furnace. In the sample DURITAL K99Extra which was tested at 1600°C only corundum exists and there is no formation of ß-alumina.

Conclusion Durital AZ58 showed a good performance

RHI.indd 3 pubblicitaria Digital Fermac 210x142 003.indd 1 Campagna

in a field test in the superstructure in the doghouse after two years in operation.

The direct hot face was corroded and has a loose structure with Zr2O and corundum remaining. However the original brick thickness did not change. Furthermore, a few centimetres underneath the hot face a dense structure was formed with corundum, Zr2O, and a small amount of glassy phase. This dense structure acts as a barrier against further infiltration and corrosion.

A further development of Durital AZ58 with silica impregnation can increase the corrosion resistance significantly. Field tests have been initiated and further post mortem studies will be carried out.

The excellent performance of Durital K99Extra can also be reported after a field test in the superstructure at the hot end of the furnace after two years service. A strong crystal enlargement and re-arrangement of corundum crystals formed a dense layer on the hot face and protected the brick against further attack.

Based on these results we recommend to replace fused cast AZS and to overcome problems with exudation and glass defects: � Installation of Durital AZ58 in the cooler end of the glass tank, where high

carry over is the prevailing corrosion agent. � Installation of Durital K99Extra in the hot end of the glass tank, where evaporating Na2O is the prevailing corrosion agent. �

References 1. Routschka, G. and Majdic, A. Feuerfeste Baustoffe für die Glasindustrie im Spiegel der Literatur. GlasEmail-Keramo-Technik. 1972, Books 10, 11 and 12.

2.

Routschka, Erzeugnisse

G. für

and

Majdic,

A.

Feuerfeste

Glasschmelzwannenöfen

im

Spiegel der Literatur. Keramische Zeitschrift. 1985, Vol. 37, No. 9, 457–466.

3. Heidrich, R. and Gupta, A. Fused Cast AZS Glassy Phase Exudation: Intrinsic or Pathologic Property?

RHI Bulletin. 2011, No. 2, 24–28.

4. DeVries, R.C. and Roth, W.L. Critical Evaluation of the Literature Data on Beta Alumina and Related Phases: I, Phase Equilibria and Characterization of Beta Alumina Phases. J. Amer. Ceram. Soc.,1969, Vol. 52, Issue 7, 364–369.

5. Private communication with Celsian. 2008.

*RHI, Industrial Division, Wiesbaden, Germany, **RHI, Technology Center, Leoben, Austria.

Corresponding author: Rongxing Bei, rongxing.bei@rhi-ag.com www.rhi-ag.com

01/02/2017 09:22:37 22/01/16 12:52

People profile: MTC Chairman

MTC Chairman encourages more youngsters to participate in glass Nigel Longshaw is the new Chairman of the UK’s Society of Glass Technology’s Melting Technical Committee. He tells Greg Morris that one of his aims while Chairman is to encourage more youngsters to participate in the glass industry.

T

he Melting Technical Committee of the Society of Glass Technology comprises a group of glassmakers and suppliers whose aim is to meet, network and encourage best practice in glassmaking.

The committee meets four times a year to discuss the latest trends, opportunities and challenges in the industry. The committee focuses on all areas of glassmaking including container, flat, fibre and speciality glass and includes glassmakers such as Allied, Saverglass and O-I as well as suppliers such as Fives, DSF and Lucideon in the UK. It is also responsible for organising Furnace Solutions, which has become an annual conference and training day since its formation in 2005.

The new Chairman of the Committee is glass industry veteran Nigel Longshaw, who has worked in the sector for 29 years and is currently Area Sales Manager for DSF Refractories in the UK. He joined the MTC while working in a previous role at Lucideon in Stoke-on-Trent, UK, which now hosts Furnace Solutions.

“A colleague was already a member of the MTC and I could see how much they were getting out of it, so decided to join,” he stated.

He was involved in helping organise the early Furnace Solutions events and his role at the MTC has evolved since then.

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Age gap Since he took on the role of Chairman last autumn, his focus has been to encourage more young people into the committee.

He said: “There’s a big gap opening up with a lack of experience. People are retiring and not being replaced, the 30 to 45 age group has been lost to industry elsewhere.

“We’re encouraging people to come to the committee meetings where they can learn from their peers. I’m of an age where I was encouraged to join these groups to improve my knowledge but that doesn’t seem to be the case now. People don’t join clubs any more.

“If we can get young engineers involved and active in the society then it becomes attractive to their peers as well. If we can develop a culture of bringing in young people in particular, it

will hopefully encourage others to become involved.

“We don’t want it to be a committee with people just talking about the ‘good old days’.”

International Such has been the success of Furnace Solutions that it has evolved into a two-day event: one day for training, the other for the conference. It has become an established part of the glass calendar.

Recent conferences have included participants from Bulgaria’s Drujba Glass, Italy’s Bormioli Rocco and Johns Manville in the USA. Mr Longshaw said: “Furnace Solutions has become an established event for people from overseas as well as the UK. It has moved on from just a pure conference model, to a two-day event with a training course.

“The MTC’s vision of the future is for people to train in a relaxed atmosphere so the next generation are getting informal training through the conferences and meeting people with plenty of experience.

“They can learn practical experience from people who have earnt their spurs, who have made the mistakes and solved those problems that the new people coming in may never have seen before.”

One of the committee’s four meetings each year is a conference call. Anyone from the glass industry can attend, and not just those who work with furnaces or in the hot end.

“We encourage everybody who has a relationship with glass to be involved. For example, someone who may work in the cold end but could see their career path moving towards the hot end, or give them a more rounded knowledge of glassmaking.

“The more knowledge you have then the bar gets raised on both sides.” �

To find out more about the MTC contact Nigel at nlongshaw.dsf.co.uk

� Nigel Longshaw has worked in the glass industry for 29 years.

Furnace Solutions conference and training day takes place on June 7 and 8, at Lucideon, Stoke-on-Trent, UK.

www.furnacesolutions.co.uk

38 Glass International February 2017

N LONGSHAW.indd 1

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History

Prof. John Parker

A glass jaw Prof. John Parker discusses glass’s relationship with the human body, how it can assist bone healing and how it can damage and repair teeth.

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'I

knew he had a cauliflower ear but didn’t realise he had a glass jaw’. The phrase ‘having a glass jaw’ typically has referred to a boxer who is unduly sensitive to a knock-out blow on his chin.

Interestingly, modern biomaterials have almost made a glass jaw a reality.

In the late 1960s Professor Larry Hench at the University of Florida was talking to an army officer about problems experienced by injured veterans returning from Vietnam. He learned that badly shattered bones needed metal and polymer implants for support, but these inserts often led to amputation because they were rejected by the body. Hench wondered whether glasses might offer a solution and speculated on possible compositions that might simulate bone.

He examined appropriate phase diagrams to see where low melting mixtures with the potential to form glass might exist. In the silica-soda-lime system two major eutectics exist, one matching the compositions of typical commercial glasses; a second with less silica was an interesting possibility. He also realised that phosphorus oxide should be a significant addition to match the major component of bones, calcium phosphate.

He experimented with such compositions and discovered that they were not rejected but remarkably could even stimulate bone formation – a bioactive product. Samples could not easily be recovered just a few weeks after surgical implantation.

Such glasses are now used in various situations to assist healing and are usually packed physically into the damaged bones. Their use in the mouth has been particularly valuable. Where a jaw has been damaged by physical injury or by disease they can restore function. They work well in other areas too, and four main compositional types have emerged. Some bind solely to bone, others also adhere to

soft tissues, some do not bond at all but become encapsulated with new tissue.

Yet others are resorbed within weeks.

They have even been added to toothpaste, alongside the normal active ingredients in such products, to encourage regeneration of the enamel coating on teeth.

Interestingly where repair is not possible, replacement teeth can also start life as glass, cast into a mould matching the original tooth. Special compositions are used that can be crystallised after casting to fine grained glass-ceramics with enhanced strengths. Varying the artificial tooth’s colour and translucency allows matching to the natural appearance of an individual’s teeth.

Fillings dating back to the early 1970s can contain glass as an active component too. These glasses are designed to be reactive and act as a chemical base. When mixed as a powder with an acidic polymer, a cement is created with properties ideal for dentistry. The time scale for setting is minutes and the resulting cement is sufficiently chemically and mechanically durable to survive conditions in the mouth for long periods, although they are unsuitable for biting surfaces. Such cements create a chemical bond to the tooth, even after minimal preparation.

An early name for these materials was ASPA – named after the calcium fluoroAluminoSilicate glass that is used and the PolyAcrylic/polyalkenoic acid that it is mixed with. They are also known as glass ionomer cements. Such dental cements typically contain a fraction of fluoride ions which has the role of reducing glass durability initially; this facilitates the reaction underpinning cement formation but also can reduce subsequent dental caries at the interface between the tooth and its filling. Other applications of these cements include sealing cracks and fixing brackets.

A variant of this process, used primarily for cosmetic reasons, is to coat stained or discoloured teeth with a glassy/resin mixture to whiten their appearance. A similar mix has been used for fillings. The resins rely on UV light to initiate setting.

They are relatively strong but their colour can age over time.

Such cements can also be engineered to match the appearance of the tooth under repair and have an advantage over cements based on mercury amalgams, particularly for front teeth. They are, however, not naturally radio-opaque in the way that metallic fillings are and so are less easily checked for any problems that may develop.

As everyone knows, one of the causes of tooth decay is sugar. What is less well known is that the sugar itself is often delivered in a glassy state. Certain combinations of sugars (glucose, sucrose) form low melting point glasses easily and, for example, are often used in cooking to generate cake decorations and for the glassy layer on ‘Crème Brulée’. Similarly, transparent hard-boiled sweets have the same basic composition. So contrariwise ‘glass’ can cause tooth decay but can also help repair the damage! The same confectionary compositions have been used for making glass bottles that can be safely broken over someone’s head on stage to knock them out should they not have a suitable glass jaw. �

Bibliography e-book produce by ICG’s TC04: http:// www.frontiersin.org/books/Inorganic_Biomaterials/836 *Curator of the Turner Museum of Glass, The University of Sheffield, UK www.tunermuseum.group.shef.ac.uk j.m.parker@sheffield.ac.uk

40 Glass International February 2017

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Technical Topics

John Henderson Henderson Technology

An illuminating subject John Henderson outlines the rise and fall of the UK glass lighting industry and how LED lighting may provide opportunities to enterprising glassmakers.

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G

lass specifically for lighting was a large and significant part of the UK glass industry from the early 1900’s until the 1990’s, which was a world leader in many of the technological advances in light source design. Its demise as an industry was a sad reflection of those times but being as optimistic as ever this column looks towards a future where the use of glass envelopes for domestic lighting is on the increase.

I have just read the latest article by John Parker, my fellow columnist on Glass International, dealing with the ‘bonding of glass’ and it is a coincidence that this should also be a key element of making light bulbs. The first commercially significant lamp in the UK was the incandescent lamp, the standard General Lighting Service (GLS) bulb with which many readers will be familiar. It required a glass outer to contain the tungsten filament in an oxygen-free environment and an internal structure to support the filament, which was both conducting and isolating. This was achieved by using a blown bulb (or envelope as the lamp makers called it) made of a soda lime silica glass around CoE 95 (or 9.5 depending on your scientific background) together with lead glass tubing sleeves to route the wires to the tungsten filament and lead glass rods to carry the filament support wires.

This allowed current to flow to the filament but, being a high electrical resistivity glass, not to leak to other areas which may have caused failure or worse electrocution. All these components needed to fuse to each other to make the vacuum seal and to the support wires to hold them in the right place. Thus the lead glass was around CoE 92 so that

a small amount of compression was introduced into the seals to make them stronger while being compatible with the envelope and wires.

GLS lamps have a luminous efficiency of 2 to 3% giving about 14 lumens per watt and are now banned from commercial sale in the EU in higher wattages because of energy efficiency considerations.

Fluorescent lighting came originated in the 1940’s, based on soda lime silica tubing, giving a distinct improvement in luminous efficiency with typical values ranging from 50 to 67 lumens per watt depending on tube size, with some modern tubes having an electronic ballast giving in the region of 100 lumens per watt. The draw back of fluorescent lights for domestic use was that they were linear and to get extra light required a longer tube. Some almost circular lamps were developed but fundamentally more light meant a longer tube. A subsequent (1970’s onward) development of this discharge technology was the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) or energy-saving lamp as it was styled. It used smaller diameter tubing containing a small proportion of lead which allowed it to be manufactured in bent tubular and helical spiral forms which, although they were no more efficient than a standard fluorescent lamp, were more suitable for domestic situations and could often replace a GLS lamp directly.

All this lamp technology was aided and sustained by the UK specialised glass industry using mouth blown, Westlake, Ohio, Danner and Vello and eventually Ribbon machine-made components.

By now you could be wondering where all this history is leading. Well, consider

the rise of the Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamp. This decades old technology was first commercialised for lighting following the production of high power white LED’s around the early 2000’s with the most modern versions giving more than 100 lumens per watt. A typical LED source is a small square package of emitting material. In this form it generally needs some form reflection in the lamp assembly to increase the usable light and a heat sink as the source can be destroyed by the heat generated when energised.

Interestingly, more recent commercial lamps have LED filaments which consist of multiple LED chips connected in series on a common bar substrate that forms a thin rod echoing the traditional incandescent filament. These are being used as a low-cost decorative alternative for traditional and CFL light bulbs and are usually packaged in a sealed glass bulb with a shape similar to the lamps they were designed to replace (e.g. round, candle, reflector or GLS) and filled with inert nitrogen or carbon dioxide gas to remove heat efficiently.

Although the majority of the UK lighting associated glass production is now defunct, LED lighting may provide an opportunity for enterprising glassmakers to re-enter this segment of the market.

Alas, it may be a pipe dream and we are unlikely to get back to the heyday of the great lamp makers such as Osram-GEC, Thorn Lighting and Crompton Parkinson but other sectors have regenerated so why not lighting? �

Henderson Technology, Sheffield, UK www.hendersontechnology.com

42 Glass International February 2017

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We Don’t Make the Glass, We Make it Possible • Glass Furnaces • Batch Plants • Turnkey Projects

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• Mantenimiento y construcción de plantas de mezclas • Operación de hornos y asistencia técnica • Asistencia en la selección de refractarios • Asistencia en pre-montajes de material electrofundido • Auditoria de hornos, refinadores y forehearth.

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COMBUSTION & MELTING TECHNOLOGY Tecnología de Fusión y Combustión

G N I N I A R D E C A FURN Hornos Drenado de

Events world: Horn Safety Seminar

A question of safety Horn Glass Industries hosted a seminar dedicated to safety in hollow glassmaking recently, with global delegates visiting its Germany headquarters to find out more. Markus Kick* discusses the event. � Delegates from around the globe attended the seminar in Horn’s German headquarters.

The reason behind the seminar was to demonstrate and explain the meaning of Functional Safety to our customers.

The industry is definitely more aware and concerned about safety than in the past. Our goal is to ensure that all the workers understand the connections and demands on the design of protective systems. We describe which steps are possible and necessary to operate a safe furnace in different operating modes such as high and/or also low demand range, independently from the manufacturer.

We also wanted to introduce our new Functional Safety for Automation Engineering department headed by myself, Functional Safety Manger Automation, to our customers.

What is the main objective of the seminar?

We wanted to discuss the connection between research & development for any electronics, utility system and control to our individual customers considering relevant guidelines and standards of functional safety tasks.

What subject matter was covered?

Since the introduction of the Machinery Directive 2006/42 / EC (valid since 29.12.2009) requirements regarding functional safety have been placed on

thermal processing plants.

The international standardisation defines requirements regarding the reliability of safety functions (Safety Integrity Level SIL or Performance Level PL). The goal is to minimise the risk to people, the environment, products and processes in the event of a malfunction.

We were pleased to host 17 customers from all around the world. Not all of them were typically Horn customers.

Three Horn staff also participated.

Attendees were from Vetropack Croatia, Vetropack Switzerland, Gerresheimer Germany, Verallia France and Germany, Holophane Frankreich, Vidroporto Brasil and Schott Germany.

The seminar was divided into three parts: Part A: 09:00 – 12:00 Confusion on functional safety matters: Misunderstandings between standardisation, theory and practice. You learn the right method of safe industrial thermal processing in high temperature operation.

Part B: 13:00 – 14:30 Practical demonstrations and implementation of safety features, Horn Safety Simulations Kit. Part C: 15:00 – 17:00 Concepts and solutions for melting tanks in high temperature operation, developed

by Horn Glass Industries.

After each presentation the participants

of the seminar talked and discussed the content of the lecture.

The attendees talked about special guidelines, directives, types of pressure guards, safety PLC’s, and special valves.

In particular, the difference between safety technologies and state of the art technologies was explained.

At the end of the seminar all attendees were asked to answer a questionnaire about the content and to evaluate the seminar trainer. Both results of the participants were more than positive.

With the seminar we were able to show our customers what possibilities they have when looking for solutions in thermos processing plants.

Horn has organised several of these seminars recently, in Indonesia and Turkey for example. What are their benefits?

By holding the seminars worldwide we want to support and educate our customers to succeed in their goals. This is our highest priority. Particularly with regard to safety technologies we want to demonstrate how to run the furnaces under all topical directives and the latest standards introduced by Horn’s new Horn Safety Engineering department. �

*Functional Safety Manger Automation, Horn Glass Industries, Ploessberg, Germany www.hornglass.com/en

www.glass-international.com

Why is Horn hosting this safety seminar?

45 Glass International February 2017

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Events world: AFGM

Thailand welcomes international guests at AFGM event T

he four-day event was hosted by the Glass Manufacturers Industry Club, and the Federation of Thai Industries (GMFTI). It comprised a number of networking events, a technical conference, golf day and cultural tour of Hua Hin.

Opening event

�The AFGM organising committee and keynote speaker, Mr Chen Numchaisiri (centre).

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

The conference had the theme ‘A New Era of Collaboration’, a subject touched upon during the opening ceremony by AFGM Chairman Mr Chai Kungfee.

“The ASEAN glass conference offers all participants the opportunity to strengthen their business network and collaboration in the glass industry. Particularly this year, the theme ‘A New Era of Collaboration’ was chosen to further enhance our objectives.”

The theme follows the establishment in 2015 of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which has the objective of enhancing integration and creating a single common market within the region.

Worawit Sureesarakorn, Organising Chairman, welcomed delegates and said the ASEAN glass industry had moved forward over the past 40 years under the umbrella of the AFGM.

“We are working towards a more sustainable and prosperous future involving manufacturers, suppliers and other stakeholders. This year marks the opening of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which will ensure further unification and collaboration between us all.”

Keynote speaker Mr Chen Numchaisiri, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said the glass and mirrors industry was of tremendous importance to Thailand, contributing about 3.5 billion baht per year to the national economy.

He said: “Thailand has the highest production capacity in ASEAN with 200 glass production facilities. The industry grows on average at a rate of about 20 to 30% a year.

“The glass and mirror sector in the Asia Pacific region is one of the fastest growing in the world, particularly in Thailand, China, Indonesia and Vietnam. China is the dominant glass consumer with 64% of the regional total.”

Mr Numchaisiri highlighted how the term Thailand 4.0 is of importance to the nation.

Adopting Thailand 4.0 principles, combined with Industry 4.0, will ensure fully developed

46 Glass International February 2017

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Events world: AFGM

Nearly 360 people from around the globe attended this year’s ASEAN glass conference. Delegates travelled from 55 countries across five continents from places as diverse as the USA, Poland, Japan, UK, France and Germany to be at the event, held in Hua Hin, Thailand. Greg Morris was there.

� The 40th ASEAN glass conference group photo.

www.glass-international.com

� AFGM members attended the plenary meeting.

47 Glass International February 2017

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� Organising chairman, Mr Worawit Sureesarakorn, addresses the audience during the opening ceremony.

glass, which will bring new exciting products in the future.

“Improved technology, strength, appearance and functionality will propel the glass industry and ensure it remains prosperous and stable.

“If the industry can spend more on R&D, the industry will become indispensible and remain strong for years to come.”

Technical conference

www.glass-international.com

� The AFGM chairman, Chai Kungfee.

country status for Thailand in the next 20 years.

It visualizes an advanced stage of manufacturing and an industry that produces high-value items.

It requires people to have an entrepreneurial spirit and to have advanced market know-how, combined with the digital process of Industry 4.0 “Thailand 4.0 means we will produce less but get more, so that is why we have to put a lot of creative thinking to achieve this.”

He highlighted the changing needs of consumers and how the glass industry can meet these needs.

People’s spending habits have changed, and they now want more individualised products – mass customisation.

“Thailand, and its glass industry, will have to be aware of this during the next decade or so,” he said. He cited urbanisation, advanced technology in glass making and collaboration projects, such as the AFGM, that will help advance the industry in future.

“Joining together will help us share knowledge, overcome difficulties, alleviate problems, and communicate and promote the development of

� It was an ideal opportunity for people from different continents to meet.

About 140 delegates were AFGM members and from the South-East Asian glass manufacturers of Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. Naturally, a number of delegates were from the host country with manufacturers such as Bangkok Glass, L. Lighting Glass, Ocean Glass and Siam Glass all represented.

The conference took place in somber circumstances following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand just days before it started. Delegates were requested to wear black or white shirts, and evening entertainment activities were more muted than in previous years.

The day long technical conference featured eight papers from Italy’s Advantech-Industrial Technologies and Glass Service, Graphoidal of the UK, Xpar Vision from Holland, Air Products, Vertech, JLI Vision, and Japan’s Nihon Yamamura Glass and AGC Ceramics.

Paul Schreuders, CEO of Xpar Vision, discussed Container Glass Forming in 2020/2025: the dark factory. He described his paper as his personal opinion and his view of the future. The glass industry faces challenges from competitor materials, human dependency and an aging workforce. In operational terms, the industry needs to produce lighter and stronger bottles that produces less waste and are more energy efficient.

“A focus on hot end forming is a necessity to beat these challenges. With a focus on hot end forming and applying hot end forming solutions as sensors, closed loops and robotics our industry will be able to be 20-25% better than today, be more competitive and less dependent on humans.”

On the roadmap towards a dark factory every sensor, closed loop or robot might have a function, but not, per se, a value, he said.

The next steps in the forming process will involve more and better sensors, automated control loops, robotic functions, the integration of systems and the smart use of data.

Continuing the Industry 4.0 theme, Ulas Topal, CEO of Vertech, said we had entered a new industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, with new available technologies available to glassmakers.

This includes online information platforms, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, the cloud and big data. For a glass plant to be considered as being Industry 4.0 adherent, it must include interoperability, such as machines, devices, sensors Continued>>

48 Glass International February 2017

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Photo credit: Quais de Saône - Lyon - Marie Perrin

WHERE THE HOLLOW GLASS INDUSTRY MEETS TO DO BUSINESS

After the success of 2015, Glassman Europe is returning to Lyon, 6-7 September at the CCC Lyon. Over 600 senior-level executives attended and with a packed conference theatre, Glassman Europe is expected to be popular once again this year.

Glassman Lyon will be the ideal opportunity to network with industry professionals from all around the world whilst learning about the latest products and services on the market. The exhibition and conference are free-to-attend so make sure you don’t miss out.

PUT THE DATES IN YOUR DIARY NOW Stay in touch:

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WWW.GLASSMANEVENTS.COM/EUROPE lyons page.indd 1 Glassman_Europe17_Ad_210x149mm.indd 1

01/02/2017 16:12:24 18/01/2017 12:59

� GMFTI Chairman, Mr Viwat Supatham.

and gave an update of incumbent full oxyfuel furnace conversions among different glass segment and countries in Asia. He stated that for many glass manufacturers, significant results were achieved right after the conversion to full oxy-fuel combustion was complete. Total fuel consumption was reduced and the production pull rate was increased. In addition, the new furnace cut emission levels by more than three quarters and glass quality improved.

Mark Johnston, Managing Director of Graphoidal, presented a paper titled Auto Swabbing improves overall efficiency.

He described how the company has developed a new generation of automatic blank swabbing machines that are predicted to become the next big thing in the container glass industry. He highlighted how one such system has been running for more than 12 months in a UK plant installed on a 12 section AIS DG machine where increases in productivity of up to 3% have been observed. Each section of the machine is fitted with a specially designed, independently controlled spray head. As the

� AFGM delegates

www.glass-international.com

and guests.

and people that connect and communicate with one another. Connected objects in the factory can send and receive information, which gives new added value to a glass plant. An abridged version of this paper was published in the December/January issue of Glass International.

Air Products’ Eric Lim discussed ‘Full Oxy-Fuel Glass Furnace Conversion in Asia’. Full oxy fuel is mandatory for TFT-LCD glass and E Glass Fibre and has also been well adopted by the solar cell glass manufacturing sector. Full oxy fuel is preferred by boron-containing glass such as heat resistant glass and glass wool.

He described how Air Products converted to an oxy-fuel integrated solution in 2011 with the adoption of the oxy fuel combustion solution in one furnace. In addition to the Cleanfire HRi burners and automatic flow control skid, a PRISM vacuum swing absorption (VSA) oxygen generator provides a more reliable and economic oxygen supply, and is a more cost effective longterm option when compared to liquid oxygen.

He described recent experiences in his paper

� Approximately 360 people attended the event.

� (Above right) There were a number of networking events where guests could mingle.

mechanism is integral within the machine it does not interfere with the access of an operator.

The system requires a means of administering the spray during the forming cycle. In its simplest form this is done with press-blow production using the funnel arm mechanism.

For blow-blow production either the use of a ‘V’ baffle arrangement with self-loading blanks or a modified funnel arm can be used. For machines without funnel mechanisms, a separate arm assembly can be supplied that is retrofitted to the machine. With preparation during a job change, this system can be installed with minimum machine downtime. It is not necessary to wait for a major overhaul or a furnace repair, he added. �

The technical papers are available to download for free from the AFGM website: www.aseanglass.org The ASEAN Federation of Glass Manufacturers (AFGM) is a 40-year-old regional industry association comprised of glass manufacturers from South East Asia. Each year its annual conference takes place in one of its member countries, namely Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. Next year’s event will take place in Vietnam. *40th ASEAN Glass Conference, A New Era of Collaboration, Hua Hin, Thailand www.aseanglass.org

50 Glass International February 2017

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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

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Intelligent engraving inspection The Evolution 12 engraving identification and inspection module is a software innovation that allows the machine to identify engravings in a containerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

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