Glass International July August 2016

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July/August 2016—Vol.39 No.7

PHOENIX AWARD INTERVIEW GERMAN OVERVIEW O-I INTERVIEW I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

BUMPER GLASSTEC ISSUE

Glass International July/August 2016

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

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Contents

2 Editor’s Comment

July/August 2016 Vol.39 No.7

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July/August 2016—Vol.39 No.7

GERMAN OVERVIEW O-I INTERVIEW A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

BUMPER GLASSTEC ISSUE

Glass International July/August 2016

11

44 Phoenix Award winner

Fuyao Glass Chairman honoured with Award 46 O-I Harlow interview

Revamped O-I plant with a focus on craft beer Company profile 50 AGC Ceramics Celebrates 100-years 56 Sheppee: At home with hot ware handling 60 MAVSA: From Argentina to the world

41

64 History Forehearths 67 PSR: Efficient systems 72 Forehearth Services: Training and audits optimise forehearth performance

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

GI Cover-july 2.indd 1

German overview 11 German container industry continues to rise 17 BV Glas - A voice for the industry 20 Nikolaus Sorg - Family values at the heart of furnaces company 24 futronic - 20 years of doing business together 29 ilis - Evolution of software company 32 Heye International - Forefront of engineering 36 cm.project.ing - Virtual reality in glass plants 41 Company profile

Stölzle Flaconnage’s £17 million furnace

PHOENIX AWARD INTERVIEW

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

3 International news

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Front cover image www.pennine.org

Energy efficiency 74 Endeco: Raising revenue by reducing national grid use

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78 80 82

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Decoration Stölzle: Individuality through decoration Curvink: Direct digital decoration Fermac: Jet Art takes digital decoration to unprecedented heights Allied: Nomination for awards

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90

Events world Hollow glass show highlights the best of the Middle East Mir Stekla 2016 in Moscow

Sealants 97 Graco: Equipment for insulated glass sealing Lubricants 102 Condat: Lubricants on display at glasstec

Plus find us on Linked-In and Twitter.

Events world 106 SGT celebrates its centenary @Glass_Int

www.glass-international.com

84

Inspection 108 Iris: Increased global presence for specialist 111 Diary

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Quality control 94 Tiama: Highlights technology at glasstec 2016

1 Glass International July/August 2016

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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

glasstec marks the end of a whirlwind summer of news

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W

ell what a summer that was.

So many stories took place in the world that I wouldn't know where to start. Was it England being knocked out of the Euros by Iceland, a country with the population of a city suburb? No, probably not, after all it’s ‘only’ sport. Likewise all stories related to the Olympics, which have been plagued by doping allegations against the Russians for months.

Was it the big story from Turkey and the coup against President Erdogan? Undoubtedly newsworthy, similarly with the recurring terrorist attacks in Europe this summer.

A huge, ongoing story, certainly in the UK, was the EU referendum and the subsequent fall-out, the impact of which is still being felt today. Households divided, friendships temporarily put on hold and political parties split.

The UK lost its Prime Minister, the leader of the main opposition party survived his own coup and, in a curious irony, one of the main supporters of the Brexit campaign became the UK foreign secretary.

His first meeting with his European counterparts must have been interesting.

It’s too early to say what this means for the glass industry. The GB pound dropped in value shortly after the referendum result was announced, which

was beneficial for those UK companies who export. But it remains to be seen what will happen in the longer term. EU leaders and the UK Government have indicated the break up should occur as soon as can be, possibly by December 2018.

Business, and the glass industry, generally has a way of circumnavigating political rules and regulations. Relationships, built up over many years, are hopefully stronger than the latest political edict. My hope is that it will be these ties that influence the future of the UK glass industry’s trade with its European counterparts.

The first big glass show after the referendum is the glasstec event in Düsseldorf, Germany, next month.

It will be an opportunity to gauge reaction to the referendum result as well as catch up with friends and business colleagues, old and new.

This issue is one of two that will be distributed at the event and includes a number of interviews with key glass figureheads, people in senior positions at leading companies who have been in the industry for years.

They each give their own take on what makes this industry so extraordinary.

Greg Morris, Editor gregmorris@quartzltd.com

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

Managing Director: Steve Diprose Chief Executive Officer: Paul Michael

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2 Glass International July/August 2016

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International News

Stölzle in £17 million upgrade

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Stölzle Flaconnage in Knottingley, UK (pictured), is currently undergoing a furnace revamp as part of a £17 million investment.

The shutdown began on July 4th and the furnace will be back in operation on September 1st.

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Angolan glass company to invest $60 million Angolan glass company Vidrul – Vidreira, will invest $60 million to expand production capacity at its plant.

The investment will be used on the installation of two new furnaces to ensure full glass supply in the country.

Carlos Martins, Managing Director of Vidrul, said the plant currently produces 60,000 tons of glass: “It is imperative to produce more so we can satisfy customers and have about 10% of production in stock.”

Vidrul is the larget glass container supplier for the Angolan beverage industry, exporting some production to several African countries, including Senegal, Madagascar, Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Guinea, Gabon, Burkina Faso and the Republic of Congo.

About 70% of the raw materials for Vidrul’s production comes from bottles collected at rubbish dumps, an activity that occupies a substantial number of people in several Angolan cities.

ATIV 2016 programme This year, Italian glass association ATIV’s conference will feature two sessions – one devoted to hollow glass and the other focused on flat glass.

Hollow glass speakers include Eric Muijsenberg, of the Czech Republic’s Glass Service, Fabrice Fasilow of AGC Glass Europe and Fred Aker of Germany’s Sorg.

Flat glass congress speakers include Antonio Bonati

of ITC-CNR, Goebel Horst of Bridgestone Industrial Limited and Mario Capobianco.

This is the 31st ATIV conference and is this year titled Glass between technique and creATIVity.

The event takes place in Parma University, Parma, Italy on October 20 and 21st.

Waltec Maschinen GmbH Kronacher Straße 2a 96352 Wilhelmsthal / Steinberg Germany Phone +49 9260 9901-0 Fax +49 9260 9901-99 E-Mail info@waltec.de

More details are on its website http://www.ativ-online.it

www.waltec.de news july aug.indd 1

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International News

Sisecam and EBRD to boost Turkey’s glass recycling

Sisecam Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are establishing a partnership to increase the glass recycling rate in Turkey.

The ambitious €20 million glass recycling project demonstrates Sisecam’s commitment to using more recycled glass than raw material in its batch.

The EBRD is acquiring a minority stake in Sisecam Cevre Sistemleri, a newly established recycling arm of Sisecam, and is extending a €20 million loan to finance glass recycling equipment.

The Bank has also mobilized an additional €2 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund, a funding window of the Climate

Investment Funds, as well as EU grants.

The joint initiative represents a response to the challenges in the Turkish glass recycling market.

Sisecam Cevre Sistemleri will provide its cullet suppliers with state-of-theart equipment that they wouldn’t be able to invest in otherwise.

This equipment will increase suppliers’ collection and treatment capacities as well as improve the quality of the cullet, strengthening the entire glass recycling supply chain.

Pictured: (from left) Sisecam Toplulugu Chairman of the Board and General Manager, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kırman, and EBRD Manufacturing & Service Sectors Director, Frederic Lucenet.

Fuyao Glass Chairman Cho Tak Wong wins Phoenix Award Cho Tak Wong, Chairman of Fuyao Glass Industry Group, has been selected as the 46th recipient of the Phoenix Award ‘Glass Person of the Year’ 2016.

The award is in recognition of his outstanding

contribution to the international automotive glass industry.

The Phoenix Award Committee congratulated and acknowledged Mr Cho Tak Wong’s many achievements and looks forward to pre-

senting him with the 46th Annual Phoenix Award at a banquet in Dayton, Ohio, USA this October.

An exclusive interview with Mr Wong appears in this issue of Glass International on p.44.

HNG sells German subsidiary to European buyer Hindusthan National Glass has found a buyer for its HNG Global plant in Gardelegen, Germany.

The Indian company has sold the plant for €23 million. The subsidiary

was sold to a large glass container manufacturing group in Europe, who wishes to remain anonymous.

HNG Global contributed 12% to the total consoli-

dated revenue of HNG for the financial year ended March 31, 2016.

Despite this, in September 2015, HNG said it planned to sell the loss-making subsidiary.

Glass International July/August 2016

news july aug.indd 2

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International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Heineken forms joint venture with Asia Brewery

Heineken International (Heineken) has signed a joint venture agreement with Asia Brewery Incorporated, a large beverage producer in the Philippines.

Under this agreement, a new joint venture company, AB Heineken Philippines, will be formed.

The two breweries that Asia Brewery currently owns in Cabuyao and El Salvador will be upgraded so that they can brew Heineken brands.

In the meantime, Asia Brewery, will start to distribute Heineken and Tiger in the Philippines.

Ardagh Group to move its US headquarters

Ardagh is to move its US headquarters to the town of Fishers from its current office in Muncie.

While the date has not yet been finalised, the Muncie office will close no later than the end of the year.

Ardagh Group employs more than 200 people at its offices in Muncie, most of which will now be based out of Fishers, Indiana.

Gerresheimer invests in new Tettau furnace

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Gerresheimer has replaced one of its two flint glass furnaces at its Tettau, Germany, plant.

The company installed a new, more powerful furnace, and upgraded the plant’s production technology.

The Gerresheimer Group’s Tettau plant manufactures hundreds of millions of glass containers for the cosmetics industry every year.

Tariq Glass expands production capacity

Pakistan’s Tariq Glass Industries has expanded its tableware production capacity.

The Lahore-based company has completed a maintenace programme on one of its tableware furnaces and has increased its capacity from 110 tonnes per day to 140 tonnes per day.

Global container industry sets sights on Argentina Argentina has come under the spotlight of the global glass container industry in recent months.

The South American country is home to a prolific wine and olive oil industry, with many brands exported around the world.

As a result a number of leading glass manufacturers are based in the country, from domestic companies such as Cattorini and Rigolleau to global brands including O-I and Verallia.

Such has been the growth in glass consumption that a recent glassmaker, Vidrios Ri-

ojanos, recently set up a new site in La Rioja province in the north west.

In addition to this, new Argentinian president Mauricio Macri – who was sworn in to office in December last year – has adopted free market policies and taken a more international stance than his predecessor.

As a result, a number of global technology leaders have signed up to exhibit at the Glassman South America event in Argentina next year.

These include furnaces suppliers FIC UK and Germany’s

Sorg, Mexican lubricants company Interglass, French inspection groups Iris Inspection Machines and Tiama, US glass plant engineering group Henry F. Teichmann and German companies ilis and Reckmann.

They will be displaying the latest glass making technologies and innovations from their booths.

The Glassman South America exhibition and conference takes place in Buenos Aires on March 29 and 30.

The event website is www.glassmanevents.com/ south-america/

GIMAV appoints new President Aldo Faccenda of Bottero (pictured) was elected the new Gimav President at its recent Ordinary General Meeting.

He will take over from Cinzia Schiatti. Michele Gusti of OCMI-OTG, who was confirmed as President of the Hollow Glass Section and Dino Zandonella Necca of ADI, who was confirmed President of the Accessories Section, were

called to assist President Faccenda.

“GIMAV must continue to grow, by welcoming all of Italy’s star players in this sector, to strengthen its weight on the domestic and international markets and to be universally recognised as a global player for all the glass trade worldwide” stated Mr Faccenda.

British Glass response to Brexit EU legislation has had a huge influence on glass production.

As in other sectors, this goes beyond trade agreements and currency values to affect areas such as carbon emissions, energy efficiency, recycling targets, registration and control of chemicals and research funding.

Ahead of the vote, British Glass asked members how being part of the EU affected their business and which outcome they favoured. The responses showed no clear con-

sensus – reflecting the varied size and activities of members across the supply chain. Consequently, British Glass didn’t campaign on behalf of members for either the remain or leave positions.

Dave Dalton, Chief Executive of British Glass said: “We understand this outcome will not please all of our members.

The UK is now embarking on an unfamiliar process and of course the detail of what must happen and how will only gradually become clear.

“British Glass will continue to monitor the ongoing exit negotiations, relaying the implications to our members and facilitating cross-industry collaboration where appropriate.”

The UK’s glass manufacturing is a vital economic and technological asset, contributing almost £2 billion to the UK economy each year and directly employing around 6,000 people, with an estimated 150,000 more jobs contingent on these.

6 Glass International July/August 2016

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International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Sri Lanka’s Piramal to expand capacity

Sri Lankan glass bottle maker Piramal Glass Ceylon plans to rebuild and re-line its furnace.

The furnace was built in 2007 and the company plans to modernise and increase the capacity of the furnace in 2017.

Sanjay Tiwari, Managing Director of Piramal Glass Ceylon, said capacity will be increased by 300 tonnes a day from then existing 250 tonnes, with an investment of 3 billion rupees ($20.4 million).

Ardagh adds miniature wine to its range

Ardagh has expanded its range of standard wine bottles, including a variety of 187ml wine bottles to satisfy the growing demand for wine miniatures.

Ardagh customers in Europe can now choose from over 150 standard wine bottle designs in a range of over twelve different colours to suit the type of wine.

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 Fuyao Glass Chairman Cho Tak Wong wins Phoenix Award 2 Belgian Brewery Chooses Beatson Clark Bottle 3 Stölzle Flaconnage in £17 million upgrade 4 Ardagh adds miniature wine bottles to its standard range 5 VDMA presents German manufacturing at glasstec 6 Guardian Glass selected for France’s new Cité du Vin 7 Bystronic celebrates 50 years at glasstec 8 Tubular glass segment helps boost Gerresheimer revenue 9 Germany’s VDMA mechanical engineering industry alarmed by Brexit vote 10 Angolan glass company to invest $60 million

Horn Industries secures float and container contracts in Turkmenistan

Wall Colmonoy appoints new President

Nicholas W. Clark has been appointed to the position of President of Wall Colmonoy.

Mr Clark started with Wall Colmonoy Limited (UK) in March 2012 as a Process Engineer, rising to Deputy Managing Director.

In October 2014, he returned to the US as a Director.

www.glass-international.com

Encirc appoints new Energy Manager

Glass manufacturer Encirc has appointed a new Energy Manager, David Burns, to help drive the company’s sustainability programme.

He will be responsible for implementing initiatives to minimise energy consumption and increase the re-use of waste heat, coupled with exploring more sustainable energy options, such as the use of natural gas and bioenergy fuels.

Horn Glass Industries has secured a major contract with a Turkmenistan float and container glass manufacturer.

It has signed a contract with Messrs. Tepe to provide a complete, turnkey production plant to produce float glass and container glass bottles.

The Horn planning staff will be responsible for everything, from the supply of raw materials via the batch house, melting aggregates and tin bath up to the cutting line and storage

technology.

The new line will be set up from scratch on a surface of 240,000m² and will comprise a 250 t/d float glass line as well as a 50 t/d container glass production plant.

This huge plant will aim to satisfy all domestic float and bottles needs, since the industry does not exist in the country yet.

Horn will be responsible for the complete technology of the factory. The container

line will operate and produce 95 million bottles per year by 2017.

Float glass production with an annual capacity of 8 million m²/year will start in September 2017.

Approximately 600 people will work in the factory’s glass sector and 700 more staff will work in auxiliary production.

The contract includes training of these workers, since there is no trained personnel in this field in Turkmenistan.

8 Glass International July/August 2016

news july aug.indd 6

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Country overview: Germany

German container industry continues to rise out of recession

T

he EU is the world’s largest glass producer, with a combined market share of roughly onethird of the total global market, and Germany is the EU’s biggest glass producer, responsible for around one fifth of this volume.

In recent years there has been an increase in glass manufacturing sectors such as optical and pharma glasses in Germany, often associated with an increasingly elderly population. There has also been a strong focus on more advanced glass products that serve a purpose outside of its traditional packaging function. Schott is one prominent German company that has made major advancements in demonstrating what glass is capable of, other than serving as a container, and is now a global brand employing over 15,000 people in 35 countries around the world.

Container glass itself remains a thriving industry throughout its 357,168km2 territory, and both small and large domestic producers as well as international manufacturers dominate the landscape. Germany’s container glass industry comprises 11 companies, with 30 plants, 62 furnaces and 9000 staff between them.

Production rates for container glass were badly

affected at the start of the last recession, with an approximate 10% drop in production between 2008 and 2009. However, with the continued support of the German government, in 2011 the rate increased by 5% on the previous year to just over 4,000,000 tonnes, relatively close to 2008’s pre-recession level of 4,150,000 tonnes.

This dropped by 3.2% in 2012 (to 3,934,844 tonnes), and remained stagnant throughout 2013.

However, production rose by 0.5% in 2014, and it is predicted that the glass production rate in Germany will rise 0.5% every year until 2020, with an estimated 3,992,941 tonnes produced in 2016.

In descending order of capacity, we look at the container glass producers based in Germany.

Ardagh Glass The largest container glass manufacturer in Germany, Ardagh has eight manufacturing plants and 17 furnaces located fairly evenly across the country (see map). Ardagh produces predominantly brown and green beverage bottles (but also other colours by request) at its Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

The most industrious country in Europe has an estimated 400 glass manufacturing companies operating within its territory, making it a major contributor to the German economy. Integral to this is its thriving container glass sector, as Sally Love reports.

11 Glass International July/August 2016

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Country overview: Germany

sites in Obernkirchen and Germersheim. It also produces these colours at its Nienburg site for food containers as well.

The company produces flint glass for beverages at its Neuenhagen and Wahlstedt plants, and flint for both food and beverages at its Drebkau and Lunen sites.

Finally, at its site in Bad Münder, Ardagh produces amber glass for drinks bottles, as well as for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

Overall, the company has an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes.

Verallia The recently independent Verallia, sold to Apollo Global in 2015 after Saint-Gobain declared its strategy to focus on the habitat construction industry, has four sites in Germany: two in the south of the country, and two in the west. Situated in Bad Wurzach, Essen, Neuberg and Wirges, all the sites produce brown, green, flint, and special colours on request, for the food and beverage industry.

With 11 furnaces, Verallia has just over 1 million tonnes capacity per annum throughout Germany.

www.glass-international.com

Wiegand Glas Wiegand Glas is the third largest container glass producer in Germany and the largest domestic company. The company has over 400 years of history in glassmaking, with Niclas Wiegand starting production in the Rhon in 1570.

The company has three manufacturing sites all located within close proximity to each other in the south of Thuringia and the north of Bavaria. With eight furnaces, Wiegand Glas has 750,000 tonnes capacity per year. The Steinbach am Wald factory produces the most container glass for any factory in Germany, producing over 465,000 tonnes in 2015. The plant is close to the Czech border, an area historically linked to the Bohemian glassmaking tradition, and produces brown, green and flint bottles for the food and beverage industry, as well as having decoration facilities on site.

Its Großbreitenbach site predominantly produces flint glass for the food and beverage industry, and also has on site decoration facilities.

The plant in Schleusingen also mainly produces flint, as well as brown glass or other colours on special request, for the food and beverage industry.

Earlier this year Wiegand Glas acquired Germany’s Glaswerk Ernstthal, a one plant company that produces flint and occasionally deep blue glass bottles and jars, primarily for beverages but also for cosmetics. Glaswerk Ernstthal has three furnaces and around 200,000 tonnes capacity per year. The company produces many unusual shapes in a variety of sizes, such as its ‘Grappolino’ bottle, made to look like a bunch of grapes.

Gerresheimer Gerresheimer has expanded from Germany to

z Map showing the locations of Germany’s container glass plants, kindly provided

by BV Glas, Germany’s glass manufacturing association.

become an international partner to the health industry, including its manufacturing operations for glass and plastic products for the pharma industry. With over 40 plants across Europe, North America, South America and Asia, the company has 11 sites in its home country, consisting of a mixture of glass and plastic manufacturing plants, life science research centres, and sales and distribution, as well as its global headquarters in Duesseldorf.

Gerresheimer has six plants across Germany that manufacture glass, located in Buner, Essen, Lohr, Meiningen, Tettau and Wertheim. Each plant has one furnace, and between them the company has around 450,000 tonnes capacity per year.

Predictably for the pharma industry, production consists predominantly of amber and flint glass vials and tubes.

O-I Owens-Illinois (O-I) has a relatively small presence in Germany by its own standards, with just three manufacturing sites and one sales and distribution office (in Dusseldorf). Between the three sites there are five furnaces that produce in excess of 400,000 tonnes capacity per year.

All three manufacturing plants, based in the central belt of the country in Bernsdorf, Continued p 14>>

12 Glass International July/August 2016

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Advertorial: GPS

GPS to showcase five innovative patented products at glasstec

The GPS experts regularly develop new solutions for the container glass industry that increase the precision, speed and efficiency of IS machines. The five new patents by GPS are all different innovative modules: a new GOB delivery system; a safety door; a system for automatic lubrication; a shear spraying system; and a new cooling unit for glass containers on the dead plate.

Not only do these new IS machine sub-systems have unique optimised designs, geometries and mechanics, they are also revolutionary in terms of their suspension and mounting concepts.

GPS represents made-in-Germany quality, process reliability, efficiency and environmental performance. This is proven by the five patents that have been granted to the company. The GPS innovations will deliver improved products and production quality because they allow the IS machines to turn out more uniform glass products.

The innovative modules also help container glass manufacturers to make their production processes more efficient. GPS is a company with high quality standards, therefore it always focuses on the factors of sustainability and environmental performance when developing new patents, to ensure that they always contribute to reducing energy requirements and minimising energy losses in the production process.

The modules are also very simple and convenient to handle, control and maintain.

GPS at glasstec When? 20 to 23 September 2016 Where? Messe Düsseldorf, Hall 13, Stand F21 Contacts: Rolf Themann – Managing Director/CEO Sandy Howells – Manager Sales Marco Klee – Manager Production/COO Christian Mähler – Manager Finance and Controlling/CFO Jens Dubert, Jürgen Berger, Günter Schumann, Anna Röwe and many others – Sales, Service, After Sales, R&D, as well as engineers from T&T, Turnov s.r.o Contact: info@gps-essen.de

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Areas of competence: IS machines, feeders, servo technology, control systems, consultancy services, project planning, transport, research and development

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GPS IS machines: Quality made in Germany – and installed around the world.

GPS is a leading developer and supplier, catering to the needs of the international container glass manufacturing industry. The specialist company’s product portfolio includes IS machines and components, servo mechanisms, feeders and conveyors as well as control and drive systems for various applications. It also provides consultancy and training services to customers in the container glass manufacturing industry.

GPS offers both all-inclusive and modular concepts, because all-inclusive solutions don’t necessarily meet the container glass manufacturers’ requirements. Sometimes all an IS machine needs is a professional upgrade or the replacement of individual components to achieve improvements in efficiency and product quality.

Based on this knowledge and its self-imposed standards of excellence, GPS develops optimum solutions in perfect quality for customers around the globe, at unbeatable value for money.

As a full-service company, GPS doesn’t just provide the machine hardware but also the necessary software. Timer&Drive is a compact system for end-to-end process control that is unrivalled in the container glass industry for its reliability, ergonomics, userfriendliness and price. This innovative system can be integrated in any IS machine, not just the GPS-brand machines.

“Making glass is an art. The tools you need are made by GPS” is the German specialist company’s motto. It is founded on 90 years of experience, sector expertise and insider know-how.

GPS has its roots in the glass industry as a former subsidiary of SaintGobain Oberland AG. It unites decades of experience and hands-on knowledge and competence with state-of-the-art innovations.

GPS is capable of developing tailored solutions for its customers because it is familiar with the needs and requirements of the international container glass industry. GPS is a traditional German company that impresses customers all over the world with its products and solutions. The GPS customer base includes many major international corporations.

The IS machine developer and manufacturer will be presenting its new patents for the first time in Germany at glasstec in Hall 13, Stand F21.

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Country overview: Germany

Holzminded and Rintein, produce green, brown, flint and a blue glass for the food and beverage industry. Beer bottles play a large part in the country’s production, and other, more specialised colours are available if requested.

z Wiegand Glas’s Steinbach am Wald plant produces more container glass than any other in Germany, more than 465,000 tonnes per year.

Noelle & von Campe Glashütte The glass plant in Boffzen, Niedersachsen, began producing glass in 1866 under the company name Bartling & Co. Changing to Noelle & von Campe in 1874, the company continued to hand produce glass until the first semi-automatic equipment was installed in 1950.

The company makes jars and bottles for the food industry in sizes ranging from 47ml through to 4250ml in flint. With three furnaces the company has a capacity of 200,000 per year.

Weck Glaswerk Weck Glaswerk has two sites, in Bonn and WehrOflingen. With one furnace in each plant the company has a capacity of 110,000 tonnes per annum and produces flint glass jars for the food and beverage industry.

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Heinz-Glas Family owned since 1622 and listed as the 12th oldest family business in Germany, Heinz-Glas has two plants in Kleintettau and Piesau, four furnaces, and a capacity of around 100,000 tonnes per annum.

The company produces predominantly opal and flint glass for the cosmetics and perfumery industry, and offers decoration techniques such as matting, sand-blasting, spraying, silk-screen printing and lasering.

HNG Global India’s Hindusthan National Glass (HNG) has recently sold its German plant, formerly known as HNG Global. In September 2015 HNG announced its intention to sell the plant due to it making a

loss. As of the 23rd June 2016, HNG announced it had found a buyer and will be selling the plant for €23 million. The buyer is a large glass container manufacturer in Europe, but as we went to press the buyer had opted to remain annonymous.

The plant itself has one furnace and a capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year, and is based in the north of Saxony Anhalt.

SGD Kipfenberg SGD has a plant in Germany, located in the south of the country. Producing solely for the pharmaceutical industry, the plant has one furnace and around 75,000 tonnes capacity per year.

Glashütte Freital

“The EU is the world’s largest glass producer ... and Germany is the EU’s biggest glass

”

producer.

The smallest of Germany’s container glass producers, Glashütte Freital produces jars and bottles for the food and beverage industry.

Founded in 1818, the company uses 70% cullet in its batch and predominantly produces flint glass.

With one furnace, Glashütte Freital produces 30,000 tonnes per year. r

www.bvglas.de www.ardaghgroup.com/ www.verallia.com www.wiegand-glas.de/front_content.php www.gerresheimer.com/en/home.html www.o-i.com www.nuvc.de/en/home.html www.weck-glaswerk.de www.heinz-glas.com/en/ www.hngglobal.net/en/ www.sgd-kipfenberg.de www.glas-freital.com References: www.bvglas.de/fileadmin/media/Mitgliederverzeichnis/Mitgliederverzeichnis_BVGlas.pdf www.glassglobal.com/consulting/study/hollowglass2015/Container_Glass_Study_2015_Preview.pdf

14 Glass International July/August 2016

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16.06.16 13:27

Conveying glass around the world for over 30 years

See us at Glasstec 2016 Hall 13 stand C84

Premium Conveyor Chain and Sprockets +44 (0) 1484 864733 sales@penninne.org www.pennine.org

Interview: BV Glas

A voice for the glass industry Dr Frank Heinricht was appointed President of the German glass association, BV Glas, in November last year. He tells Greg Morris that one of his intentions is to ensure that both the public and the policy makers ensure that glass’s voice is heard.

Can you explain a little about your role and describe any future objectives you have?

What skills do you personally bring to the role?

I’ve been Chairman of the Management Board at Schott, one of the world’s largest speciality glass manufacturers, for more than three years. Before that, I spent 10 years as a member of the Heraeus management board, ultimately as its Chairman.

Both companies are material-based with a strong international orientation. Both companies face energy and environmental policy challenges.

These are issues with enormous significance for the entire German glass industry.

Can you explain the role of BV Glas and its functions?

The Federal Association of the Glass Industry is a central point of contact for all glass-related issues.

One of its key functions is to provide important information about the glass industry in Germany and information about glass to industrial users and decision makers, the craft and retail trades and also to opinion leaders in science, research and politics, the media and consumers.

The Federal Association of the Glass Industry also represents its members’ interests in the public sphere. For example, it assumes a coordinating role by liaising between members when the glass industry is collectively developing national or international standards. The Federal Association

“One of the main tasks falling to BV Glas is to ensure that the glass manufacturing industry’s voice is heard.

”

of the Glass Industry’s mission is to educate people about how original, individual and versatile glass is. As the central association for the glass manufacturing industry in Germany, BV Glas is also a key national and international player in all significant areas of economic policy.

How does BV Glas unite the different glass sectors?

We don’t believe that our aim is to unite the four sectors of the glass manufacturing industry, they’re far too diverse for that. Our association’s aim is to identify common issues, such as environmental and energy policy, develop common positions and communicate them to policy makers and the public. This can be a complex task because the interests of the glass manufacturing industry’s sectors also differ, so we have to try and achieve the greatest possible consensus.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

The function of President is mainly a representative one. BV-Glas’s day-to-day activities are run by the Director General at the association’s head office.

However, as President I am required to support him by attending official political meetings and events, and in that respect I provide a face and a voice for the glass industry.

One of the objectives I want to achieve during my presidency is to increase dialogue and contact with policy makers and the public, so that we can sensitise them to the glass industry’s concerns.

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Interview: BV Glas

Some of our member companies have international structures, which means they often have to synchronise themselves internally. It takes a lot of tact and skill to develop a position that represents the German glass industry’s interests and is also supported by our members’ international parent companies.

How important is Germany’s glass industry to Germany’s economy as a whole?

In 2015 there were around 53,000 people working in the glass industry. It’s a number that has remained relatively constant over the years. But you have to remember that 1.2 jobs in upstream or downstream industries are dependent on every job in the glass manufacturing industry. Add those to the figure and we’re up to 116,000 jobs. Total revenue in the glass manufacturing industry in 2015 was around €9.2 billion.

What excites you about the German glass industry?

Its diversity! The German glass manufacturing industry has many different sectors making all kinds of different products. BV Glas unites all these sectors. Our member companies’ structures are just as diverse as their products. There are both largescale corporations with foreign roots and mediumsized companies that have been manufacturing glass in Germany for generations.

‘Made in Germany’ is still a quality seal that also applies to glass products. They are innovative, high quality and our manufacturers have the best working conditions and environmental standards in the world.

www.glass-international.com

Are you able to indicate any trends within the container and flat glass sectors?

Regionality, health and eco-friendliness are key trends in the container glass sector. One of the food industry’s current trends is artisan food, and this has to be reflected in the packaging. Glass is the perfect choice because many container glass manufacturers are medium sized companies located in rural regions. Glass has become increasingly popular with consumers as a ‘green’ packaging because it can be returned and, more importantly, entirely recycled. It is also the only packaging material to be virtually inert. That appeals to health-aware consumers who want to know that they’re only getting the packaged product, not substances from the packaging as well.

Glass is an interesting material for the filling industry because it can be effectively individualised, so it offers all kinds of brand profiling options.

Aesthetics is one of the trends in the flat glass segment. Another trend seen in the window market is functional glass that delivers advanced technical

performance. For example, there are windows with solar protection, heat insulation, self-cleaning functions and other functions. The sector is also working on making windows as daylight neutral as possible, despite all the coatings. There’s high demand for daylight neutral windows from both architects and consumers. Another new trend is switchable smart glass that darkens at the touch of a button.

Similarly, what challenges do the container and flat glass sectors face, and how will BV Glas help overcome them?

In both sectors, the issue of whether successful manufacturing operations in Germany are possible depends on the prevailing political framework.

That’s why one of the main tasks falling to BV Glas is to ensure that the glass manufacturing industry’s voice is heard by the policy makers. Our industry is involved in the emissions trading system, and it is dependent on receiving free allowances. In Germany, the reform of the Renewable Energy Act is currently jeopardising the eligibility of many companies in the German glass industry for the hardship provision. A stable framework and fair energy prices are prerequisites for the German glass industry’s future success and competitiveness. BV Glas stands up for these companies’ interests at both European and national level.

In the container glass industry, two key issues are the political framework and predatory competition from other packaging material manufacturers.

So one of the association’s important functions is to communicate the advantages of glass to customers, retailers and consumers.

2016 is a glasstec year, and much of the global glass industry will descend on Duesseldorf. How important is this event to the glass industry? glasstec is the world’s leading trade fair for glass. BV Glas is the conceptual sponsor and, as President of BV Glas, I am also President of glasstec 2016. I’m looking forward to all the exciting innovations that are going to be on show at this year’s glasstec.

As the sponsor organisation, BV Glas will naturally be exhibiting at its own stand.

How do you ensure that German glass remains ahead of competitor countries, such as cheap imports from the Far East?

BV Glas will remain committed to ensuring that the glass industry remains competitive in the international markets. German glass products differ from cheap imports in terms of their quality, innovativeness and the fact that they optimally meet the needs of the user industries. I firmly believe that quality will prevail in the long term. r

BV Glas, Düsseldorf, Germany, www.bvglas.de/en/

18 Glass International July/August 2016

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See us at Glasstec 2016 Hall 13 Stand no 13 E54

20–23 September 2016

How much energy is there in a piece of glass?

The answer can be found at glasstec, the world’s leading trade fair with the latest solutions for effective production. The best way to prepare for your show visit is to use the sector guide on the glasstec portal where you will find all the offers for your sector.

www.glasstec.de/ industry

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Messe Düsseldorf GmbH P.O. Box 10 10 06 _ 40001 Düsseldorf _ Germany Tel. + 49 (0)2 11/45 60-01 _ Fax + 49 (0)2 11/45 60-6 68

www.messe-duesseldorf.de

23.05.16 11:43

Company profile: Sorg

z TThe recently commissioned furnace at Nafis Glass.

Family values at the heart of furnaces company

www.glass-international.com

Continuing our series of company profiles of German companies in the lead up to this year’s glasstec, Greg Morris met with Nikolaus Sorg Managing Partner, Alexander Sorg. He is the fifth generation of the Sorg family to lead the company and explains how family values have contributed to its success.

T

oday, Sorg’s furnaces can be found in glass factories around the world. It has recently celebrated installations in places as far afield as Iran, Mexico and the UK, as well as its native Germany. But it was not always so. The company was formed in humble beginnings in 1872 in Thuringen in the former East Germany by Nikolaus Sorg. It was started at a time when glass manufacturing was becoming an industrialised process thanks to the Siemens regenerative process and to the rise of the railway system in Germany, which made the movement of raw materials easier.

It suffered a setback as a result of World War Two and the break-up of Germany. It had to move to the other side of Germany, to its current home

of Lohr am Main where Emil Sorg re-started the business from scratch. Emil chose Lohr because some glass works was based there. The company began to become an international business in the 1960s and 1970s under the leadership of Helmut, Karl-Heinz and Klaus Sorg.

Alexander Sorg represents the fifth generation of the business and is involved in the operative business, while his father and uncle are still involved but in a background role.

Today the group employs 450 people around the globe with 200 of those based in Lohr. It exports worldwide and has offices in USA, Thailand, India Continued>>

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Company profile: Sorg

The business Nikolaus Sorg is an engineering company for glass melting furnaces. It is divided into three businesses. Its raw materials business EME supplies batch houses and cullet return systems, Nikolaus Sorg is its engineering company, while its Sork Keramics Service (SKS) division offers installation, maintenance and repair services for refractories on and around furnaces and forehearths.

Altogether, the three companies specialise in the hot end of the glass manufacturing process, from the raw materials intake to the well-conditioned glass.

The company serves most sectors of the glass manufacturing industry including tableware, technical, float and fibre glass, but it is container glass which makes up about 60% of its business.

Sorg’s staff are encouraged to experience a variety of sectors and not limit themselves to just one particular area, such as container or tableware.

Mr Alexander Sorg said: “Different sectors require different solutions and one sector can learn form the other, cross application is a good source for innovation. That’s what makes Sorg different compared to some in-house design departments of some large groups.

“Some in-house design engineering departments never exchange with the outside world or with different furnace types, and this compromises their learning of new solutions.

“Customers tend to stick with one solution they know and would not choose a different solution that another customer would apply in the same sector. We know them all and we can combine them in the best way.

“We believe that this is a good argument as to why even large groups should consider an independent furnace company rather than their internal departments, we have the knowledge from talking to everyone.”

z Alexander Sorg.

“A furnace lifetime can be 15 to 20 years and throughout all of that time we want to perform a good service to

”

our customers.

Sorg’s R&D department has helped introduce equipment that has become industry standard, such as the deep refiner on furnaces used by almost all the major container manufacturers such as Owens-Illinois (O-I) and Ardagh.

Sorg has recently changed its company slogan to ‘Value by Design’ and this expresses the strategy of the company. It creates value with intelligent design and engineering processes.

Another strength is its know how and capabilities. The company is fiscally reliable and has an integrated strategy when it comes to engineering and installations. Mr Sorg stated its strategy forms the two sides of the same coin.

“Some companies only provide engineering, others only installation and service but we combine it, we are unique. It means we can provide a good service throughout the life cycle of the furnace. This results in an advantage for the customer in that he has only one point of responsibility.”

When it comes to installations, the furnace, naturally, has to be optimised in terms of energy efficiency and the environment.

Container glass industry furnaces are the most optimised in the world because there are so many of them.

The end-port regenerative furnace is the most standardised in the world. But, even so, every customer is different and every factory has a specific layout so each furnace must vary. A customer has specific requirements in terms of glass quality or the environment and Sorg must meet these personalised requirements.

The environment has become a huge talking point in the past decade.

Sorg pioneered pre-heating technology to help reduce energy consumption and since then preheating has become industry standard.

Sorg’s LoNOx melter was introduced in the 1980s to reduce NOx emissions and is still in use today and, according to the company, still sets the standard.

The company has also launched cullet pre-heating and installed numerous applications. Up until now, only German customers have opted to go the extra mile for batch and cullet preheating.

Its batch preheating process has reduced CO2 emissions by 15% compared to the best- inclass generative end port fired furnace. “This is a significant reduction and has had a strong impact on the further development of the glass industry.”

Its recently launched Batch3 concept for batch handling at the furnace offers further potential to reduce energy consumption and to reduce NOx emissions.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

R&D

and China but still retains its family values.

“We are conscious of the long term importance of the relationship with our customers. A furnace lifetime can be 15 to 20 years and throughout all of that time we want to perform a good service to our customers. We don’t hit the ground and run away, it is a cradle to grave service.

“The family values of being involved for a long time in the business have helped establish a good relationship with our customers.

“Glass is an old industry and we have known many customers for decades, or even longer.

We have known some, such as Heinz Glas and Wiegand Glas, for more than 100 years.”

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Company profile: Sorg

 The Bastürk delegation at the Sorg site in Lohr am Main, Germany.

Europe has set ambitious CO2 reduction goals for industry. In the glass industry, the discussion of electric melting furnaces compared to fossil fuel furnaces has become a talking point.

Sorg is prepared for this and recently celebrated the contract signing of its 99th electric melter. But it is unclear what will happen in the future because electric furnaces have not achieved the same capacities compared to fossil fuel furnaces.

 The LoNOxfurnace still sets the industry standard, stated the company.

Recent Sorg furnace installations include: Ardagh at Irvine, UK

Fevisa, Mexicali, Mexico

Gallo Glass, USA

Vicrila, Spain

Gulf Glass, Kuwait

Wiegand Glas

Nafis Glass, Iran,

A typical electric furnace’s capacity will be up to 200 tonnes per day compared to 500 tonnes per day for a fossil fuel furnace. Its R&D focus will be on increasing the capacity of its electric melters as well as reducing the energy consumption of fossil fuel furnaces.

A third focus is the integration of control strategies into glass melting furnaces to make the operation completely automatic, eliminating the human impact on the control of the furnace during a pull or colour change.  A forehearth at Nafis

The container sector has had a wave of

Glass in Iran.

www.glass-international.com

Trends

Basturk, Turkey.

consolidation in the past year, with big- money acquisitions involving the likes of O-I, and Verallia.

Per capita consumption of container glass is still strongest in Europe and USA. The modernisation of existing furnaces is an important part of Sorg’s business so the western world is important for the company. Naturally, Germany is an important market for the company but consolidation in the country’s glass sector has meant Sorg has to look globally for new markets.

Two emerging markets that now have thriving glass industries are Thailand and South Korea and both require long-term furnace capacities.

Mr Sorg said: “We serve customers globally wherever they are, and our aim is to meet the challenges and commercial goals of our customers.

We serve a solution that allows them to minimise their total cost of ownership. Investment cost is only 1/10th of total costs of a furnace’s operational lifetime of approximately 12 years.

“In five years time we want to expand our leadership position in the market. We want to strengthen and expand and this will require a lot of work.

“There will be no ground-breaking changes in our strategy, it is clear though we have to intensify our efforts. Globalisation has brought much more competition. The way we went in the past is a good basis for us to build up success in the future.” r

Nikolaus Sorg, Lohr am Main, Germany www.sorg.de

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At home in the world of glass

NIKOLAUS SORG GmbH & Co KG

EME MASCHINENFABRIK CLASEN GmbH

INTERNATIONAL GmbH

FEUERUNGSBAU UND SERVICE GmbH

SORG KERAMIK SERVICE GmbH

Nikolaus Sorg GmbH & Co. KG | StoltestraÃ&#x;e 23 | 97816 Lohr am Main/Germany | Phone: +49 (0) 9352 507 0 | E-Mail: nsorg@sorg.de | www.sorg.de

Company profile: Ta Hsiang Containers

20 years of doing business together Taiwan’s Ta Hsiang Containers glass manufacturer started doing business with Germany’s futronic 20 years ago. Since then the relationship between the two companies has developed and helped lead to success for the Taiwanese group. Sean Peng, Ta Hsiang’s Vice General Manager discussed the company with Greg Morris.

www.glass-international.com

I

t is well known that in business, positive relationships are key to success. Treat customers like valued friends and do the nice things for them that you'd do for a family member. If a customer has a problem, rectify it as soon as possible and always communicate with them.

The container glass industry exemplifies how important relationships are between customers and suppliers. It is a relatively small sector compared to others and many people stay in the industry for their entire careers. People talk and one wrong installation or an equipment failure will be known throughout the sector.

Michael Preuss, Managing Director of Germany’s futronic and Sean Peng, Vice General Manager of Ta Hsiang Containers glass manufacturer first met 20 years ago.

Since then the two have worked on a number of projects that have steadily seen the Taiwanese manufacturer equipped with the latest glassmaking technology.

Over the years, futronic has supplied the

z Ta Hsiang Vice General Manager, Sean Peng, (Left) with futronic’s Managing Director, Michael Preuss.

Taiwanese group a number of its controls for container glass production.

Mr Peng said the relationship between the two groups is testament to the quality of futronic’s equipment and of its customer service.

He said: “futronic has a very nice system which is flexible and stable. But the best thing for me has been its customer service, which has always been very friendly and personal - this is what makes futronic stand out from other companies.

“If we have any problems futronic has always given us an immediate response, even during holidays. We feel comfortable discussing any challenges with them and they have helped solve any problem.”

Background Ta Hsiang Containers was formed by Mr Tseng Koon Sheng and was originally called Shin Shin Glass. In its early years it made ampoule bottles Continued>>

24 Glass International July/August 2016

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www.xparvision.com

Bright ideas. Better glass.

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Company profile: Ta Hsiang Containers

www.glass-international.com

zTa Hsiang’s headquarters in Taiwan. The company employs 1,050 people in total. for the pharmaceutical glass business, but shortly after changing its name to Ta Hsiang Containers in 1970 it began to make amber glass bottles.

It is focused on automation and has invested in glass making technology from European suppliers such as futronic, Tiama, Bucher Emhart Glass, MSK and Horn. It is based on a near 40,000m2 site in Hsin Pu Town, in Hsin Chu, Taiwan.

It describes itself as the leading amber glass container manufacturer in Taiwan and its main customers are from the energy drinks and food jars markets. It makes a variety of glass bottles, from 5ml to 1200ml, as well as related packing materials.

It has three furnaces and its environmental policy is to constantly strive to improve its emission rate. Its R&D team has forged alliances with US and European groups in order to produce lighter, thinner bottles. It is certified to ISO 90012000 for the design, manufacturer and sales of glass containers.

The company employs 1050 people with 500 of those based in its Taiwan site. As well as its plant in Taiwan it has two production facilities in China: one in Huzhou, and the other in Zhenjiang.

It has a capacity of 175,000 tonnes per year of soda lime glass and its main customers are in Taiwan and China but it also exports to Japan, Australia, South-East Asia and the USA. Its exports have increased in recent years and in the future there will be a focus on entering more geographical markets.

In Taiwan, most of its production is for beverage bottles and food jars. About 70% of its production is in glass containers while the remainder is in ceramic glass.

Mr Peng said: “Our strength is the fact that we use leading European technology. We have fewer people but we produce more containers.

We use Emhart IS machines, Tiama inspection systems and futronic control systems as well as a cooperation with Horn for furnace design.

“We have a very high standard of design and are

z futronic met Ta Hsiang at this year’s China Glass event. able to develop a full range of glass bottles, flexibly, in order for us to meet a variety of packages requirements.

“Best quality is our first priority, and we always provide our best service to our customers with a spirit of sincerity, innovation and reliability.”

If a customer has a specific request for a glass bottle the company’s design team work on it.

Similarly its designers can produce concepts and models through to the final moulds.

Mr Preuss said: “Ta Hsiang always goes further in technology and investments, and always wants to have the latest technology.

“We have a special cooperation. Over the past 20 years we have seen the growth in Ta Hsiang, not only in Taiwan but also in mainland China. That makes futronic proud to be a part of this success story.” r

Ta Hsiang Containers, Hsin Chu, Taiwan www.tahsiang.com.tw futronic, Tettnang, Germany www.futronic.de

26 Glass International July/August 2016

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Company profile: ilis

Software company evolves in the 20 years since its formation German software and measurement company ilis was formed when two fellow students spotted a niche in the glassmaking process. Its Managing Director and co-founder, Henning Katte, spoke to Greg Morris.

z ilis’ StrainScope cord tester.

Early days In 1991, Mr Katte started to study computer science at the Clausthal University of Technology in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since dormitories were overcrowded back then, he ended up sharing an apartment with Gerd Buchmayer, who was about to finish his studies in glass technology.

At the time, Mr Buchmayer’s father headed the lab of a glass factory and was seeking a software solution to measure glass colour. It gave the pair the idea to develop a solution and this was the seed for what later became the ilis company.

After graduating Mr Buchmayer went on to work for Saint-Gobain Oberland (now Verallia) and Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

W

hen German company ilis exhibits at the glasstec event in Duesseldorf later this year it will have a sizeable stand in a fairly prominent position.

Most proudly for its principal shareholder and Managing Director, Henning Katte, the booth will have its own branding and its posters will advertise its own corporate design, reflecting the form language of its products.

It is a far cry from when the software solution provider first exhibited at the event in 1998, shortly after ilis’ formation with its own small, bare booth.

“As a small, new company there were things I thought about but couldn’t afford at the time. If, almost 20 years ago, I had looked ahead, I would be surprised by our glasstec booth now with everything in our own brand and corporate design.

“People can see our brand and our appearance and it reflects the design and quality of our products.”

In the intervening years its presence has increased at the event, sometimes sharing a stand with Dr Martin Buss and Partners - who has been helpful in introducing new contacts to the company – to this year’s event where it will have a 42m2 booth.

From humble beginnings the company is now a global player and its systems and measuring devices can be found in several continents.

It has a staff of eight at its office in Erlangen, near Nuremberg, and has tentative plans to open a subsidiary office in the USA. The company’s aim is to make high-end technology as accessible as possible to people in the lab and in quality assurance. Mr Katte said that his personal interest in computer science is in making systems easy to use, which helps people to speed up their workflow.

Its main products are its stress measuring solutions, which account for about 80% of its sales, its colour measurement solutions, and its batch calculation software.

Ilis’ products are spread throughout the glassmaking chain. Its batch calculation computes the amount of raw materials required for use and also predicts glass properties such as viscosity.

Its stress measurement tools are used directly after forming and annealing, so is related to quality, while its colour measurement equipment is used at the end of the line to ensure the product has the proper appearance.

The company is currently focused on the container and optical glass markets, but has plans to enter the flat and automotive glass markets in the future.

29 Glass International July/August 2016

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Mr Katte continued to develop the colour measurement software further with Heiko Vollstedt, who studied technomathematics at the same university.

Despite his computer science background, Mr Katte immersed himself in glass technology, attending courses at the Clausthal Institute of Non-Metallic Materials to extend his knowledge about the material.

Before then, he did not know much about the industry but he now started to have ideas about other parts of a glass factory that required automation.

“I wanted to find out as much as I could about glass and glass technology. I developed an interest in glass and saw it was much more than what people think, so began to take lectures in glass chemistry and physics to get a good background to know more about what I do. I hate to do things I don’t fully understand,” said Mr Katte.

The founders completed a few side projects to help fund their university studies and, shortly after graduation, concentrated their efforts on ilis.

z Mr Katte at the 2014 glasstec.

 ilis has been a regular participant at glasstec in Duesseldorf since 1998.

www.glass-international.com

Perseverance But despite a co-operation with Saint-Gobain Oberland, Mr Katte admits the company struggled for the first couple of years.

“We began with a vision and we thought that people would buy and use our equipment, but it takes a while for people to really notice you. The first five years were a struggle – we didn’t make a notable loss but also didn’t earn a lot.

“We produce costly things so people needed to be sure that their investment was something for the future. They didn’t want to invest in a company that wouldn’t be around two years later.

“There were a lot of blind calls and it was frustrating, but we never gave up. We were convinced that what we do was useful to the industry. We had the impression that what we do might be early for the industry, and that is still the case with many things we do now.”

Their perseverance paid off and ilis began to be noticed by glass manufacturers. It had also expanded its product range, and companies in the

“We had the impression that what we do might be early for the industry, and that is still the case with many things we

”

do now.

optical glass sector asked ilis to modify its equipment to meet their needs.

Work began to roll in and the company moved into its own offices, a 110-year-old heritage building, and expanded its number of staff.

About two thirds of its installations are in the hollow sector today, with the remaining third in optics. In terms of sales, it is about half and half as the instruments it sells to the optics industry are usually more complex and larger.

Staying ahead Among the company’s strengths is its ability to spot forthcoming trends in glass technology.

Mr Katte said that sometimes glass companies need to be convinced that the equipment is ahead of its time. “We might be early with the technology and when people don’t see similar solutions elsewhere on the market they can be confused.

“But the benefit is that when the market adopts the technology we have finished our development, we have something which really works.

“We always try to stay one step ahead of the industry, we get feedback but usually our products are founded on my own ideas or from things that we think will be useful to the industry, that save money or improve quality.

“I live in two worlds; my background is in computer science, so my strength is informatics and automation on one hand, and glass technology on the other. I know what our customers do, not in detail, but I have the general picture of that.

“I know all the production techniques, theoretically at least, and I know a lot about glass chemistry and physics. I think that is the key Continued>>

30 Glass International July/August 2016

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Company profile: ilis

feature. I am able to develop new products because I am able to realise them in new software.

“I talk to customers and listen to their requirements and to the sales team. I then think how this could fit into our strategy and product development, and if we can enhance existing products or if we can develop something new.”

Among its other strengths is that there are no investors in the company, and money it generates from sales is reinvested into product development.

New developments are financed by already introduced products and not via bank loans or credits.

Geographically, Germany is its strongest market with 30% of its sales last year from its home country, 20% was from other EU countries and 50% from the rest of the world. But it has seen a growth outside the EU in recent years such as in the USA, hence the plan to set up a US subsidiary.

Future Glasstec is an important event for the group and it aims to have new technology to launch at the show and attract new customers.

But, due to the company’s small size, one of its main sources of finding new customers is via the internet. It has posted videos about products on its website that can be used as training guides by customers, and also makes use of new media.

But most importantly for its reputation is word of mouth. ilis sells high-end products and it really helps when its customers visit other plants within their group or meet at conferences, Mr Katte said. “But that really starts after 10 years, when you have usually sold enough so that word of mouth works.

“We still fill a niche in the market and there are a very few companies doing similar things as we do, but they are focused on different markets or segments.

“We receive enquiries from the flat and automotive segments and our products are useable in those sectors, so perhaps it is something for the future. I like the glass industry. It is a relatively small industry and if you have something special it is easier than in a large sector, with 10 competitors and where only prices drive what you do.

“It is a price sensitive market and there’s a difference between the mass glass producers and the speciality producers, but it’s a challenge also. We have to look at our resources and spend time on valuable things.

“There is no room to invest in things that don’t evolve into a product. It can happen where you develop something which is not accepted, but you cannot afford to do that often, so that is always a challenge.

“I like glass because it is a fascinating material. There is a mystique about it and it is still not completely understood, so there is room for research and new things.

“It is a material that is both industrial and artistic. It is amazing what you can do with this material and it is more involved in daily life than people assume.” r

ilis is at glasstec in Hall 14, stand F04 ilis, Erlangen, Germany www.ilis.de Glass International July/August 2016

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Company profile: Heye International

At the forefront of German

A combination of tradition and modern thinking has helped propel Heye International to the forefront of German glass container engineering. Greg Morris spoke with the company’s Managing Director Dirk Pörtner to find out more about the group.

www.glass-international.com

Q

uietly tucked away in the heart of the Lower Saxony countryside and overshadowed by rolling hills sits a site dedicated to glass container-making excellence.

The region is a glassmaking hub. Today there are six glass plants in the region, but glass has been made in the area for more than 200 years.

Access to the River Weser, which could transport to the breweries and distilleries in the port of Bremen, and its wood and sand made it a favoured location for glassmaking.

Obernkirchen in Germany is a small town of 10,000 people, but at the heart of this unassuming location is a glass engineering centre of excellence where some of the brightest minds strive to produce the most efficient industrial equipment.

The products manufactured at the site are made in the centre of Germany, but they are transported to all parts of the world.

Heye International is a container glass engineering specialist. Its entire focus is on the core processes of container glass manufacturing from the gob to the inspected bottle.

Its links to Obernkirchen date back 200 years through the former glass manufacturer, Heye Glas.

Heye International itself was formed in the 1960s as an engineering subsidiary of Heye Glas. It then became an independent company in 2001 and was

“We are very future-orientated and live in a spirit of forward

”

thinking.

acquired by the multi-national Ardagh Group in 2003.

It is a combination of tradition and of innovation that has helped the company become a success, says Managing Director Dirk Pörtner.

“Tradition is OK, it gives you a certain orientation, but we also have to look forward and be in today or tomorrow’s business or market. We are very future-orientated and live in a spirit of forward thinking.”

It describes itself as one of the world’s foremost suppliers of production technology, equipment and know-how for the container glass industry worldwide. Its three sub brands, HiPerform, HiShield and HiTrust form its portfolio. The three sub brands cover the areas of glass container forming in the hot end, inspection in the cold end and expert services for efficienct plant operation.

Its HiPerform brand includes its Speedline IS machines, closed-loop production intelligence solutions, as well feeder and gob forming equipment or ware handling.

Its HiShield solutions are based around production quality and product safety and include its PlantPilot information management system, inspection machines, retrofits, line audits and consulting.

Continued>>

32 Glass International July/August 2016

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E

Engineering

hands-on training in a modern glass plant.

Mr Pörtner is keen to stress that there is no guarantee that Heye will secure Ardagh orders over other companies. Heye has to display as much competitiveness and customer service as any other group that applies for Ardagh’s orders.

“Both Ardagh and Heye run their own independent businesses. Both challenge for competitiveness and business success,” he states.

Similarly, Ardagh does not interfere in Heye’s business. Heye is free to apply for contracts from Ardagh’s main rivals and both companies strictly respect their non-disclosure obligations regarding business knowledge about customers.

 Heye’s Speedline range will be on display at this year’s glasstec.

Global references

Its HiTrust expert services includes technical assistance to improve plant efficiency, project management for new plants or modernisations, and training at its training centre or on the job in a glass plant.

Mr Pörtner has worked in the glass industry for 35 years. He began his career at Heye Glas as an engineer in batch and furnace management, furnace repairs and construction management then, after working elsewhere in the industry in a management function, he returned to Heye in 2008 as Managing Director.

“I love the glass industry and I love glass. It encompasses a wide range of things such as chemistry, physics, engineering, management and processes. It’s all very interesting.”

He said the company’s process knowledge was what set it apart from competitors.

“We are Glass People, this is our passion and our mission. We are not just a machine builder. We know the production process exactly, as many of our technical experts have come from glass plants.

“We aim to be more flexible than our competitors. We always try to bring our process knowledge to customers’ projects. We consider our job as done when the customer is satisfied and the production provides the expected results.”

The company’s headquarters is next to Ardagh Glass’s Obernkirchen manufacturing site, and the two companies share many links. However, Ardagh represents only about a fifth of Heye’s business.

Ardagh is one of Heye’s important customers and both benefit from an exchange of ideas while Heye also benefits from having a facility to test new equipment on its doorstep. It also means it receives immediate feedback on any trials and can provide

z Managing Director Dirk Pörtner.

Heye operates around the globe and has recent references in South America, Australia, Asia and Africa, as well as Eastern and Western Europe. It has noticed that demand for high quality containers has increased, particulary in emerging markets. It estimates that demand for its products will be in line with GDP growth at 2% per year.

Mr Pörtner said: “In emerging markets glass consumption per capita is still far behind. In industrialised countries health awareness has become particularly important. So, even in industrialised countries, we see room for growth.

“An important role is the ability to offer customised financing solutions.

We have a broad experience in this field with access to financial experts and banks.”

The company has offices around the globe to be closer to its customers as well as sales and service staff. As well as its headquarters and a hot end machine assembly site in Obernkirchen, it has a cold end machine assembly site in Nienburg a one hour drive away, and a warehouse and logistics centre in nearby Stadthagen. It employs 450 people globally, and attracting and retaining staff is a key element of the business.

“We try to cover the market with worldwide offices, partly owned, partly with exclusive and non exclusive sales partners,” said Mr Pörtner.

“We aim to be an attractive and reliable employer.

Our staff turnover rate is low – we have had people working for us their whole professional career. On the other hand, we continuously freshen up our staff. We have employed more than 100 people in the past 10 years and plan to keep doing this.

We run apprenticeship schemes in a variety of professional segments and we also run internal student programmes for mechanical, electronic, process and economic engineers.

“Luckily, we are located in a region where people are loyal and stay with a company for a long time.”

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

n

Company profile: Heye International

33 Glass International July/August 2016

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Company profile: Heye International

 Heye International’s headquarters in Obernkirchen, Germany.

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Customer focus This year is a glasstec year, and as well as having an exhibition stand at the event Heye will provide two papers on the opening day of the Glass Technology Live conference.

It plans to promote its Heye Smart Plant Concept from its booth, which it says is an effective platform for glassmakers to operate successfully within the framework of industry 4.0. It will also be promoting its Swabbing Robot for the hot end as well as a new Mould Open and Close Mechanism with innovative cooling solutions. On the cold end, it will highlight its Smartline inspection machine and new features for the product. Another highlight is the MTS10 multipoint wall thickness sensor. All new products are the result of Heye’s intensive development efforts.

The company prides itself on its R&D teams, which cover a variety of segments including process knowledge, mechanical engineering and software and hardware development.

The development work is focused on the demands of the manufacturing process and its specific requirements.

Heye has two ways in which it creates new products. One is the internal innovation process, where its ‘bright minds’ have creative ideas on how to go forward. The other is what it calls the Product Lifecycle – Product Management Process, which integrates demands and ideas from customers, sales and the market.

Mr Pörtner explains: “One of our strengths is that most of these guys have glass industry experience so know what they are talking about, they know the specifics of a 24/7 industry, they know the specifics of hot work and machines.”

Heye also works with different interest groups and technical organisations such as the German Glas-Technological Society (HVG). It cooperates with universities for research and partners with suppliers to increase development strength and efficiency.

Mr Pörtner said the company will continue to work hard to open doors for the future.

“Heye International will stay globally engaged focusing on its core strengths and business of container glass manufacturing.

“We will continue to grow and develop our skills and products.

We have a clear view of how we will grow and where we want to grow, and we will carry on with this strategic view.” 

Heye International, Obernkirchen, Germany www.heye-international.com

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Plant design

Importance of virtual reality in modern glass plant design Sebastian Pantel* assesses the application possibilities of virtual reality for plant planning in the glass industry.

Virtual reality in modern glass plant design.

www.glass-international.com

P

roduction has to meet high standards. Efficiency and a safe future are as important for a plant’s construction as cost savings and error reduction during the planning phase.

Today, the fourth industry revolution has started with Industry 4.0, and to meet these demands an investment in new technology is necessary. cm.project. ing has developed a technology that has the potential to positively impact plant construction in general, and the glass industry in particular.

Precision and efficiency are indispensable from the start of a project, well before a glass plant is put into operation.

In order to meet these requirements, cm.project.ing has invested in virtual reality (VR) technology and tested its possibilities as an efficient and futureproof layout planning tool for the glass industry.

A new perspective In contrast to the conventional 3D planning of a plant, a colleague responsible for the layout is able to dive into the 3D model by putting on a headmounted display (HMD).

The HMD view corresponds almost exactly to the human view so that the user feels as if they are actually inside the plant as they move about in this model.

Distances and proportions seem to be real, even if the user is in fact standing in their office. In this surrounding the user is free to look and move around in every direction. The only limitation is the size of the actual office, however when reaching the physical limits of the room you can easily teleport yourself one area further.

The user is able to move around the glass plant and to interact with objects. It is possible to operate valves or to take glass bottles off the conveyor belt. The user can

duck or pass objects, and thus obstacles are easier to identify.

Evolution of layout planning When constructing a new glass plant, the investment is very high and each plant is unique and has to fit to the local and technical requirements of the site.

Especially with international projects, no two plants are the same and so every layout plan is significant in the overall process.

The layout of a glass plant determines plant components, access, machines and equipment for years to come. A thorough layout is particularly important. The layout planning was previously made on the basis of handmade sketches at the beginning of a project, via 2D layout, to complex 3D models of the layout. Twoor three dimensional plans of complex Continued>>

36 Glass International July/August 2016

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Plant design

plants lack the exact spatial proportions.

Even in complex 3D models, proportions look different than in reality.

In a classic 3D model, the planning person takes a floating position from outside instead of being within the 3D model, which is often why avoidable mistakes during planning only become apparent after construction starts.

The application of virtual reality breaks this boundary and enables the layouter to enter the model virtually and to get an ‘inside-the-factory’ perspective.

Virtual reality is by no means a replacement for 2D and 3D planning, instead it has to be seen as an expansion of, and in addition to, existing planning steps towards an intelligent layout.

Minimal costs and errors When planning a glass plant, different aspects of several departments, suppliers and employees, as well as demands and expectations of the client have to be taken into account.

The more complicated a factory is and the more parties involved in the process, the more errors are likely to occur. Where multiple interfaces exist, errors are unavoidable. Virtual reality helps to locate and minimise errors at an early stage.

It can detect weak spots in 3D models during layout planning. Inconveniently positioned equipment, pipes, instruments or valves that are hard to reach can equally be a problem, as is insufficient space for maintenance.

Using VR in plant construction, a new level of intelligent layout planning can be reached while keeping the focus on the holistic concept. Quality is improved and unplanned additional costs are reduced.

Expensive adjustments during and after the construction phase can be minimised or avoided.

The earlier an error is recognised the higher the cost saving is compared to fixing the problem at a later date.

www.glass-international.com

Interaction The layout for a new glass plant usually undergoes many different changes and adjustment phases. Especially in the beginning of the layout planning, equipment such as pumps or compressors are moved or newly positioned in the layout to guarantee the optimal use of space and operation of the equipment.

This basic layout is followed by adjustments from the client, machine suppliers and the architect until the right layout is found. Using VR it is possible

The HMD allows you to see life-like positioning of equipment and piping, etc. to test different installations in the 3D model in a short time.

Compressors, for example, can easily be moved from one place to another by touching the manual controller. The required distance to other equipment close by is noticed and adjusted immediately.

The relocation of equipment does not need to be made by a draftsman, but can be made by the user in the virtual model without profound knowledge of the software.

Simulation of future events In a virtual model, future work processes such as production or maintenance can be simulated. The staff can adapt and be trained virtually for their new work place.

It is possible to check if there is enough room for replacements or reparations of equipment before the construction starts.

The virtual model also helps to verify that signs and buttons are positioned sensibly, and if paths for vehicles such as forklifts or trucks are wide enough.

The positioning of a compressed air filter in the piping is a good example for this potential problem. A good position for the filter in the 3D layout can prove wrong in the real glass plant if no one considered the space needed to exchange the filter cartridge.

In the VR model, this problem would have become apparent much earlier when testing maintenance procedures. During the planning, process adjustments and changes can be made in the model to create a well thought-out layout concept which is submitted to virtual testing in all aspects. Only if the planned factory has passed the practical test is it ready for the real execution.

All project areas VR has other advantages, beyond the planning stage. It is also possible that the operator of the future plant can move virtually through the plant and gain an impression of the planning process.

The same is true for his colleagues – they can be in the virtual plant at the same time and can discover and adjust together.

2D layouts show only parts of the plant and are often not easy to read. With VR however, one can have an immersive tour for all project partners through the future plant. It is a playful way of showing laymen connections and adjustments ‘on-site’.

Where, in former times, 2D paper printouts were presented, VR today lets one dive right into the 3D model. It involves the whole project team and the planning process profits from the cross exchange of experiences. VR helps to put a traditional industry in a new perspective, and supports plant construction.

Experience virtual reality If you are interested, please visit us at glasstec 2016 Düsseldorf, hall 13 booth B34. You will get the chance to visit a virtual glass plant yourself.

In terms of intelligent positioning of equipment, we would like to show you the advantages of VR in the planning of glass industry plants as well as our concepts for an intelligent and future-proof layout planning.

Process Engineer, cm.project.ing, Jülich, Germany www.cmprojecting.de

38 Glass International July/August 2016

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Company profile: Stölzle Flaconnage

Stölzle Flaconnage’s £17 million furnace puts focus on prestige spirits

I

t’s been a monumental few years for the Stölzle glass manufacturing group.

Since 2011 it has embarked on no less than three furnace investment campaigns across its European plants, acquired two glassmaking sites and also spent extensively on upgrading its decoration facilities around Europe.

Now it is in the process of its latest venture: a £17 million rebuild of its furnace at the Stölzle Flaconnage site in Knottingley, UK (pictured above).

As well as rebuilding the furnace, the work will include a range of complimentary investments in its production, cold end and decoration sectors.

The changes are part of the company’s strategy to convert the site into a centre of excellence for luxury and prestige spirits.

Its Chief Executive Johannes Schick said: “The UK is a very important market for the Stölzle Glass Group, primarily for high-end premium spirits bottles.

“This year’s double-digit investment in a stateof-the-art extended furnace rebuild, together with significant investments in production, quality inspection and decoration techniques will definitely strengthen our Knottingley site as a global market leader in prestige spirits containers.”

Work began on the furnace rebuild in early July and the shutdown is scheduled to last 56 days until September 1, when the furnace will resume operation. The furnace melting capacity will increase by 25 tonnes per day. The new 175 tonnes per day furnace will be 65 metres2 in size and, as before, two out of the five flint production lines will be capable of feeder colouring. The work over the course of the summer will see the former 21-year-old furnace’s steel structure removed. It will be replaced with a new 140 tonne steel structure capable of holding 1400 tonnes of refractory material.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

Stölzle Flaconnage is in the process of upgrading its furnace at its Knottingley, UK site in a modernisation that will also include cold end, decoration and palletising equipment. Its CEO, Johannes Schick and Stölzle Flaconnage Plant Manager, Thomas Riss, invited Greg Morris to the site.

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Company profile: Stölzle Flaconnage

Key UK & European partners Forglass

Batch house modification

Poland

Techglass

Furnace rebuild

Poland

Bottero

IS - machines

Italy

Antonini

Tall ware lehr

Italy

Sipac

New cold end line 1.5

Italy

Emmeti

New palletiser line 1.5

Italy

Symplex

Sorting equipment for line 1.5

Germany

MSK

Shrinking device line 1.5

Germany

SMS

MOSH automation

UK-based

KBA Kammann

K15 printing device

Germany

Decoration investments

z Table 1. Main suppliers to the Flaconnage site.  The Flaconnage site produces the famous glow in the dark bottles.

Parallel to this process will be a refurbishment of the surrounding area, including compressor work and a new batch house to guarantee a good quality gas level.

Stölzle Flaconnage Plant Manager, Thomas Riss, said the modernisation means the company can increase its offerings to customers.

“For example, one of the new production machines will allow us to produce bottles up to a height of 500mm. We can produce from minatures up to three of four litre bottles now.”

www.glass-international.com

Environment The new furnace will also reduce the plant’s carbon footprint by 13% per tonne of glass produced thanks to the optimised engineering of its combustion chamber, gas feed, burner and regenerator set up. The whole upgrade will also reduce water consumption by 50%.

NOx emissions will be substantially beneath the requirements of a maximum 800mg/Nm3.

Mr Riss explained that the furnace is larger than the one before because perfumery consumes less tonnage than prestige spirits. Its pull rate has been reduced to 2.6 tonnes/m2 for quality reasons.

Lowering the pull rate means a higher quality glass, which is required by the luxury segment.

Mr Schick said: “The environment is such a huge topic now. We challenged our suppliers, who came up with a lot of proposals. We as a glass manufacturer are in a sandwich position.

“We write down our environmental specifications to our suppliers and say to them ‘look this is what our customers expect from us in terms of the environment’. Our customers have an environmental plan too. We produce as green as our technology allows us.”

The investment will see the implementation of fire polishing capabilities on all five of its production lines, a new 5-and-a-half-inch machine situated under the feeder colour line that is capable of tall ware and decanter production, new cold end inspection machines, a new palletiser and shrinking device, and a new K15 printing machine from Germany’s KBA Kammann.

z Johannes Schick.

“We challenged our suppliers, who came up with a lot of

”

proposals

The printing machine can print four colours in one go, has UV curing capability, and can print ‘around the corner’, which is a growing glass industry trend.

Once completed, the site will focus approximately 95% of its business on prestige spirits. One of its cold end lines will have shapes and settings specifically adapted to the luxury and prestige segment.

Its main customers are Whisky producers in Scotland. In recent years Stölzle has won awards for its spirits bottles, such as the Haig Club bottle endorsed by David Beckham.

Mr Schick said: “All in all it’s around a £20 million investment, primarily this year and next year. We trust our workforce, we have good glassmakers here and very good, quality driven guys with a strong mindset.

“The mood among workers for these kinds of bottles is great. We really think the dedication to spirits gives our workers a clear benchmark of what they need to target.”

Wider strategy The company’s recent investments across Europe are part of a wider strategy for plants to work in tandem with one another and ensure security of supply to customers.

Continued>>

 Embossed mould on the hot end

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Company profile: Stölzle Flaconnage

It has spent €200 million in the past four years revamping its European facilities. This has included the implementation of a second white flint furnace at its Czestochowa, Poland site as well as a rebuild and extension of furnace 1 at the same site. Last year the facility also expanded its decoration and rework area.

Other investments include a rebuild and extension of furnace 4 at its Oberglas site in Austria as well as the acquisition of the Masnieres sites in France and of the Wymiarki site in Poland.

The Czestochowa plant in particular will be important in supporting the UK site, offering an extra variety of glass.

“It gives extra trust to our customers knowing that we have two sites, back up sites, which can add an extra layer of safety,” commented Mr Schick.

The Stölzle company owns nine European production and decoration sites and produces 2.6 billion bottles a year. It employs 2250 people, 340 of whom are in Knottingley, and is part of the privately owned CAG Holding group.

Mr Schick believes it is the company’s independence that makes it stand out compared to its larger rivals. He said: “We have just the one owner who drives all the investments, we are not on the stock exchange and not in the hands of a private equity fund, so are different from the likes of Ardagh and O-I. “As we are privately owned we are unique. We are pragmatic, our customers like our style, we don’t sit in an ivory tower all day looking at numbers, all of us have a certain job profile which requires being really hands on.

“We don’t develop customer relationships just for a one-off, we want to build trust and an interdependency with a customer over the long term.”

Mr Schick is a glass industry veteran of 20 years. After spending eight years with Gerresheimer he joined Stölzle 12 years ago.

“The company thinks long term, that’s why I have been Chief Executive for 12 years, which is a relatively long time. You never stop learning in this industry. It’s full of passion, full of pain, sometimes frustration, and sometimes surprises, because it’s a 24/7 operation.” r

Stölzle Flaconnage, Knottingley, UK www.stoelzle.com Glass International July/August 2016

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Phoenix Award winner

Chairman of Fuyao Glass honoured with Phoenix Award Cho Tak Wong, Chairman of Fuyao Glass Industry Group, has been selected as the 46th recipient of the Phoenix Award ‘Glass Person of the Year’ 2016.

The award is in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the international automotive glass industry. He spoke to Glass International about his career in the industry so far.

www.glass-international.com

T

he life of Chairman Cho is a true rags-toriches story. He was born and raised in rural China and peddled cut tobacco and fruit on the streets of his hometown at the age of 16.

He worked as a farmer and a chef, before joining Fuqing Gao Shan Special Glass Factory in 1976.

Mr Cho was invited by the local authorities to take over the ailing flat glass processing business in 1983, a decision that soon led to the creation of a hugely successful Sino-foreign joint venture, manufacturing automotive safety and industrial technology glass throughout the world.

In 1993, Fuyao Group became the first company in its sector in China to be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The Fuyao Group is now China’s largest exporter of automotive glass, with 11 production centres located throughout the country as well as international subsidiaries and business organisations in the USA, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Germany and Hong Kong.

Customers include global automotive producers such as Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Volkswagen and Volvo.

In 2009, Mr Cho became the first Chinese citizen to be named Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year.

Alongside his extensive business commitments, Mr Cho is one of China’s foremost philanthropists, his Heren Charity Foundation seeking to

offer poverty relief, disease prevention and infrastructure projects.

“I have always believed that an entrepreneur carries three responsibilities: mightiness of the nation, advancement of the society and abundance of the people. By achieving these three items, an entrepreneur can fully deserve his title,” he has said.

Congratulations on winning this year’s Glass Person of the Year Phoenix Award. How proud are you to receive this award from a number of such prominent glass suppliers?

First, I would like to thank the industry for its appreciation and kindness. I am very proud that my past work is being recognised.

However, to me, the award also reflects the industry’s great expectation and encouragement for me to do even better. So, as I receive this award, I feel a great deal of pressure.

You have had a tremendously successful career in the glass industry, and seen your company grow to become an international group. There must have been many highlights but what has been your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement is my loyalty to the Continued>>

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Phoenix Award winner

d d

What has given you the motivation to succeed?

Confidence and a sense of responsibility. It always has been my mission to contribute to the welfare of society.

What did you do before starting in the glass industry?

A lot of different things. I was a farmer, labourer, and small business owner, and I also herded cattle.

How did you start out in the glass industry?

I wanted to leave the village. With the recommendation of friends, I convinced the village government to start a factory and then worked there. The factory made tempered glass for water meters. It was a very small operation, with only about 10 employees. The investment was probably around $50,000.

“For the past 40 years I have commited myself to one thing, the industry

”

What interests you most about glass?

It is clear and transparent. It provides the world with comfort. It shelters people from the storm when they are in the vehicles for work or for leisure.

Has there been a low point in your career and, if so, how did you overcome it?

Entrepreneurship is highly risky. An entrepreneur has to deal with risk every minute.

Only people who are familiar with the likelihood of risks can think of ways to avoid these risks. So to me, there is really no high point or low point.

Fuyao Glass has in recent years expanded into the USA – what was the motivation behind this, and what has been the reaction so far?

I love the United States, and I believe it is truly a destination that is worthy of investment.

There is a large market, and a high quality workforce there.

In addition, the US also wants to regain its status as the world leader in manufacturing, which creates a great opportunity

for companies like mine.

I have a great reputation in the community.

My customers, suppliers, local governments and people from all walks of life have shown great support to my efforts here. It makes me feel that my investment is well worth it.

You formed your own charity, the Heren Charitable Foundation, in 2011, and are reportedly one of China’s largest philanthropists. Can you tell me a little about the charity and your motivation to set it up?

I donated 300 million Fuyao shares to form the Heren Philanthropic Foundation. Based on the current market value, the shares are worth about $700 million. The Foundation received special approval from the State Council, and it is the largest foundation in China based on assets.

I set up the Foundation because I wanted to set an example for all entrepreneurs to care for the poor and weak and to help the country to grow harmoniously.

What kind of causes do you support?

Disaster relief, poverty alleviation and education assistance.

What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry today?

Do you hope for Fuyao to one day expand into other parts of the world?

Loyalty. Every industry is difficult, so it is important to stay strong. Never give up, and you will overcome the difficulties.

Of course, I think about it every day. Currently, outside of the US, Fuyao already has a presence in Western Europe, Russia, Korea and Japan.

www.phoenixawardcommittee.org/index.htm

www.glass-international.com

automotive glass industry. For the past 40 years I have committed myself to one thing, the industry, without being distracted by fame and wealth.

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O-I interview

The independent brewing (IB) sector has boomed in the UK recently and O-I was quick to respond to this. Its revamped Harlow plant in the UK is dedicated to the beer industry.

Sally Love spoke to O-I’s Paul McLavin*.

Revamped O-I Harlow plant with a fo How much has business increased in the UK’s independent brewing (IB) sector over the past few years?

Greatly, to be honest. We’d always worked with the big brand brewers, and as we’ve seen the smaller brewers grow it’s become a more important part of the beer sector in the UK. When you look at the overall market data, the beer sector has been growing steadily for about three years, and we have been selling more big bottles: when you think about it, craft beer is often sold in 500mls, and we’re seeing a lot of growth in that size.

Although it started from a small base, we’re now selling millions of bottles to that sector. Really, that was a strong part of the justification to redevelop Harlow in its current format.

www.glass-international.com

Does the Harlow plant solely produce bottles for beer now?

Not totally, but it’s dedicated to the beer industry.

That’s by far the most important market for the plant. The craft beer sector is quite focused on the environment, so when we rebuilt Harlow it was very much about making it an environmentally sustainable plant.

There’s a brand new oxy-fuel furnace, which reduces the emissions and gets a cleaner burn. The exhaust heat from the furnace is used to heat the cullet before it goes in, so it’s a very efficient, slimline furnace.

We’re also producing on the best quality machines, with modern hot end inspection and cold end inspection. Our goal was to create both an efficient and a sustainable glass plant.

I think one of the nice things about glass is that the environmental aspect isn’t something that is forced upon us. We’ve been recycling glass for nearly 40 years now in the UK, and we do it because it makes economic and environmental sense. From a commercial point of view you must be energy efficient and you must use the best technology to make the glass, so environmental pressures really drive the business – even if there weren’t government requirements to recycle we would, because it makes sense for us.

Obviously, the difficulty is getting recycled glass of sufficient quality back, but there’s a lot of work being done on that and hopefully it will get better.

It’s very important in the glass industry to be environmentally friendly – it works for us.

What else can you tell us about the Harlow plant?

It’s all up and running. There’s one furnace, with two colours. Primarily amber, but there are products we do in green. We’ve had two green campaigns so far. We built an oxygen plant, because the furnace burns oxygen and gas rather than air and gas – it takes air in and makes pure, liquid oxygen. The cullet heaters are up and running, and we’ve had a lot of audits already, which have gone well.

It’s such a change from where we were, it’s so much brighter and more open, and the layout is better. There’s a ‘quality hub’ in the middle of the cold end so one team can effectively monitor the performance on all the lines. The layout and the build of it are very clever.

We have a design department in Harlow,

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O-I interview

which is good because you can sit down with the designers, come up with a few ideas, take them round to people… it’s nice to be proactive.

 The newly renovated Harlow plant in Essex, UK.

Why do you think craft brewers predominantly choose glass packaging?

Marketing and New Business Development for O-I in the UK.

a focus on craft beer

How do the needs and requirements of the IB sector differ from those in the macro sector, in terms of what O-I needs to offer its customers?

It’s more about flexibility. For example, we have an extensive and evolving range of standards that are attractive for craft brewers.

Having their own moulds and making that sort of investment isn’t really at the forefront of their business plan; they want to be spending money on the beer. So, the fact that we offer standards that are interesting, and allow them to differentiate is important.

A range of sizes in standards is also important, and we have 330mls, 500mls, and 750mls.

Obviously, cost comes into it. The machines we’ve put in at Harlow are high-volume machines, so we’ve got a range of standards that come in at a good price, which then supports the brewer.

Also, we try and work with distributors who can service different parts of the country, because it is quite a regional business.

You need to be able to get bottles up to Scotland, over to Wales, down to Cornwall, so you need to think about the logistics because it’s not truck after truck going to one location; it needs to be more flexible.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

zPaul McLavin, head of

A lot of the things that a glassmaker does is aligned with what craft brewers are doing – it’s about making sure things get to the consumer in as pristine a state as they can, without any taint to the flavour.

One of the reasons a lot of people brought out bottled beers is that it removes the risk of somebody not handling your beer properly – if the bar has dirty glasses or dirty pipes, your beer might be tainted by that. So putting the beer into a bottle means that you can make sure it gets to the consumer exactly how it should be.

The craft beer industry is alive and interesting, and I think that’s very attractive because it’s all about the flavour of the beer and the quality. So we’re really keen to partner with craft brewers and say “we can do something that helps you get your best beer to the customer.”

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What trends have you noticed emerging in the IB sector recently?

zInspection equipment at the Harlow plant’s ‘quality hub’.

I think there has sometimes been that perception that we’re too big. That’s one of the reasons we’re at this show [BeerX], to show that it is an area we are committed to.

We put a lot of resource into being here, and we spent a lot of time developing the standards and working with distributors, so I can understand maybe four or five years ago the craft brewers may have thought “are you really interested in us?”, but we are spending a lot of time and effort to demonstrate that we are committed, and that we have something of value to offer.

Is it easy to implement a new design feature if you notice a trend emerging?

Often it’s around bottle shapes or sizes, so we might invest in a sample unit, make a few thousand samples, and take them round to people and see if they’re interested. Again, working with our distributors we’d ask them to try them with their customers. With the 330ml Champagne shape we came up with the design, sampled it, and now we have laid down a full set of equipment because the feedback was so positive.

It’s a significant commitment, so you don’t spend it flippantly and you have to be fairly sure you’re doing the right thing.

Are you noticing a rise in independent style production in other sectors, such as wine or spirits?

Yes it’s actually something we’re looking into, because every year there are more vineyards being planted. The English wine producers are doing great stuff; at the Oscars they served an English sparkling wine.

So, certainly English wine in the future will be very popular. UK businesses have proven they can do good beer, so if you’ve got the climate, and you’ve got the same enthusiasm, then why not?

Spirits is another one: up until recently there was a minimum size for stills, so you couldn’t produce artisan spirits very easily. Now that you’re allowed to go smaller in stills it’s less difficult, particularly if you’re already craft brewing because some of the processes are similar. So, we’ll see more craft distillers coming through.

There are a lot of craft gins appearing, and with the explosion of craft gin, people don’t want to put cheap tonic in it. People are moving away from the big PET bottles of tonic to smaller, glass bottles of tonic. There’s almost a correlation between the growth in gin and small glass bottles sales, which is again about wanting a quality product.

Was it hard for O-I, given that it’s a multinational company, to align its image with microbreweries?

Is BeerX a good show for you?

“I think that’s something that draws people in to the glass industry: it’s all about

”

sustainability

Yes, for two reasons: you get to talk to brewers, so you get to hear what they want which then helps you make decisions about what you have to do in the future.

Also, people see you here, so they know you’re interested in working with them. And, of course, people come up and ask how to order bottles!

Have there been any major upgrades at other plants recently, or are any planned?

We spent £25 million in Alloa in 2014, putting in a lehr for the black glass, a new printing machine and other improvements. We’ve kept up the investment in Alloa – we put a new coating machine in this year, and a labeller.

Sometimes people miss that – we all have the big piece investments, but in the glass industry we often make a lot of smaller investments that are just as important in offering something of value to our customers.

There’s also the on-going investment. As an industry, we are constantly investing, and it’s all about making sure you have the assets for the future. I think that’s something that draws people in to the glass industry: it’s all about sustainability and being able to be there for years. It’s not shortterm, it’s very long-term. r

* Marketing and New Business Development Lead, O-I, Harlow, UK www.o-i.com

www.glass-international.com

Well, it started in 500ml, that was the most popular size, and O-I was the first company to develop a really lightweight 500ml that worked for this industry. In 2008, 500ml was about 450g, and we brought out the first 300g bottle – so that again benefits the environmental side of things. After that, we brought out different shapes in 500ml.

Now what we’re seeing is a shift towards 330ml.

We’ve recently made two new standards in 330ml because everything was fairly long neck, so we now have a Champagne shaped one and a stubby one, so that you can still differentiate yourself in the 330s.

There are literally hundreds of small brewers, constantly trying to differentiate from the others by having a different shape or colour of glass. Black glass, for example, helps differentiate you from the main stream.

49 Glass International July/August 2016

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Company profile: AGC Ceramics

100 years of AGC Ceramics

This year is the 100th anniversary of Japanese glass engineering group AGC Ceramics. Greg Morris met with Masaru Ota, the company’s Glass Division General Manager, to discuss the company’s centenary.

www.glass-international.com

R

efractories play a fundamental part in the glassmaking process. The type of refractory used in a furnace can have a huge impact on the quality of the final glass produced. They can also extend the furnace lifetime by a number of years and help increase melting temperatures within the furnace.

For 100 years AGC Ceramics has been at the heart of refractory manufacturing. It has used its years of experience to continuously research and develop new refractories that have steadily helped improve glass quality.

Its refractories are supplied to some of the largest glass manufacturers in all sectors.

The group has now extended its technical offering into glass engineering and can offer furnace-related services within the glassmaking process.

Centenary The company began production of bonded refractories in 1916 and will celebrate its centenary with a company party in Japan in October this year to which all its Japanese employees are invited.

According to Mr Masaru Ota, General Manager of the glass division (pictured above left, with group President Akinobu Shimao, right), the very DNA of the company is in refractories production.

“We have manufactured refractories for nearly 100 years, it is in our DNA. Our products come with Japanese know-how and Japanese quality. We are reliable, deliver quality products and – just like famous Japanese automotive manufacturers – can deliver just in time.

Continued>>

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Company profile: AGC Ceramics

“I attribute our success and our longevity to having a good material. But we are lucky because glass itself has a long life and is a respected material.

It creates a good environment, which is good for our business.”

Company background AGC Ceramics is headquartered in Tokyo and, in Japan, has a production plant and a development centre in Takasago, and an office in Osaka.

Overseas, it has two production sites in China and another office in Singapore.

About half of its business is devoted to the glass industry but it also serves the cement industry and the incinerators and boilers business. It employs 1100 people with about 740 of those in China and the remainder in Japan.

Its parent company is the global Asahi Glass Company (AGC), which specialises in the manufacture of flat glass. It means AGC Ceramics can rely on the parent company’s know-how and R&D capabilities. Ideas are exchanged, particularly when it comes to improving the energy consumption of furnaces.

AGC Ceramics’ two Chinese sites are joint ventures with local companies. Both sites make AGC’s refractories to the same standard as is produced in Japan.

“We have extremely good quality control.

We have transferred all our technology to the Chinese factories, to ensure the same brand name.

Whenever we produce in either Japan or China we use the same name, for example ZB 1681, to ensure consistent quality control,” said Mr Ota. Its first joint venture, Zibo Asahi Glass Alumina Materials was formed with Zibo GT Industrial Ceramics in 1993 in Shangdong, China. Then, in 2011 it formed AGC Ceramics (Yixing) Co Ltd in China based in Jiangsu, China, which is a 100% subsidiary. It produces bonded materials for the cement industry.

Its joint venture has allowed AGC Ceramics to break into the Chinese market. As expected the company’s strongest geographical market is the Asian region. Its largest markets are Japan and China but it also supplies to the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan as well as the wider SouthEast Asian region.

www.glass-international.com

Refractories The company makes a variety of refractories including bonded, fused cast and monolithic. It produces a number of different types of refractories within each series.

Its most popular refractory is the high zirconia fused cast, which is produced in Japan. The refractory is used for the production of flat panel display glass used in modern portable devices such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops.

The high Zirconia refractory, named ZB-X9510, was developed using the company’s years of experience of fused cast refractory technology. The

What type of refractory?

Glass furnaces can run non-stop for up to 15 years so it is important to select the correct refractory for the furnace. This will ensure the highest quality glass possible over a prolonged period of time.

Fused-cast refractories are commonly used for parts in the furnace that are in contact with melting glass or the superstructure of the melter.

Bonded refractories, such as silica bricks or sillimanite bricks, and monolithic refractories refractories are commonly used for melter crowns, furnace bottoms, forehearth superstructure and feeder parts.

Monolithic refractories such as magnesia bricks and basic bricks are also widely used for regenerator checks and housing.

ZB-X9510 refractory contains more than 94.5% zirconia as a typical value thereby achieving a high quality without any stone or blister defects in the molten glass. Therefore the refractory is suitable for the parts of fine glass melting furnaces that come into contact with glass. It has a proven performance in melting furnaces that use borosilicate glass, alumina silicate glass, glass ceramics and TV glass.

Its fused cast refractories are also popular. Its Zirconite fused cast series consist of crystallised baddeleyite (ZrO2) and corundum (Al2O3) and matrix glass. Fused cast refractories are typically used for parts of the furnace that come into contact with melting glass or the superstructure of the melter. These refractories are corrosion proof and do not cause glass defects. Most of AGC Ceramics’ fused cast refractories are made in China.

Continued>>

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Evolution Research and development remains key to AGC Ceramics.

“We have to keep developing new ideas,” Mr Ota said. “If we just stayed with say, fused cast, it would be very difficult, the company would not evolve.

“The company produces all types of refractories.

We can combine them to make new ideas for furnace design. Now, we are promoting our hybrid refractories such as fused cast and monolithic put together. The benefit of hybrid refractories is that it saves energy.

“One of the company’s fundamental concepts is how to save energy, so this is important to us.”

www.glass-international.com

Glass community Although perhaps not as well known, the company is also involved in several aspects of glass engineering.

The company can provide solutions for glass furnaces at any life stage of the furnace in many sectors of the industry, including container, tableware and sodium-silicate glass. It is in this area that its shared knowledge, operation knowhow and expertise in furnace design with parent company AGC comes to the fore.

AGC Ceramics summarises its operations in this field into five activities. These are Furnace Design, Furnace Material, Construction Commissioning, Operation Support and Cold Repair Planning.

Within furnace design, the company provides equipment such as simulation technology and refractory corrosion testing. It also supplies environmentally friendly technology such as advanced regenerators, low-NOx burners and a waste gas cleaning system comprised of an electrostatic precipitator and bag filter.

Its furnace materials activity comprises of its supply of refractories, while its construction and commissioning activity is based around its ability to offer an integrated design and construction work plan to meet requirements such as efficiency safety and economy when performing repairs or a new construction.

Operation support offers customers its know how and consulting advice while its cold repair planning comprises of collecting important information to plan the future improvement of the

“We have manufactured refractories for nearly 100 years, it is in our DNA. Our products come with Japanese know-how and Japanese

”

quality.

furnace. This includes panoramic photography to record the conditions of the furnace.

Mr Ota said: “Our unique point is that we can combine: We can produce and supply refractories and we can do furnace engineering. Our competitors cannot do that.

“The glass engineering division concentrates on the entire lifetime of a furnace, the full 15 years from beginning to end. We can offer furnace inspection, end of scope service, monitoring.

If there are any unusual circumstances we can discuss it with a customer.”

He added: “In terms of energy consumption, we believe improvements can still be made. Our design is different to European designs and we have our own unique idea about regenerators.

The next stage of the company’s development will see it expand further afield. It has an established network of international agents and wants to expand into new markets in South America, Europe and the Middle East.

As a glass industry veteran of 30 years, Mr Ota is keen to encourage more young people to join the glass industry.

“I want to tell young people that the glass industry is interesting! There are not enough young people in Japan who are interested in joining it.

But the glass industry is a small community with a human relationship. It’s not huge but that is what makes it unique.

“If I worked for Toyota or Nissan I would be one of the employees of a large organisation, I could not be able to speak to the top management easily.

But the glass industry is a good size, I can talk to the correct person, they know me and I know them. Young people don’t want to be a machine, they want to be a fully engaged employee, and the glass industry helps give them that.”

Mr Ota also recently joined the Phoenix Committee of global glass suppliers who nominate a glass manufacturer who is their Glass Person of the Year each year.

“I have been very lucky. I have joined the committee and have got to know people from around the world and who share ideas about the glass industry.” r

AGC Ceramics, Tokyo, Japan, www.agcc.jp

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Company profile: Sheppee International

At home with hot ware handling The UK’s Sheppee International is extending its testing facility to allow it to simulate exactly what happens in a glass plant. On the twoyear anniversary of its acquisition by Groupe Rondot, Greg Morris spoke to Managing Director Mark Johnston.

www.glass-international.com

V

isit any container glass plant in any continent and there is a strong chance that Sheppee International has installed the hot ware equipment.

The Yorkshire, UK based company estimates about 75% of the world’s container glass plants have installed its machinery. No other supplier has as many transfers and stackers installed in glass plants worldwide. Its market reach extends to South America, Asia and Europe. By its own admission, its equipment has become the ‘Hoover’ of the industry. Hot ware equipment has often been referred to as ‘a Sheppee’, regardless if it is from someone else.

The company has come a long way since its formation in 1907 by Colonel Frank Sheppee. Back then it was initially involved in the manufacture of steam-driven traction engines, cycles and motorbikes but, thanks to a flourishing local glass industry in the 1920s, it turned its attention to the

 Stacker and Independent Transfer Drive (ITD) production in the workshop.

container sector. Its focus today is entirely on hot glass container ware handling.

Strength Sheppee’s Managing Director, Mark Johnston, said: “Our strength is that we manufacture ware handling equipment, we are not a manufacturer where ware handling is a bolt on.

“We live or die by ware handling. Other people may manufacture lehrs or cullet scraping machines and they just happen to make ware handlig equipment because they’ve seen an opportunity.

“It’s not their core business though so they don’t push it or do too much with it. But for us, it’s our core business, it’s everything we do.”

It is estimated that there are 2200 lines in glass plants around the world and Sheppee has its equipment in 1500 of them. Such is its quality Continued>>

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Company profile: Sheppee International

 The Sheppee team celebrate with their Rondot colleagues after the recent takeover.

factor, especially for a business which runs 24/7.

“It’s more important that you buy something that is fit for purpose, that you have every confidence that it will continue to work. I like to think that’s what we do.”

Customer service

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that it still has original design stackers working in glass plants 60 years after installation. Its spare parts business is thriving due to the longevity of its machinery.

Despite the company’s market dominance it does not underestimate the competition. Rival companies, mainly based in developing nations, may offer a cheaper alternative but lack Sheppee’s know-how and experience.

Mr Johnston said: “There is serious competition and the competition usually comes in terms of price. In performance I believe that, for money, we are well represented.

“There will always be somebody who can provide something cheaper, but it doesn’t mean to say it is of the same quality, that they’ll get the same support and that in five years time they’ll say ‘I’m glad I bought that’.

“People need to be buyer beware on certain things, price is not always the most important

 Its testing and training facility is currently being expanded.

will get the support I require’. You can’t say that about everybody else.”

Its customer relations extend to beyond resolving problems. It has excellent relations with a number of container glass manufacturers as well as turn-key equipment providers.

In July 2014 the company was acquired by Groupe Rondot. The acquisition has given Sheppee greater access to the French group’s global network of contacts and means it is even closer to its customers.

“It has always been our philosophy to have regular visits to the customer where you sit down and discuss their needs. Sometimes they ask you for a one off thing and that’s it, but sometimes you make something which becomes the next new big thing. All of the products that we have today came from customer requests, so it’s really down to the Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

 Its engineering staff offer

Sheppee prides itself on its customer service. It has a free 24-hour customer helpline with three engineers in its UK office and support staff in offices around the world. In the past an engineer in the UK has received a call at 3am from a customer in India. The production line had stopped and the situation was critical with thousands of pounds being lost each hour. The engineer was unable to resolve the problem on the phone so caught the next flight to the sub-continent, just hours after the company had received the original phone call.

“That customer support differentiates us from other companies,” said Mr Johnston.

“It is that kind of support that people look at and say to themselves, ‘I have the confidence that when I buy that equipment from the company I

57 Glass International July/August 2016

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relationships we have. The Rondot group helps give us that direct link to the customers.”

www.glass-international.com

Testing facility Sheppee has its own testing and training facility where its customers can visit and familiarise themselves with a new piece of equipment before it is installed in a facility. It also allows Sheppee to test before it quotes to customers, so it can be sure it can do the job.

An extension to the facility will be completed before the end of the year and will allow it to have a batch run of continuous production, so it can simulate exactly what is happening in a glass factory.

In the past it was able to carry out small manual testing simulating what happens in a glass plant, but only on one or two bottles at a time.

The extended facility will allow it to simulate a conveyor line for a continuous period of time.

“The testing facility is key to us moving forward.

It’s our aim in the future to make that into a continuous loop and then just run it exactly as you would on a glass plant. We’ve now created our own mini lehr in the training section and are now looking at the system to collect and batch the bottles,” said Mr Johnston.

“It is essentially a mini production line and it will give us a lot more possibility to make changes on the fly.

“The other thing is we can train our customers.

They can come here prior to delivery, can simulate a production facility, make all the changes they wish and get completely conversant with the equipment so, as and when the equipment is delivered, they can hit the ground running.”

The group has also strengthened its development team and now has a technical director, a development manager and assistant, and a technical manager. The team meets every three months to review where development is going on existing contracts and on potential for others.

Energy The Rondot acquisition gave a new energy to the company. One of its focuses was to create a more positive working environment among its 38 staff.

Mr Johnston said: “I like to think we are a caring organisation that realises that the most important element of a company is the people that work for it. It is therefore important for those people to feel engaged, that they are part of the company and

z Sheppee employs 38 staff in the UK.

what happens to it because without the people the company is nothing.

“We’ve tried to bring a bit more human factor to the company just in little things, but the small things add up to a lot.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re the guy putting electrical parts downstairs or the person signing off orders, everybody is important in this process and it must feel like a team and not a differential between personalities.”

Some of the changes include revamping the office layout, a new fingerprint clocking system for all staff, extra staff training in a nearby college, giving names to its new machines and staff input into the Christmas party and summer works trip.

Since integration there have been several new developments released to market and the list of its new products has never been greater. It is hoped some of the new innovations will be ready for glasstec 2016.

One development was the recently released Airless Pushbar (ALP), which will remain straight, hot or cold without the use of compressed air. This provides savings in energy consumption.

Customers can have greater control over the final push stage of the stacker to minimise the effects of defects cause by differential movements to the lehr belt. The latest stackers are equipped with specialised software to optimise this transition.

A system to monitor bad stacking at the lehr exit has been developed that will prevent large losses due to early detection and notification to operators, to enable them to rectify.

The future Sheppee is focused on the container glass sector and does not plan to move into other areas such as tableware. Instead it plans to continue to meet container glass trends such as increased production speed.

“If it is faster it tends to be more complex, stronger and expensive and that’s an area we prefer to be in. Down at the lower cost there is a low complexity and, I hate to say it, but pretty much anybody can do it. We don’t need to be there, we need to be right at the front of where technology is and to keep pushing the boundaries,” concluded Mr Johnston. r

Sheppee International, Elvington, UK www.sheppee.com

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Company profile: Mavsa

 Mavsa recently completed an installation at the Vidrios Riojanos site in Argentina.

From Argentina to the world Argentina has become increasingly noticed by the worldwide glass industry for the quality of of its wine and olive glasses. Diego Fuentes, President of Argentinian container glass supplier MAVSA, discusses the company and its role in the Argentinian hollow glass industry.

www.glass-international.com

Can you give a brief history of Mavsa?

For 15 years, Mr. Manuel Fuentes worked at the Saric glass plant, a tableware manufacturer in Buenos Aires. He was in charge of mould production, spare parts and machine maintenance.

In 1971, with the agreement of the Saric owner, he started offering tableware moulds and machinery to glass plants in Peru.

In 1974 he opened his own workshop in Berazategui city called Metalurgica Buenos Aires (MBA). It was situated in the heart of the Argentinean glass industry, close to Rigolleau, where the country’s oldest glass plant is located.

MBA exported to Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Cuba. In 1992 MBA started exporting mechanical feeders to Egypt and in 2001 it exported the first production lines to Algeria.

MBA’s portfolio comprised mould design and manufacture, feeders, MDP presses, fire polishers, IS spare parts and IS machines (1-2-4-6 sections, DG 4 ¼).

Manuel’s son Diego, an electronic engineer, joined the family business in 1990 and was followed three years later by his brother Gustavo, an electronic technician.

In 2001 the Fuentes’ decided to launch another company: Maquinas Argentinas del Vidrio (MAVSA).

Today, Mavsa continues to export and has the advantage of a new assembly space, which has increased its workshop capacity. It exports to all the South American countries as well as Mexico, Algeria, Egypt, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Jordan, India and Taiwan.

We produce complete press lines for tableware production, from the forehearth to the cross conveyor, including the stacker and electronic Continued>>

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Company profile: Mavsa

timing-drive system. We also produce a complete set of moulds for tableware manufacturing.

We can produce complete lines of IS machines for small production capacities. That includes IS 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 section machines, as well as IS mould equipment.

 Feeder forehearth for lines 1 and 2.

What is the purpose of your business and how many employees do you have?

We design and produce simple solutions for glass producers. We call it the Compact Solution from a single source, which means that Mavsa is responsible for the complete project from machine manufacture, installation and start-up in a glass plant. Our customers are mainly small-to-medium sized makers of tableware and container glass.

Mavsa has 25 employees and staff are involved in all areas of research, development, design and production.

What is your most popular product?

The most popular products are the complete press lines for different glass article sizes. That includes press machines such as: MDP 12-26, 24-26, 12-30, 24-30, 16-30, 24-34 and 16-38.

According to the tableware product range, we suggest to the customer which machine is most appropriate for them.

What makes Mavsa stand out from its competitors?

Have you developed any environmentally friendly technology at Mavsa?

“We want to be considered as high quality machine producer that offers a

We are flexible in terms of design and can produce special projects for tableware and container glass manufacturers, adapting the workshop force to obtain the objective.

Can you describe some of the equipment that you use?

complete solution in machinery and

”

moulds

Mavsa uses mechanised CNC Vertical Milling Machines and CNC Lathes, Sparking Machines and Horizontal Boring Machines. We plan to acquire a CNC Boring Machine to produce the large parts of the machines ourselves.

Mavsa has designed new equipment based on the servo-mechanism for tableware machinery to reduce compressed air consumption.

How has the hollow glass market performed in Argentina in recent years?

The Cattorini group has controlled hollow glass production in Argentina since the 1990s. But since O-I entered the market and the news about Verallia, we think O-I will be ready to increase its capacities in the domestic market.

Is the Argentinian market set to grow?

Nobody knows the future of Verallia in Argentina.

It could be a good opportunity perhaps for O-I to increase its capacities in Argentina, because the O-I plant is a long way from the wine production area in Mendoza-San Juan.

Can anything be done to improve the Argentinian glass market?

Argentina must be more competitive in the export of its wine and olive oils. The quality is very good.

It would be extremely good for the domestic glass industry if the wine and olive sectors could increase their production.

www.glass-international.com

What does the future hold for Mavsa?

The company must be competitive and offer simple solutions with good technologies.

We want to be considered as a high quality machine producer that offers a complete solution in machinery and moulds. European machine producers do not produce moulds and we see how this could affect the efficiency of some customers.

We are working hard to introduce open electronic systems to replace pneumatic cylinders in order to reduce energy consumption. r

Glassman South America takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 29 and 30, 2017. www.glasmanevents.com for more details  4 section IS machine line no 2.

President, Mavsa, Buenos Aires, Argentina. http://www.mavsa.com.ar

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History

Prof. John Parker Turner Museum of Glass and ICG

Keep it quiet Prof. John Parker investigates at the relationship between glass and sound.

www.glass-international.com

M

y dictionary gives four definitions of the word ‘sound’, each with multiple subcategories.

We use it in so many ways e.g. ‘of a sound mind’, ‘I’ll sound them out’ and ‘sound asleep’. Clearly it’s an important word but what links it to glass? Well, we all know that a soprano, hitting a high note, can explode a drinking glass into fine fragments and comic strips often perpetuate this image.

Experiments have confirmed that high intensity sounds can indeed wreak such havoc. First, the frequency of the sound – its tone – must match the frequency of a natural resonance of the article itself, e.g. where a circular wine glass is made to oscillate between oval shapes firstly elongated along x and then the y axis.

The web has good images of this, photographed using strobe lighting to slow down the motions involved. All that is needed is to turn up the sound at this frequency and the increasing amplitude of these forced oscillations will ultimately shatter the glass. Often loudspeakers are used, but the same effect has been demonstrated using a human voice placed close to the article – although some famous clips allegedly include an element of deception.

As in any measure of strength, failure will start from the weakest link – a flaw on the glass surface – and no doubt in times past the surface quality of the glass and even its state of annealing meant that lower power levels were needed for failure.

Gently rubbing the rim of an empty wine glass can, with practice, excite this natural resonance by a stick-slip process.

The vibrating glass excites the air in its bowl, amplifying the sound and emitting the corresponding note.

These resonant frequencies can be reduced by adding water (or wine); the pitch changes systematically with depth.

Thus a melody can be played using several individually tuned wine glasses.

Based on such observations, Benjamin Franklin in 1761 designed an instrument called an armonica, using differently sizes glass cones supported on a rotating spindle. It is said that when he first played it at home, his wife was asleep.

Waking with a start, she was convinced she had gone to heaven. Even Beethoven wrote music for it.

Collectors of fine glass pieces will often gently tap them and listen to the resulting reverberations. Lead glass vessels ring for much longer than everyday glassware made from soda-lime-silica glass.

Silica laboratory-ware is akin to lead glass. Sound waves in all glasses travel much faster than sound through air, but the dull tones produced by cheaper glasses are caused by internal mechanisms that absorb the propagating sound wave e.g. a linkage to the motion of light and weakly bonded sodium ions.

Traditionally at some wedding feasts, guests tap their glasses to persuade the bride and groom to kiss. Perhaps the couple should avoid excessive spending on their glassware. More surprisingly, the developers of television and radar experimented with the acoustic properties of glass.

Designers needed to store signals for short times e.g. as the electron beam scanned across the TV screen. One way they did this was to create a so-called acoustic delay line – where the signal was launched along a glass rod and returned to its origin after a defined time.

Special glasses were developed to ensure that the delay introduced did not change with temperature. A more recent development is an optical switch.

A standing sound wave in a suitably engineered glass optical component creates a refractive index grating that

deflects a light beam until it is switched off.

We live in a world where sound is all pervasive and escape is difficult. Traffic noise, aircraft, radios, TV, gardening and carpentry tools all create a background 24/7 that many find stressful and can cause long term damage to the ear. Glass even has a role in reducing this problem.

Last month we talked about glass fibre mats and double glazing as ways of reducing heat loss from buildings. Both products also assist in noise control either by absorbing the sound energy or simply reflecting it back. Panels containing glass fibre keep the environment both warmer and quieter. In double glazing units the two panes can be acoustically isolated.

The gap between the panes then defines the noise attenuation characteristics.

Larger separations than for optimal heat blocking are needed, typically around 15-20cm, rather than 16-20mm.

Thicker panes also improve operating characteristics and laminated glass sheets can be very effective in shutting out noise by increasing sound damping.

Attenuation tends to increase with frequency except near any resonances, when it decreases.

Resonant effects can be reduced by using panes of different thicknesses, and the whole double glazed unit needs to be designed to ensure that such resonances and their associated transmission window are at frequencies which are least annoying to the listener.

I do not know whether the testing of such units requires a professional soprano. r

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

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FURNACE TECHNOLOGY

CELEBRATED BY OUR CUSTOMERS AROUND THE WORLD

Our customer’s celebration dinner held inside a newly constructed TECO furnace

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Forehearths

Fuel-efficient forehearth and distributor systems Side combustion exhaust flues for exhaust of combustion gases

î ¸ Fig 1. Model of a Central cooling exhaust flue for exhaust of cooling air

Vented mantle block with exit for cooling air

Butterfly valve located in cooling air ducting for control of cooling air flow

Cooling air fan for supply of cooling air

A

s the primary consumer of fuel in the glass container factory, the furnace is the main focus for energy efficiency improvements.

However, through the application of modern forehearth and distributor designs and technology, and through correct forehearth and distributor specification, substantial energy savings can be achieved.

Energy efficiency can be viewed from two distinct perspectives: r The savings achievable through reduced fuel consumption. r The savings achievable through increased glass quality and increased production leading to a reduction in the fuel consumption per tonne of glassware sold.

The purpose of this article is to highlight the energy savings which can be made, using real life examples illustrating savings of up to 50%, and explain how the PSR System 500 forehearth achieves optimum results with regards to fuel consumption and glass quality.

The function of the forehearth is to provide gobs of glass to the forming machine at a constant, uniform temperature suitable for the particular

Movement of cooling actuator sets position of dampers and cooling air butterfly valve via horizontal control shaft

forming process, at a constant weight and shape, and at the required speed of the machine. Although a lot of heat needs to be removed, additional heat input is also required, particularly at the sides of the forehearth channel where the heat loss is naturally greater, to ensure that a high degree of temperature uniformity is achieved throughout the body of the glass at the feeder spout.

The main features of PSR’s System 500 (Fig. 1) are explained below.

Single piece profile roof block design The modular roof block shape is designed to effectively separate the cooling zone transversely into two side longitudinal combustion zones and a central longitudinal cooling zone.

The roof block is also designed to radiate heat from the side wall burners back towards the channel side walls.

This allows the forehearth to target the heating requirements at the sides of the forehearth to overcome the additional heat loss through the channel sidewalls, while cooling the central hotter stream of glass. This results in effective control of the glass thermal homogeneity at the spout entrance position.

Separate exhaust of the combustion gases and cooling air In conventional, longitudinally cooled forehearths, the cooling air and combustion products are all exhausted through one common exhaust flue and so must mix together inside the forehearth, reducing the combustion efficiency and the effectiveness of the cooling air.

By employing individual cooling and combustion exhaust flues, separated within the forehearth by the profiled roof block design, we ensure that the cooling air is exhausted through the central cooling flue and the combustion products are exhausted through the side combustion flues.

This can be seen in Fig. 2, which shows a System 500 forehearth cooling sub-zone operating at a typical medium cooling level. The three damper blocks are partially open and the butterfly valve on the cooling air inlet is partially open.

It can be seen in the image that the two side combustion flues are much brighter in appearance than the central cooling exhaust flue which has a dull appearance.

This indicates that the cooling effect is contained in the central chamber Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

Simon Parkinson* explains the science behind the technology that can provide glass manufacturers with up to 50% energy savings.

System 500 Forehearth.

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Forehearths

Combustion exhaust flues

Cooling

Cooling exhaust flue

Heating

z Fig 2. Layout of the System 500 dampers, showing the duller (cooler) appear-

z Fig 3. System 500 cooling sub-zone in cooling mode (left), with the combus-

ance of the central cooling flue, compared with the brighter (hotter) appearance

tion gases exhausting through the side combustion flues and the cooling air

of the side combustion flues.

exhausting through the central cooling flue, and in heating mode (right), with combustion gases exhausting through the central cooling flue.

of the forehearth, with the cooling air exhausting through the central cooling flue. The combustion effect is contained in the side chambers of the forehearth, with the combustion products exhausting through the side combustion flues.

www.glass-international.com

Synchronised control of the exhaust dampers and cooling air inlet The cooling and combustion exhaust dampers operate simultaneously with a butterfly valve controlling the cooling air inlet volume to provide control of the internal forehearth pressure.

The swinging motion of the exhaust dampers, rather than a vertically lifting motion, simulates the operation of a port valve, providing better control of the exhaust volumes and internal forehearth pressure.

The value of this can be seen when compared to direct radiation cooled forehearths, which often cannot maintain a positive internal forehearth pressure when the large radiation flues are open. The resultant negative pressure causes parasitic cold air to infiltrate through openings and cracks in the forehearth superstructure as well as around the burner nozzles on each side of the forehearth.

This cools the sides of the glass flow, increases the need to heat the sides, and greatly reduces the combustion efficiency. Radiation cooled forehearths are also difficult to control due to the inherent temperature cycling caused as the glass is rapidly cooled as it flows under

large radiation openings before it is then re-heated.

Automated control of the cooling system Many conventional cooling systems, whether they use radiation or longitudinal cooling, employ manually controlled cooling systems or at least manually controlled cooling dampers.

This necessitates the use of excessive cooling so that the glass temperature can be controlled by the combustion system.

Therefore, additional fuel input is required to overcome this set cooling level.

The system 500 forehearth operates with automatically controlled cooling, which works in unison with the combustion system.

This prevents adverse interactions between the two functions, and eliminates the extra fuel required to overcome a set cooling level.

roof block still re-radiates heat from the combustion system back towards the channel side walls, and the closure of the combustion dampers prevents any heat loss to atmosphere, allowing preferential heating of the side streams of glass.

Sub-zoning concept Cooling zones are sub-zoned wherever possible to maximise the effect of the cooling system.

By introducing two cooling air inlets and two cooling air exhausts in each cooling zone, we halve the path length of the cooling air within the forehearth, optimising the use of the cooling air volumes and minimising the possibility of overcooling the glass surface at the cooling air inlet point.

Cooling air is introduced centrally via a vented mantle block that is also the zone separation block, maximising the total length of roof available for cooling.

Ability to heat as well as cool the glass

Distributor an extension of the forehearth

(Fig. 3) When no cooling air is required the combustion exhaust dampers are completely closed, however the central cooling damper block contains a small notch which allows exhausting of the combustion products through the central cooling flue.

This allows the forehearth to input heat into the glass across the entire forehearth width while in heating mode, allowing it to react to any changes in production, reducing down time between jobs. However, the profile design of the

(Fig. 4) Traditional working ends or refiners are designed as part of the furnace using construction techniques, combustion, cooling and temperature control systems based on furnace technology.

They have a high superstructure with arched crown, utilising nozzle mix type burners in the working-end breast walls and being controlled from thermocouples installed in the crown.

Continued>>

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Forehearths

z Fig 4. Model of a complete PSR Forehearth & Distributor System.

Cooling is normally provided by shutting off the gas supply to the burner and blowing combustion air through the burner.

The technologies employed cannot target the heating and cooling where they are required, and therefore no significant glass conditioning can take place before the glass enters the forehearth.

PSR views the distributor as an extension of the forehearth, not the furnace, and therefore the forehearth technologies can be installed all the way back to the throat riser, starting the glass conditioning process as soon as the glass leaves the furnace and maximising the energy savings achievable.

www.glass-international.com

Results The System 500 Forehearth is specifically designed to separate and optimise the heating and cooling functions of the forehearth, and customers have reported that conversions of conventional longitudinal forced air cooled forehearths to System 500 forehearths have produced fuel savings of up to 20%.

Similarly, conversions of direct radiation cooled forehearths have produced fuel savings of up to 40%.

Savings are not only achieved through reduced fuel consumption, but also through increased glass quality and therefore production output of the forehearth.

For example, one customer converted a radiation cooled forehearth to the System 500 by replacing the superstructure refractories, steelwork and cooling mechanisms.

They recorded the glass thermal homogeneity figures, the tonnage of glass which could be pulled by the forehearth and the pack rates of the forehearth,

before and after the conversion. The maximum tonnage of the forehearth increased from 137 to 142 tonnes/day, the typical thermal homogeneity value increased from 92% to 97% and the pack rate increased from 92.5% to 93.5%.

This 1% increase in pack rate, along with the increased forehearth load, resulted in a 5% increase in the absolute pack rate of the forehearth, providing a payback time for their investment of just a few weeks.

One case study carried out recently relates to a client in the Middle East that operates two adjacent furnaces, each manufacturing white flint or emerald green glasses. Furnace ‘A’ has three productions lines with PSR System 500 forehearth and distributor technology, whilst Furnace ‘B’ has two production lines with forehearth and distributors supplied by the furnace supplier.

The forehearths installed on Furnace ‘B’ employ conventional direct longitudinal cooling with the cooling air introduced at the front of the cooling zones and exhausted, along with the combustion gases, at the rear of the zones through one common, manually controlled exhaust flue.

Over a period of several years the client noticed discrepancies in energy efficiency between the two systems.

They decided to carry out a study over a 25 day period during which all five forehearths were producing white flint glass under roughly equivalent operating conditions.

The fuel consumption was recorded over this 25 day period and it was found that the three System 500 forehearths and distributor on Furnace ‘A’ were consuming 380.8 normal m³/day and the two forehearths and working end on Furnace

‘B’ were consuming 446.5 normal m³/day, which equates to 17% additional fuel.

In order to obtain a direct comparison of the fuel consumption between the two systems, the fuel consumptions relative to the size of the systems, in terms of glass surface area within the forehearths and distributors, were considered.

It was found that the System 500 forehearths and distributor on Furnace ‘A’ used 12.63 normal m³ of LPG per m² of glass surface area per day compared to the 19.11 normal m³ of LPG consumed by the forehearths and working end on Furnace ‘B’. This represents a 50% increase in specific fuel consumption over the System 500.

This discrepancy in fuel consumption was then put into monetary terms by the provision of an average fuel cost of £0.80 per m³ of LPG. When the energy costs were considered over a typical 10 year furnace campaign it was found that an expected saving of £449,860.00 could be achieved by converting the existing conventional longitudinally cooled forehearths to the System 500 forehearth, and a saving of £588,090.00 achieved by the System 500 forehearths on Furnace ‘A’.

Conclusion The System 500 forehearth and distributor was introduced almost 25 years ago and with more than 600 installations worldwide, continuous development has ensured that it remains at the forefront of glass conditioning technology.

What is often overlooked is the superior fuel efficiency that it can achieve as a direct result of the automatic cooling system and close control of the internal forehearth pressure.

Sadly, not enough glassmakers are able to make reliable comparisons between our equipment and our competitor’s equipment in the way that our Middle Eastern client did, and as a result investment decisions are often based more upon initial capital cost than longer term energy savings or production efficiencies.

The savings demonstrated are not only achieved over the lifetime of the furnace but, through re-using the equipment at subsequent rebuilds, the benefits can be reaped for decades to come. r

*Director, Parkinson-Spencer Refractories, West Yorkshire, UK www.parkinson-spencer.co.uk/

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Electrical melting in perfection Engineering and modeling for boosting systems Water-cooling systems for electrode holders etc.

Electrode holder for bottom / side / top Power regulation / Transformers Special service in hot-drilling and change of electrode holders

Please visit us at

HALL 13 / BOOTH A06

Bock Energietechnik GmbH GĂśsen 15 92685 Floss Germany

Tel: + 49 9603 / 1295 Fax: + 49 9603 / 2995

info@bock-energietec.de www.bock-energietec.de

Lubricating and Coating Solutions for the Glass Container Industry

Fixed Drop Guides Greater gob stability equating to better loading Increases the lifetime of the shear mechanisms moving parts due to the weight reduction Optimisation of the Shear sprays reducing oil and water consumption No internal wear parts Shear blade cooling and lubrication achieved by ďŹ ne atomisation

See us at Glasstec Hall 13 Booth D25 Graphoidal Developments Ltd, Broombank Road, Chesterfield S41 9QJ, England Tel: +44 (0) 1246 266000 Email: sales@graphoidal.com Fax: +44 (0) 1246 269269 Website: www.graphoidal.com

Forehearths

Training and audits optimise forehearth performance John McMinn* describes how simple checks and a training and audit programme can dramatically improve forehearth performance.

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www.glass-international.com

Forehearth performance Our experience of auditing a variety of forehearth designs across four continents has shown that sub-optimal forehearth performance is extremely common and is normally associated with a combination of factors rather than purely system de-calibration. A recurring factor is the forehearth operator, and consequently a forehearth performance audit includes an audit of the skills and performance of the operator.

Unfortunately not all operators have sufficiently high skill levels. Frequently, a forehearth audit will identify situations in which the forehearth performance had compromised production yet the operator failed to understand the origin of the problem or to acknowledge a problem existed.

Training To understand why this situation exists,

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part from perhaps a gas meter and the dubious usefulness of an ‘efficiency value’, derived from equalising zone tri-level thermocouples, there is very little to inform the operator how well (or how badly) a particular forehearth is performing.

It is producing gobs and the production people are not complaining too much – but exactly how does the operator know at what level the forehearth is operating?

Could the performance be improved? Is it operating at 70% or 90% potential? In the absence of a ‘performance meter’ it is basically guess work. Seems OK, so best leave it alone? But leaving it alone costs money in terms of rejected ware, reduced speeds and fuel wastage. Surely, there must be a more technical and measured approach than this? The answer is to audit the performance of the forehearth and to train operators in how to correctly evaluate how well the forehearth and its control, combustion and cooling subsystems are operating.

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z Fig. 1: Demonstrating a poor forehearth zone. one must consider the level and quality of the training the average operator receives.

No forehearth operation textbook exists and in its absence there are two common sources of training.

The first is in-house training, where the outgoing forehearth manager or operator passes his knowledge onto his successor.

This approach often ensures that any existing bad practice is perpetuated to the next generation with the new operator rarely doubting the wisdom of what he is told.

The primary source of forehearth training is that provided by the forehearth supplier immediately after system commissioning.

To varying degrees this type of training is often perfunctory, concentrating on the basics required to drive the system – how to change set points, how to adjust the air/gas ratio, how to enter PID values etc. Unfortunately it seldom equips the operator with the knowledge of what the best set point profile should be for his glass colour, tonnage and forehearth dimensions. Nor does it enable him to intuitively recognise a combustion fault based on the characteristic response from the temperature sensors or other diagnostic data. Neither does it provide

him with the ability to analyse and test the control loop response and ensure the correct PID terms are used.

Modern forehearth systems normally provide a wealth of data which, when correctly interpreted, provide much of the information required to assess the performance status of the forehearth.

However a deeper understanding of forehearth operation can be obtained from testing procedures developed by Forehearth Services to determine factors such as system de-calibration and loop response. It is within this area that the skill levels of many operators are demonstratively inappropriate.

The typical operator response to a change in conditions is to instinctively make an alteration to a set point or an output. If that doesn’t work almost immediately then further changes are made. Unnecessary or ill-judged parameter changes to a forehearth system produce disruption to the equilibrium of the forehearth and consequently have an impact on production. Subsequently, a key aim of the Forehearth Training Programme is to enable the operator to use the data available to him via the Continued>>

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Forehearths

control screen and the forehearth subsystems to identify the exact nature of the problem and its origins. All alterations to forehearth settings should be made based on informed and logical deductions.

An equally important aim of the training programme is to teach the operator how to decide where the change should be made, the scale of the change required and, crucially, the impact of the change and the timescale within which the change will occur. This logical approach to forehearth operation avoids unnecessary production disruption.

Data interpretation An operator should clearly be capable of interpreting the data presented by the system and have the analytical ability to determine whether or not the data presented is logical. This requires knowledge not only of the capabilities of the forehearth itself but also of the sensors and field equipment supplying the data, the calibration of the combustion system and the suitability of the PID values chosen for the loop.

It is crucial the operator knows how to assess the response of the individual forehearth zone control loops.

For example the dead-time (time between making the setpoint change and the start of the reaction of the thermocouple to the change) for a thermocouple at a depth of 25mm varies with both glass colour and tonnage. A typical well-calibrated zone, at the correct thermocouple immersion depth in amber glass, should react within two minutes.

Fig. 1 shows a particularly badly responding forehearth zone.

Luckily it provides vital clues to the operation of this particular zone. As can be seen from the chart the thermocouple reading was unchanged for a period in excess of 12 minutes. For a 5°C step-change in set-point in amber glass, the zone would be expected to achieve set-point within 12 minutes. As shown by the chart the time required to achieve set-point was 43 minutes.

The time required for the glass to flow from the zone entrance to the exit of the zone was approximately 14 minutes based on the zone dimensions and tonnage.

The chart shows that after this period the zone had achieved a 1°C increase in temperature. Consequently, the zone is incapable of responding to any incoming change in temperature larger than 1°C. The implications of this for forehearth control are obvious.

Again the chart provides clues. Firstly, despite the prolonged time away from the required set-point, the increase in heating output over the initial 53 minutes was 7%. This is a clear indication that the PID values are inadequate.

Secondly, an analysis of the combustion system showed that the response was further degraded by both the calibration of the combustion air control valve and the accuracy of the air/gas ratio over the relevant heating output range. Finally a separate analysis chart indicated that an excessive thermocouple immersion depth further compromised the reaction time.

The problems discovered in the zone analysis were subsequently rectified and the zone returned to an acceptable level of operation – assuming the zone had ever been operating at an acceptable level of operation! Take the guessing out of your forehearth operation – have them systematically audited and your operators professionally trained. r

*Managing Director, Forehearth Services, UK enquiries@forehearthservices.co.uk www.forehearthservices.co.uk Glass International July/August 2016

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Energy efficiency

Raising revenue by reducing national grid energy use Michael Phelan, CEO of Endeco Technologies, a National Grid and EirGrid approved aggregator, discusses a potential new revenue stream for glass manufacturers based on the amount of energy they use.

www.glass-international.com

M

any in the glass manufacturing sector may not be aware that there is a new revenue stream available to progressive and forward-thinking plants. It focuses on the use of energy, and how by turning the power down for a relatively short period each year in line with National Grid and EirGrid’s requirements, glass manufacturers can enjoy financial rewards.

Glass manufacturing plants are intensive users of energy, with equipment such as electric ovens, electric boosters, rotating machines, compressors and fans commonplace in such facilities.

Unfortunately, this represents a problem in the UK, where only the most oblivious will be unaware that there exists a somewhat precarious electricity supply situation. According to a Guardian newspaper report earlier in 2016, UK electricity demand is expected to outstrip supply by 40% within 10 years.

Many thought renewables would deliver the answer, but in reality the inflexibility of renewable energy sources in conjunction with the difficulty of controlling grid stability in real-time, represents a major challenge for grid operators.

In simple terms, when generation and energy demand are imbalanced, a change of frequency in the grid system is created, which is made worse by the intermittent nature of wind and solar sources. The requirement for quicker grid balancing and frequency is why the

National Grid (in the UK) and EirGrid and SONI in Ireland now offer a number of opportunities for energy-intensive businesses, with lucrative rewards for those able to offer real-time response.

 Michael Phelan, CEO of Endeco Technologies.

Ofgem, the industry regulator, is also on-board, recently laying out five priority areas of focus, central to which is a pledge to make the UK energy system more flexible. With this in mind, Ofgem is actively encouraging businesses to engage in demand-side response.

Demand-side response Firm frequency response (FFR) and the new Dynamic FFR, as well as the forthcoming (2017) Enhanced FFR, are schemes that

all form part of the system operators’ broad DSR (demand-side response) suite of solutions. In essence, these schemes involve removing sufficient load from the grid to stabilise frequency.

To help boost uptake, the National Grid and EirGrid are offering those that participate the potential to earn extra income from assets by adjusting power consumption in real-time. As a result, grid operators can reduce the requirement for coal and gas-fired reserves to be ready to supply power at short notice.

This is where the glass industry can accrue financial rewards. To provide an indication, in the UK sums of up to £90,000 are currently achievable for every megawatt (MW) of average onsite energy consumption turn down. In Ireland, the latest scheme – DS3 System Services – also offers sums per megawatt.

Any glass manufacturer expecting to endure weeks if not months of blackouts to see financial savings on such levels would be wrong. In the first instance, the requirement is for ‘turn-down’ not ‘turn-off’, and secondly, the sums stated are in return for around 10 (on average) ‘turn-down’ events per year, lasting for a maximum of just 30 minutes each. In total, this adds up to – on average - around five hours a year.

For those thinking there must be a catch, there isn’t. The grid operators are prepared to pay such high rewards as it is Continued>>

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GLASS HAS A GREAT PAST.

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

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

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deliver a technical solution to the challenge of grid balancing.

How it works: 1. Identify: An approved National Grid or EirGrid aggregator will assess your available assets and calculate revenue potential.

2. Define: Your aggregator will work with you to establish parameters for response, define constraints and operational priorities.

3. Implementation: Your aggregator will install and configure its technology platform to connect your energy intensive assets. This is often at no cost to the end user*.

4. Respond: Once you’re connected, you’re ready to respond when required, without risk or impact on your productivity.

5. Earn: You start receiving monthly payments from the energy market. * Endeco Technologies makes no charge for the implementation of the technology platform. Other aggregators might take a different approach.

Essential partnership From the point of view of the end user, an aggregator is an essential partner for any glass company that wishes to take advantage of the long-term opportunities.

They take care of the necessary hardware and software installation, as well as the online monitoring and reaction systems, and the day-to-day running of the system.

All of this is offered without any CAPEX requirement, with the aggregator instead taking a percentage of the scheme pay-out.

As a point of note, the aforementioned sum per megawatt is the amount payable after the aggregator has taken payment.

Glass product manufacturers are in prime position to benefit from this offer.

In this first instance, energy consumption is reduced on selected equipment after an audit of the glass plant, before energy strategies to reduce cost are adapted and agreed with the plant’s operations team.

The chosen aggregator will connect the glass manufacturer’s principal assets to its proprietary on-site optimisation platform, which enables the automated control of energy consumption via wireless smart sensors and actuators.

One part of the aggregator’s job is to ensure glass producers are ready and able to turn down their energy use when the grid operators require it, and check that the response works correctly. Facilities employing an aggregator simply relax and concentrate on day-to-day business.

www.glass-international.com

Aggregate to accumulate

obliged to control frequency within the limits specified in the ‘Electricity Supply Regulations’, i.e. ±1% of nominal system frequency (50.00Hz) except in abnormal or exceptional circumstances.

It must, therefore, ensure that sufficient generation and/or demand is reserved in automatic readiness to manage all credible eventualities that might produce frequency variations.

Virtual power plant As every glass manufacturing facility will have its own array of assets and requirements, comprehending and choosing the optimum DSR scheme is vital. With this in mind, partner companies known as aggregators

provide the critical elements that enable participating companies to make the best selection and optimise returns.

Aggregators take a central role in this new power-balancing arena. In essence, they act as intermediaries between the grid operators and large energy users.

They create a ‘virtual power plant’ where the assets of hundreds of companies are aggregated. This provides a grid-balancing mechanism that helps the system operators to deliver on their vision for a more sustainable, flexible power infrastructure.

All of this combines to help National Grid (UK) and EirGrid (Ireland) to minimise the operational costs of making the grid ‘smart’, because the aggregators

The answer to the question of ‘which aggregator is best’ depends on many factors. However, glass manufacturers should be mindful to only select a ‘National Grid Approved Aggregator’, and preferably one with hundreds of existing sites under its belt.

A further vital factor is to choose an aggregator that offers a platform that can future-proof against better schemes being introduced. Response schemes are always likely to change over time and glass plants must be technology-ready to access more financially attractive tariffs.

Ultimately, DSR schemes represent a no-risk route to generous additional income for glass manufacturers willing to help the UK better manage its challenging electricity requirements. r

Endeco Technologies, Watford, UK www.endeco-technologies.com

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Companies of all sizes all over the world have selected Lahti Precision as their supplier of batch plants, cullet recycling systems, waste fiber glass recycling systems, engineering studies, and plant modernizations.

With over 200 references, everyday more than 50 000 tons of raw materials are processed with the aid of Lahti Precision’s technology to be melted to the highest quality standards for all types of glass.

So, whether you are in the market for modernizing your existing batch plant, or a new batch plant, you should find comfort in relying on experience that weighs.

Lahti Precision – experience that weighs since 1914.

Lahti Precision Oy Ahjokatu 4 A, FI-15800 LAHTI, Finland Tel. +358 3 829 21, glass@lahtiprecision.com www.lahtiprecision.com

Stand No. 15 A 30

Fig 1. An example of ‘printing around the corner’ on glass

Individuality through decoration

www.glass-international.com

Design and decoration are important in allowing products to improve shelf appeal, and most customers of container glass manufacturers are increasingly relying on sophisticated decoration techniques to enhance and improve the branding of their products. Andreas Herzog* of Stölzle outlines the decorating techniques that help its customers achieve individuality.

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tölzle has decorated over 150 million bottles annually in recent years. This output has increased each year as the glass group has constantly invested in decoration machines and techniques in its three decoration sites in France, the UK and Poland.

Stölzle’s customers can choose from a variety of traditional decoration techniques to add value to their products, such as partial spraying, or selective removal of spray on the bottle, as well as

fluorescent and textured sprays to make the bottles look exciting.

Accessories such as a branded logo, a shoulder piece, an aluminium plate, or leather and even cotton sleeves make bottles look unique.

The latest innovations at Stölzle include sprayed metallisation, maskspray, carbon spray, UV cured spraying or printing, digital printing, printing with special inks (fluorescent under UV light, phosphorescent - glowing in the

dark, and colour changing), mirror inks, embossed lettering, and IPET.

A glimpse of what’s on offer Due a specific software programme and a lot of know-how, screen printing machines can print around the edges of bottles. This means that the artwork starts to be printed on one face of a bottle, and goes around the corner to continue Continued>>

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Decoration

on the next face of the bottle (Fig. 1).

This technique enables Stolzle to offer artworks on a variety of square bottles.

In the field of spraying, it has worked on several effects that can be achieved by different lacquering material.

The surface of a bottle can look, and to some extent feel, like concrete, ice, carbon, velvet, and metal. The bottle can also have a soft touch or a glittering effect, so both visual and tactile effects can be achieved by spraying.

‘Mask spray’ is a technique where certain parts of the bottle remain un-sprayed. This space can then be used for applying other decorations such as hot foil.

Crackle spray (Fig. 2) is where different layers of spraying create a ‘crackled’ effect, as the top layer shatters and the layer beneath shines trough.

Stölzle uses colours which change depending on the angle at which you view it. Other colours change depending on the temperature. Stunning effects can be seen with colours that are phosphorescent (glow in the dark) or which are fluorescent under UV light.

IPET treatment, which is applied directly in the hot end section of the production process, makes the surface of the bottles shiny, like pearls.

IPET is solely offered by Stölzle (worldwide), and adds a touch of luxury to the bottles before further decoration in the cold end.

Stölzle Glass Group has

six European production sites, three of which have in-house decoration facilities. Stölzle has worked on a forward thinking investment plan for many years, that focuses on innovation to allow individualism and unusual design results.

3D printing 3D printing and technology has become more integrated into the glassmaking process. To keep up with a changing market and to increase efficiency, Stölzle Glass Group decided to incorporate 3D printing techniques into its manufacturing process.

Its UK plant, Stölzle Flaconnage invested in a kit that can be easily customised to suit the needs of individual processes. It prints by heating and extruding plastic filament (ABS/PLA or T-glass) through a 0.5mm diameter nozzle on a heated base and builds layers on itself to create any shape required.

Its Austrian headquarters, StölzleOberglas, invested in a more sophisticated type of 3D printer, which is able to produce translucent UV cured acrylate sample bottles.

The 3D models are built in subtle layers (32µ) of acrylate around wax, which after the printing process will be melted away to achieve a sample bottle that can be filled and even used for the testing of closures by the customer.

The 3D printer can create objects with a maximum size of 185mm in height by approximately 200mm in diameter. Due to the incredibly thin layers of acrylate, the sample bottles don’t require further processing, such as polishing or the removal of fix supporting materials.

The Polish production site, Stolzle Czestochowa, is equipped with a 3D printer kit named Makerbot Replicator Z18, which can use different materials to set up the 3D models: PLA, Laywood (material with admixture of wood), Woodfill (material with admixture of wood), Bamboofill, Carbon, Coperfill (material with admixture of copper), Bronzefill (material with admixture of bronze), SemiFlex (flexible material) and PLA90 (Gypsum material).

The French site, Stoelzle Masnières Parfumerie, installed a 3D printer (the Creatr HS XL), which has a heating tray and a double printing head.

This allows Stölzle to work with two colours, with a precision of 0.05 (according to the speed of impression). It has a capacity of the printing (dimensions) 63.3 x 48.6 x 93.0cm.

This printer is not exclusively used to make prototypes and ease the development of new products – it is also used to create certain control tools that check the ‘correctness’ of an item’s decoration

Outcome With the 3D printers up and running, the Stölzle Glass Group has increased efficiency by troubleshooting and producing 3D models at a low cost in a matter of hours instead of weeks.

Many of Stölzle’s customers have already noticed and praised the benefits of the new model.

*Group Decoration Manager, Stölzle Glass Group, Austria www.stoelzle.com

Fig 2. The crackled effect is created by using two different layers of colour, with the top one ‘shattering’.

Demonstrating a range of decoration techniques offered by Stölzle, including digital printing, embossing and crackle spray.

Glass International July/August 2016

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Decoration

Direct digital decoration Till inkjet technology is a smart print modular system suitable for printing on all kind of containers and materials. Eelco Venema* discusses how it can be used in the glass industry.

www.glass-international.com

T

ill SmartPrint is a digital decoration printing system that can be used across the glass industry, from niche to mass markets. Till machines enable direct printing on to any container at industrial speed. The product range includes modular smart-print machines, which can print on anywhere from 10 to 600 containers per minute.

All beverage packaging needs to display information that shows what kind of drink/fluid it contains, specific ingredients and contents in grams or ml or %, the total net volume and alcohol percentage.

Health warnings and information on the recyclability of the packaging must also be shown.

To show all this information, 80% of plastic and glass bottles are decorated with paper or plastic labels and 20% with technologies such as sleeves, wraparound labels or screen prints.

All of these decoration techniques were developed in the last century or invented a long time ago (silk screen printing was invented by the Chinese 1000 years ago), and are traditional not only because of the way they are applied, but also because of the way the products are produced.

Labels have to be ordered in large volumes long before they are applied and are therefore not a pro-active way to react to the daily, quick-changing needs of the market.

Apart from screen-printing, all the label-and-sleeve technologies are based on printing on a substrate (paper or plastic) and applying this substrate to the bottle via adhesives.

Digital revolution The world is changing, technologies are

changing and people are changing. The time in which products are brought to market has changed and there is more desire from consumers to buy more personalised products – referred to as the individualisation of the market. Prompt and pro-active reactions to upcoming events, personalised and local marketing and direct contact through social media have become unavoidable methods of selling a product.

The food and drink industry must go digital to react promptly to the wishes of customers. Tracking codes (barcodes, QR) on products are also crucial to better understanding the behaviour and needs of the individual consumer.

Digital printing on bottles is flexible, can be applied on 10 or 10 million bottles in full colour, allows crucial information to be included and is relatively cheap. No materials need to be held in stock apart from the inks, and printing can be done immediately, ‘on demand’.

Digital printing prints directly on to the bottle, so no substrates or adhesives are required. It allows for the immediate printing of artwork in one colour or full colour (CMYK), as well as the option of printing up to 10 different designs on one set of bottles, from 1,000 up to 1 million bottles, as well as random printing of designs.

Changing the artwork only takes minutes, which means manufacturers can react quickly to their customers’ wishes with hardly any loss of productivity.

Bottles that have undergone digital printing can be recycled as usual, as the influence of the inks on the glassmelt is negligible.

Till digital printing is meant for

cylindrical bottles and drinking glasses.

The shape may be slightly tapered or concave up to 15mm, and uneven surfaces have hardly any influence on the result of the decoration. The total cost per 1000 bottles is higher than a standard paper label, but cheaper than most of the other decorative methods.

Inkjet technology on glass bottles is new, and Rosario’s single station machines are now in operation at six different plants. Together with these customers and its suppliers of inks, primers and other materials, it constantly works on the technology and the first high speed production line will soon be put into production.

Direct digital decoration offers marketing opportunities such as reduced time-to-market to include the latest information, or limited edition runs to enable individualised packaging. It is a cost efficient solution and minimum order quantities can be reduced without additional costs. The total cost of ownership of direct digital decoration is more than competitive than current high-quality decoration techniques such as self-adhesive labels, sleeves or screenprint for any order quantity.

Challenges facing the modern beverage industry Beverage companies face strong competitive pressures, which often force them to reduce the cost and complexity of their production lines while trying to create unique selling points. In addition to this challenge, modern generations confront long-established companies Continued>>

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Decoration

with a new task: react to fast changing trends, fashions and interests, such as sports trends or increased environmental awareness.

This reduces the time to market for new products, meaning that beverage companies seek technologies that reduce the complexity and cost of materials, as well as react rapidly to new trends and fashions. One technology that could provide a solution to these challenges is digital printing. Digital printing is a contactless printing process that allows label printing in highresolution on 3-D objects such as glass bottles.

One of the advantages of digital printing is its flexibility: each print motif can be changed in a short time, without having to change any parts of the print system. This saves on production costs, and gioves producers the ability to react to new marketing trends such as the personalisation of bottles and so reduce the time to market. The production of adhesive labels is no longer necessary and can be completely skipped.

ANNEALING LEHRS

Till SmartPrint technology Since its foundation in 2010, Till has refined digital printing to a new level. The Till SmartPrint Rotary Machine allows the customer to print on 24,000 glass bottles in one hour and therefore accelerate the whole production process.

The printing process includes three steps: The process starts with pre-treatment of the bottle with a gas flame, and application of a primer to optimise the surface condition of the bottles.

After the pre-treatment, the label will be printed around the surface of the bottle in CMYK. This printing process uses the ‘drop on demand’ method, which means that an ink droplet is only generated when it is required for the printing process. As a result, ink waste is minimal. The ink used in this process is UVink, which suits the high speeds of the process and is stable at low and high temperatures. Other advantages of the UV-ink are a high gloss and colour fidelity, plus the absence of solvents and VOC. In the final step, the print image will be cured by a strong UV-light. All of these steps are performed in one production line, which can be installed in line with the glass bottle production line

Further development Till SmartPrint can print on cylindrical objects, but the development of the SmartPrint technology has just begun. In the near future the performance of the system will increase due to improved print heads (speed, size and resolution).

The complexity and cost of SmartPrint will also decrease, due to standardisation, ink development and printing process improvements.

Thanks to its integration into existing systems, SmartPrint technology gives companies in the beverage industry a tool to react quickly to new marketing trends and decrease their time to market.

Small batches in particular can be printed without an expansive system change. Companies that use SmartPrint are therefore one step ahead of their competitors.

*Managing Director, Curvink, Oosterhout The Netherlands, www.curvink.com Till Gmbh, Kelkheim, Germany www.till-tech.com Glass International July/August 2016

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Decoration

Jet Art takes digital decoration to new heights  Fig.1: The Jet Art machine.

Italian decoration company Fermac will highlight its rotary fully digital Jet Art-F machine at this year’s glasstec show.

T

he unit (Fig. 1) will have the following configuration:

r Sili-coating pre-treatment unit on loading extended conveyor. r Loading station. r Centrum linear camera for angular registration. r Primer ink jet printing with Konica Minolta KM1024i + UV LED pinning 2 W. r First White ink jet printing with Konica Minolta KM1024i + UV LED pinning 2 W. r Second passage on White ink jet printing with Konica Minolta KM1024i + UV LED pinning 2 W (two stations are dedicated to white digital ink-jet to achieve the best quality and opacity for background and for texting). r Cyan ink jet printing with Konica Minolta KM1024i + UV LED pinning 2 W. r Magenta ink jet printing with Konica Minolta KM1024i + UV LED pinning 2 W.

r Yellow ink jet printing with Konica Minolta KM1024i + UV LED pinning 2 W. r Black ink jet printing with Konica Minolta KM1024i + UV LED pinning 2 W. r Transparent top coat ink jet printing with Konica Minolta KM1024i + UV LED pinning 2 W. r UV LED curing 20 W. r Unloading r Output: up to 50 p/min depending to the size and shape of the item to be decorated.

Fermac will apply a special international patented application on to this Jet Art-F version , used to erase the mechanical tolerance of multi-station machines.

This is done thanks to electronic correction of print size according to the previously calculated eccentricity of each mandrel. This allows the same quality on a multi-station machine as on single station machines.

The Jet Art-F machine can print any developable shape (oval, square, elliptical,

cylindrical). This major step change innovation was made possible thanks to strategic alliances, with esteemed companies who shared this development together with Fermac. These companies included SMTD, Mankiewicz, Bosch and Minolta. A digital technology will be also available soon for Hot Stamping application, together with Fermac’s partner, CER. As far as adhesion is concerned, shortly after full digital printing, we can pass to the cross hatch test for the mechanical resistance and the immersion in water during 24 hours. Both tests have showed positive results. On the washing machine test, we have reached a resistance of more than 300 cycles.

Jet Art is also available in a smaller version, linear CNC, based on a seven head configuration. r

Fermac, Parma, Italy http://www.fermac.it

Glasstec 2016 Hall 14 - Stand B21

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Events world

Allied nominated for Luxury Awards Allied Glass has been nominated in the Drinks Bottle category, and the Special Edition category for the 2016 Luxury Packaging Awards.

I

n the Drinks Bottle category, Allied has been nominated for its Highland Park ICE Edition bottle (Fig. 1), created for the Edrington Group.

In the Special Edition category, the Balvenie D.C.S. Compendium (Fig. 2), for William Grants, has received recognition.

Both are Scotch whisky brands.

Fig. 2

design for the bottle, with the distinctive bottle shape being intricately embossed with delicate ice shards which were specifically created to evoke the sharpness and coolness of the ice realm.

Decorated in Allied’s decoration facility, the circle design on the front panel of the bottle represents the circle of life and the creation of the world..

Allied Glass, Leeds, UK. www.allied-glass.com

www.glass-international.com

Fig. 1

The brief for the Balvenie D.C.S. Compendium was to create a pack that highlighted the spirit itself whilst advancing the Balvenie brand. The resulting bottle stays true to the existing Balvenie container, but has been given luxury connotations by being larger, heavier in weight and with a thicker base, all of which reinforce the quality status of the collection.

The bottles are produced with premium white flint. The Highland Park ICE Edition bottle is made from blue glass and delves into the world of classic Norse mythology, celebrating the Viking roots of Highland Park’s Orkney Islands home, where the Viking’s influence and culture once reined for hundreds of years.

According to legend, the ice realm, Nilfheim is the home of darkness, cold, ice, frost, and the first ice giant, Ymir. It was this mythology that inspired the

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Events world: Glassman Middle East

Hollow glass show highlights the best of the Middle East Some of the Middle East’s most prominent glassmakers attended the recent Glassman hollow and container glass show. The event in Abu Dhabi, UAE encompassed a free to attend exhibition and conference.

S

Other glassmakers to attend incouded Dede Glass of Ethiopia, Obeikan Glass and Emirates Float Glass.

Some of the world’s most high profile suppliers to the sector had booked stands at the two-day event. Exhibiting companies came from the UK, Germany, Italy, France and the USA among others. These included Nikolaus Sorg, Zippe, FIC UK, Bottero, Electroglass, Sefpro, Bottero, Tiama, Emmeti and BDF Industries.

Ken Clark, Glassman Sales Manager reported a successful event. “We were particularly pleased with the quality of vistors that attended this event.

The majority of the container glass and tableware manufacturers from the Gulf region were in attendance and it was good to see delegations of visitors from these companies conduct fruitful discussions with exhibitors.

“A number of visitors were senior managers, CEOs and Managing Directors; primary influencers in the decision making process. Exhibitors reported that they had extensive and constructive discussions with a number of these companies.

Whether they are meeting these companies for the first time or maintaining an existing relationship, they are hopeful these initial negotiations will lead to a successful conclusion.

“Glassman is the ideal platform for suppliers and manufacturers to meet, network and do business.”

The next Glassman takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina between March 29 and 30, 2017. www.glassmanevents.com

www.glass-international.com

ome of the hollow and container industry’s most prominent glass manufacturers attended this year’s Glassman event in Abu Dhabi.

The combined exhibition and conference is devoted entirely to the hollow and container glassmaking sectors.

Among those to attend the event were Sanjay Somany, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of India’s Hindusthan National Glass, Ramesh Mani, CEO of Oman’s Majan Glass, Anwar Ahmad Khan, CEO of the UAE’s Rak Ghani Glass, Stacey Steenkamp, Director at South Africa’s Nampak group and Dr Tariq Al Fadl, General Manager of Saudi Arabian Glass Company (SAGCO).

Other glassmakers from the region to attend included delegrations from tableware manufacturer Arc International, UAE container glassmaker Frigoglass, French container glassmaker Saverglass, Kuwaiti group Gulf Glass Manufacturing and Malaysian manufacturer JG Containers.

Iran has become a talking point in the global glass industry due to its huge potential as a glassmaker and its natural resources.

The easing of political rules surrounding the country and its relationship with the west has helped open trade barriers.

Its glassmakers were well represented at the exhibition with a delegation of visitors from tableware manufacturer Noritazeh, both the Managing Director and the Vice Chairman of Hamadan Glass, Razi Pharmaceutical Glass, Jashan Crystal and a member of the Iranian Glass Associaton were among the 569 vistors to attend.

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Events world: Glassman Middle East

Glassman conference

Continued>> From top to bottom: Nicholas Hodler, CEO of Arc International Middle East; Saeed Kalafchi, Director of Iran’s Noritazeh; Jean-Vincent Jinot of Tiama; and Francesco Prosperi, Technical Director of Stara Glass, deliver presentations at the Glassman conference. Below: the crowd gather to hear the keynote speaker.

www.glass-international.com

Technology trends, energy efficiency and the rise of Iran were among the topics of the recent Glassman Middle East conference.

A total of 13 glass manufacturers and suppliers outlined the latest trends and talking points within the hollow and container glass sectors during the two day event.

Among the highlights were keynote speakers Nicholas Hodler, CEO of Arc International’s Middle East, India and Africa region and Saeed Kalafchi, Director of Iranian tableware manufacturer Noritazeh.

Mr Hodler kicked off the conference by detailing how Arc International Middle East has become a group leader in terms of workplace safety in the past six years, going from two Lost Time Injury’s (LTI) per month to one or two per year.

This improvement was achieved by enabling its workforce to come up with its own solutions and safety improvements on the shop floor. The company moved away from top down inspections that would lead to punishments, and implemented awareness sessions, suggestion schemes, rewards and safety celebrations.

In front of a full conference hall, second keynote speaker Mr Kalafchi spoke about Iran as a glassmaking nation and also gave an overview of his company.

Iran has plenty of potential as a glassmaking nation. It currently consists of about 60 large scale companies and 100 medium and small companies and employs approximately 40,000 people. Its largest producer is Kaveh Glass with an annual output of 400,000 tonnes.

Overall the country has a 2.2 million tonnes

capacity with about 15% of that available for export. Of that 15%, 235,000 tonnes is flat glass, 35,000 tonnes is container and 50,000 tonnes is tableware.

The country has a skilled glassmaking workforce, a domestic market of 80 million people and easy access to raw materials.

Mr Kalafchi said about 95% of raw materials such as silica sand, soda ash, limestone and alumina are available domestically. Energy costs are significantly lower than elsewhere and it has a regional market access to other nearby countries.

Iran does have a weak transportation system and its glassmaking technology is ageing. He described it as an excellent country to invest in with projected growth rates particularly in the automotive, container and pharmaceutical glass sectors.

His own company has growth plans and aims to increase exports by 50%. It also wants to diversify away from solely tableware into other areas of glass production and has also targeted production of soda ash and other raw materials.

It has already reserved 622,000m2 of land to expand on in order to achieve these targets.

At the conclusion of Mr Kalafchi’s presentation, the rest of the day was devoted to technical papers.

Stara Glass’s Technical Director, Francesco Prosperi, discussed the Italian company’s latest innovation, Centauro.

It is a hybrid regenerative/recuperative heat recovery system for glass furnaces that uses consolidated and field tested technical solutions.

These include regenerators in the top part which work exactly as standard end port ones, while in the bottom part they work at higher temperature conditions than in a standard end port furnace.

This allows the reduction of sulphate condensation and fewer losses in terms of performance.

Mr Prosperi provided five case studies where the technology has been successfully implemented.

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Events world: Glassman Middle East

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The next Glassman conference will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina in March 2017. Register your interest in speaking and/or attending by contacting Greg Morris at gregmorris@ quartzltd.com

www.glass-international.com

These are at Bormioli Luigi’s furnace at Abbiategrasso in Milan, Italy, two installations in O-I in San Polo, Italy, the Seves Vitrablok furnace in Duchcove, Czech Republic and most recently at the Vetreria Etrusca furnace in Altare, Savona, Italy.

The five applications, Mr Prosperi said, prove that Centauro represents a consolidated and reliable technology in air/fuel fired furnaces. An extended technical article about Centauro will appear in a forthcoming issue of Glass International.

Tiama’s Vision and Hot End product Manager Jean-Vincent Jinot spoke about the company’s Hot Lab equipment.

The technology is the first to provide fast and accurate semi-automated dimensional measurements for many glass container, eliminating the time delay of the annealing lehr and improving the glassmaking process. It is designed to work at the hot end and collect dimensional measurement data such as container lean, ovality, glass thickness, sunk and bulge and internal bore diameters Mr Jinot said that providing container measurement data at the hot end was a major breakthrough for increased productivity and profits, and kept the glassmaking process under control.

After a presentation by cm.project.ing’s Oliver Meuter, Director Project Management & Sales, who discussed the importance of innovative and modern glass plant design, Emmetti’s Sales Manager Andrea Bertinelli talked about how the packaging company had worked with fellow Italian group SIPAC to ensure a successful partnership at Park Cam, Turkey’s latest container glass plant.

Francesco Amati, of Italian group Pneumofore discussed ‘No Air, No bottle’, a presentation that has previously been reported in Glass International before. Francesco Cavaioni, BDF Industries Sales Manager for Africa and Middle East then concluded the day with a presentation titled Constant angle delivery system – BDFs innovation in the forming process.

Day two saw five presentations from a variety of suppliers from around the globe.

These included Sefpro’s Axel Hesse from Germany, who highlighted what makes good ASZ; Eurotherm at Schneider Electric’s Glass Industry Technical Leader, Rene Meuleman from The Netherlands, who spoke about Recent improvements in electrical glass furnace boosting systems; and Fernando Salvino, originally from Brazil but now working in Italy for IRF Europa, who spoke about Prolonging a glass furnace campaign lifetime.

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Events world: Mir Stekla

Mir Stekla 2016 in Moscow

www.glass-international.com

M

ir Stekla (World of Glass) is the largest show for the flat and hollow glass industry in Russia and Eastern Europe.

It is a joint venture between AO Expocentre and StekloSouz, the United National Council of Russia’s glass companies. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry support the show.

A total of 189 companies exhibited at the event this year from 18 countries.

The show opened with welcome addresses from governmental and industrial associations. In attendance were the Transport Union of Russia; the Russian Union of Dairy Enterprises; the Committee on Entrepreneurship in Construction, of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the Union of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia; the National Union of Consumer Rights Protection; the Russian Union of Builders; the Builders Association of Russia; and the National Window Union.

Exhibiting international companies included Tiama, Grenzebach Maschinenbau, RHI Glass, Bystronic Glass, Heye International, Horn Glass Industries, Bottero, BDF Industries, Pneumofore, Mountain Glass Technology, Landglass Technology, Lahti Precision, Sklostroj Turnov, Saint Gobain Sefpro, Omco Croatia, Vertech, Vesuvius, Motim, Nikolaus Sorg, Stara Glass, Hegla, Glaston and Forma Glass.

There were 64 Russian exhibitors including KAMI Machine Tool Trade Association, Yuta, Salavatsteklo, Saratovstroysteklo, Caspian Flat Glass, HFD House, Brinolli, Zenon, Steklocentr, Piramida-Glass and Adem.

Ten Italian companies formed the Italian pavilion. The pavilion was supported by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), in cooperation with GIMAV. Total Italian equipment imports to Russia in 2015 was more than €3 million, in spite of the difficult situation facing Russia.

About 30 Chinese companies were also organised into a national pavilion. The current situation in Russia opens business opportunities for China.

Mir Stekla, the international exhibition for glass products, manufacturing, processing and finishing technology, was hosted by Expocentre in Moscow from June 6 to 9, 2016 and welcomed an international selection of visitors to Russian.

Alex Gurov* reports.

z Mr Osipov at the Mir Stekla forum.

Conference The international forum, ‘Glass and Modern Technologies – XXI Century’, is organised by StekloSouz and the Expocentre. Participants were from 12 countries and 42 regions of Russia.

The main objectives were to discuss Russia’s industry challenges and development under the current conditions and receive updated information on the latest technology.

Mr. Viktor Osipov, the President of StekloSouz, spoke about basic development trends in the Russian glass market under the current rough economic conditions. Domestic production is levelling to a pre-crisis condition and shows small, stable growth: “To date, we almost completely cover our domestic

market and the market of the Euro-Asian Customs Union and successfully compete in foreign markets. But we cannot be complacent and must develop our own technology,” he said.

More than 50 lecturers from 12 countries over two days spoke about professional problems and practical decisions.

Mr. Pavel Boboshik, Chairman of Ecran container glass manufacturer from Novosibirsk, presented the ‘Report on Challenges and Prospects of Glass Container Plant on the Russian Market in 2016 and in the Future’, which showed the decline of domestic bottle production since 2012 due to internal circumstances.

Mr. Stefan Robanus from Stuttgart Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, Germany reported on ‘Latest Trends in Glass Application in Architecture’.

According to reports from the heads of glass producers and experts, Russian companies have been tasked with specific requirements for glass products for various branches of the national economy.

The main developing areas are the application of heat insulation materials from foam glass; energy effective flat glass for buildings and constructions and safety glass products for food packaging, transport, medical, and pharmaceutical products. In the context of import substitutions, the question of developing a glass for solar batteries was discussed.

According to experts, the share of alternative power in Russia is growing, and in the next 4-5 years consumption of this product will grow to 8-10 million m2 per year.

Continued>>

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z Scenes from the show floor at Mir Stekla 2016, including BDF and Grenzebach’s stand.

Russia’s glass market Ms. Zhanna Martynova, CEO of VVS Information-Analytical Company, gave a report on ‘Trends and Current State of the Russian Market of Sheet Glass, Glassware, and Raw Materials’.

VladVneshService – VVS Information and Analytic Company – processes and analyses market statistics to help companies make management decisions.

Domestic consumption of flat glass in Russia has increased due to support from residential and industrial construction, but declined in 2015. Russian production of flat glass in 2014 was 257.5 million m2, but in 2015 was 239.7 million m2. The Moscow region is the largest producer, covering 27.4% of total Russian production. International float glass producers Asahi Glass Co (AGC), Guardian, Saint-Gobain, Sisecam and Pilkington (NSG Group) have formed float glass plants in Russia in the last decade.

Russia’s three largest importers in 2015 were Belarus (60.9%), China (17.7%) and Belgium (5.9%). The top countries for Russian exports were Ukraine (24.6%), Turkey (20.8%) and Kazakhstan (19.5%).

Glass container production in Russia declined in 2015. According to Rosstat, total production was 11.799 billion units, of which about 85% were bottles and 15% wide-neck jars.

From total bottle production, about 60% were beer containers. Strong alcohol consumption has declined in Russia recently but canned vegetable production has grown. The bulk of glass bottles made were 0.5 litre capacity and more than 40% were for the alcoholic drinks market.

The popularity of the half-litre bottle is due to its versatility. Almost half of the glass bottles manufactured in Russia are flint, one third are brown and 15% are green. A small proportion is of different colours. The production of glass jars is stable due to the restoration of the canning industry in Russia and more demand for domestic food products. r

*Glass International Russian correspondent Glass International is the exclusive media partner to the Mir Stekla trade show.

The 2017 Exhibition takes place on 5-8 June 2017 at Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow. www.mirstekla-expo.ru www.steklosouz.ru

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Quality control

Tiama to highlight latest technology at glasstec 2016 Tiama, a global provider of real-time process and quality controls for the glass packaging industry, will present its five ranges of products and latest technology at glasstec.

z Atlas: finish, shoulder and heel detections on MX4.

z MX4 Ovalization Control.

z The MX4 machine.

These products include:

also enables accurate dimensional measurements of the articles. r Tiama HOT move: This analyses the bottle positioning (among X and Y axes) on the conveyor and detects stuck and fallen articles.

The MX4 (pictured), with its Atlas detection, is a modular servo controlled multi-inspection machine used for detection of cracks and visual defects, ovalisation and dimensional defects over the container. On the UTM system, Tiama has developed additional features such as a new LBT head for Large Band Thickness measurement or a new bottom measurement.

Its new laboratory systems, including the Tiama HOT lab and the Tiama COLD lab, provide dimensional measurement of bottles such as glass thickness, diameter, verticality and height.

It will also present its complete range of service activities called ‘Tiama CUSTOMER support’ which includes a 24/7 HOTLINE package; customer local support; multilingual on-line spareparts catalogues; tooling, repairs and refurbishment; kit and upgrades and customised service contracts.

Tiama’s 50 year’s of expertise offers glass producers a one-stop-shop for process improvement requirements. r

Tiama INTELLIGENCE systems IT intelligent software called Tiama IQ solutions, dedicated to real-time analysis and management of plant performances.

An at-a-glance view productivity display enables money saving decisions immediately, anywhere, anytime.

www.glass-international.com

Tiama HOT systems This technology provides key information at the hot end to monitor the process, increase productivity and optimise quality.

Products included in this range include: r Tiama HOT mass: This supplies data about the gob such as shape, temperature and weight. The system also enables automatic gob weight regulation thanks to its closed-loop with the tube and needles. r Tiama HOT form: This provides relevant information on the glass repartition of production using radiation measurements and analysis. r Tiama HOT eye: This is a two camerabased solution for critical defects detection and recognition, such as birdswings, stones, ribbon tears and freaks. It

Tiama TRACEABILITY systems These enable a lifetime traceability for glass bottles. A container identification with a code engraved at the Hot End offers bottle traceability throughout the glass plant and bottling plant processes, and the distribution channel.

Tiama INSPECTION systems (MX4, MCAL4, MULTI4, Laboratory systems) Vision and carousel machines cover all the areas of the bottle; the MCAL4 detects defects located in the body while the MULTI4 detects defects located in the finish and base of the bottle. Both machines benefit from a new high definition acquisition chain and display.

The company will present a new solution to support mixed production allowing the spacing, inspection and sorting of different glass containers on the same machine.

Glasstec booth F34, Hall 14, Tiama, Vourles, near Lyon, France www.tiama.com

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Sealants

Choosing equipment for insulated glass sealing applications Greg Van Gansen* details how whether you’re using 1K hot melt system or a 2K polysulfide, polyurethane or silicone mix, selection of the right dispensing solution can improve final product quality and reduce both material cost and production time. mixes and dispenses either sealant or adhesive from large containers to dispensing valves or equipment to the specified component for assembly.

For 1K hot melts Graco offers Therm-O-Flow and for 2K materials ExactaBlend AGP (Fig.1), which comes in three versions for polysulfide, polyurethane or silicone.

Common features Both products share certain characteristics. They are built with high-quality parts for long life and high reliability, which translates into minimum downtime for maintenance.

They both use advanced pumping technology to create a better, more consistent bead, reduce rework, and minimise wasted material.

In addition, both units use the same Graco control architecture. Material tracking and machine diagnostics can be downloaded to USB and the units provide programmable preventative maintenance schedules.

Should you require both 1K and 2K dispensing equipment for your glass applications, choosing both the ThermO-Flow and ExactaBlend AGP means operators become familiar with similar functionality.

Training is simple and accelerated, and the use of common, shared parts eases maintenance and reduces spare parts inventory.

Therm-O-Flow This industrial hot melt system is

zFig 1. The Exactablend AGP sealant dispensing equipment.

perfect for applications in low and high flow settings. It offers high production throughput, outstanding process monitoring and reliable, efficient operation. It can be used for hot melt sealants and adhesives in 20 or 200 litre drums. Capable of melt rates up to 5kg/ minute, it features automatic electric crossover when using tandem units, to keep production running.

Sensors signal when drums are low or empty to improve process efficiency, while inactivity shutoff and temperature setback reduces energy consumption and costs. Therm-O-Flow is also quiet, running at around 87 decibels instead of comparable machines which operate at up to 103 decibels.

Exactablend AGP The Graco ExactaBlend AGP (Advanced Glazing Proportioner) provides on-ratio dispensing of two-component sealants and adhesives for curtainwall, insulating glass and other applications.

Continued>>

www.glass-international.com

E

lastically sealed insulating glass units are generally double sealed.

The primary seal is responsible for keeping water out.

If it fails, the result will invariably be condensation between the panes of glass. The most commonly used sealant is polyisobutylene (PIB).

The secondary sealant functions as an adhesive that holds the unit together and restricts moisture transmission into the unit, and gas permeation out of the unit.

If this seal fails, the primary seal can easily become disrupted, leading to fogging.

Fogging is detrimental for the appearance of the window and leads to costly replacements for the customer and manufacturer. Strength, flexibility and a strong adhesive bond are essential.

Polysulfides have been used for many years, with polyurethane and silicone sealants enjoying increased popularity.

Sealing of glass can be done with different types of materials: either 1K hot melt materials or 2K materials such as polysulfides, polyurethanes and silicones.

The material to be used could be the personal preference of the installer, or the choice of the customer or end user. It’s also interesting to observe regional preferences. In the UK, sealing of glass is mostly done with 1K hot melt materials, while in the rest of Europe the predominant choice is 2K materials.

Graco offers material dispensing equipment for glass construction applications, including primary seal, secondary seal and structural glazing.

The equipment transfers and/or meters,

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Sealants

than the Therm-O-Flow, running at around 82 decibels.

It’s suitable for silicones, polysulfides and polyurethanes.

ExactaBlend in action

z Demonstration of Graco’s dispensing equipment in use.

The focus of this proportioner is on providing superior mixing and ratio assurance for the glass industry. It leads to accurate, on-ratio mixing and a consistent flow rate, even during pump changeover.

ExactaBlend AGP automatically shuts down if off-ratio conditions occur, which reduces material waste and rework.

A green light indicates on-ratio

dispensing, while optional data download provides reports on ratio, flow rate, material usage and alarm events.

When coupled with the MD2 Valve, the catalyst and base materials are blended together in the mixer – apart from the applicator. This reduces the amount of base purge material needed to clean the mixer. ExactaBlend AGP is even quieter

Viracon, based in Minnesota, USA produces insulating, laminated, and monolithic glass products for large building projects.

Its glass appears in at least five of the world’s 10 tallest buildings, including the Freedom Tower at the new World Trade Center.

Producing insulating glass for these large jobs calls for the use of insulating glazing and sealing adhesive made up of two-component material that must be accurately mixed and dispensed in accordance with a specific ratio.

Deviations from material manufacturers’ mixing specifications can lead to compromised product performance and structural failure.

For nearly 25 years, Viracon had used a severe-duty plural-component proportioning and dispensing system Continued>>

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Pictured Left to right: Steve Harris Global Sales Manager - Glass Tracy Merrill UK Customer Services Iwona Szkoda Head Chemist - Glass Mo Farah Production Manager - Glass Michal Bochen Sales Manager - Glass

Meet us at Glasstec 2016.

Hall 14, Stand E04. www.fuchs.com/uk

NEW

VITROLIS Lubricants for glass manufacturing.

Behind every drum is a team of experts.

Saving Energy and Fuel Lubisol Ltd is offering significant savings of energy and fuel by efficient thermal insulation of glass furnace crowns.

The Lubisol crown insulation design is based on the principle that the usual light silica brick insulation is partly replaced by the Lubisol 2-SL super light insulation, applied over the light silica bricks. It is followed by a layer of Lubisol Cover Coat on the top. The thickness and the total cost of the insulation remain almost the same, but the heat losses from the crown are reduced by about 800-1000 W/m². The amount of the saved fuel is significant - around 1300-1500 m³/m²/year natural gas.

The cost for one cubic metre of this insulating material is lower in comparison with the cost of the light silica bricks, and in the same time it is about 3 times more efficient.

The Lubisol crown insulation package is suitable for application on all types of glass furnaces producing any type of glasses, including float glass, container glass, tableware or technical glass. It is very suitable for insulation of silica crowns as well for AZS and alumina fused cast crowns. It has been applied in the last several years on more than 80 glass furnaces all over the world, a large part of them belonging to leading glass producing companies. The largest number of furnace insulations applied by a single glass producer is 18 float and container glass furnace crowns, which is an excellent reference for the total success of Lubisol crown insulation design. _____________________________________________ website: www.lubisol.com e-mail: office@lubisol.com

Sealants

z Demonstration of Graco’s dispensing equipment in use. applicators deliver variable ratios between 6:1 and 14:1, and can perform at flow rates up to 4000 grams per minute.

Operators can set up and make ratio changes with a touch of a button. They can make ratio changes on the fly, allowing production to continue even when material requirements vary.

With positive ratio assurance, if off-ratio conditions exist, the system automatically shuts down to prevent compromised material from being dispensed onto the curtainwall or insulating glass, which

*Product Marketing Specialist, Graco, Maasmechelen, Belgium (European HQ) www.graco.com

www.glass-international.com

for its hand-filling lines. The system was robust and reliable, but had begun to show its age.

In addition to delivering an inconsistent flow, it lacked real-time mix information.

There were weekly issues of having to recheck materials, resulting in downtime while waiting for ratio samples.

The replacement chosen was the Graco ExactaBlend AGP. It provided Viracon with high-pressure, high-flow mixing and dispensing of plural component silicone materials. The

gave Viracom’s operators confidence they were producing a high-quality product.

Material usage, error reporting and other key data can be downloaded via USB, and/or viewed on the system’s data screen.

This information is vital to keeping material costs low, tracking production and ensuring product quality.

To avoid system downtime when adhesive materials run low, the system provides advance notification, prompting operators to replenish the material supply and keep production moving without interruption.

The system uses standard Graco components, including fluid regulators, flow meters, air motors and pumps.

Standard wear components are less expensive than custom parts and can usually be shipped immediately.

Viracon is now running material at a rate that is 20% faster than the older equipment. Efficiencies have resulted in a big improvement to the bottom line.

In fact, after the initial purchase of two Graco ExactaBlend AGPs, Viracon has since purchased additional units for its Utah, USA plant. r

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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

Glassman-Insert_South_America.indd 1

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Lubricants Page 2

, Tomorrow s Technology Today

Lubricants on display at glasstec At glasstec 2016, Condat will be presenting a complete range of lubricants dedicated to the flat and container glass industries.

A

t this year’s glasstec, Condat is launching two new products for the container and flat glass industries.

The world’s leading glass companies come to FIC with their electric boost/heating projects E-glass Installations up to 3,500kW in oxy-fired furnaces for extra tonnage, improved glass quality and no strand breakages.

Container glass Various installations in flint and coloured glasses, up to 2,500kW, for increased output and quality.

Float glass Boosting installations, from single-zone 1,000kW to 3-zone 6,000kW designs, to increase clear output, maintain tinted output, save energy and reduce emissions. Multiple bubbler installations.

Display glass Numerous installed power projects, up to 1000kW for TFT/LCD glasses - using tin oxide electrode blocks for exceptional glass quality.

www.glass-international.com

Electric furnaces New designs for most glasses, including opal. Complete technical back-up for melting quality improvement - from raw materials though to forehearth and all operational problems. Troubleshooting service on all existing furnace designs.

Tel +44 (0) 1736 366 962 Fax +44 (0) 1736 351 198 Email general@fic-uk.com

FIC (UK) Limited Long Rock Industrial Estate, Penzance, Cornwall TR20 8HX United Kingdom

www.fic-uk.com

, The World s Number One in Furnace Technology

Container glass Besides shear spray lubricants, scoop & delivery oils, dualcomponent coating and swabbing compounds, Condat also delivers high performance maintenance lubricants.

The new Glass HTS 250 IS is a 100% synthetic oil, dedicated to central lubrication of IS Machines. Developed with high temperature fluids in mind, it has been approved by both glass plants and IS machine OEMs, and has the following benefits: Low evaporation High thermal stability Low oxidation High lubricating properties These properties mean that lubricant consumption can be reduced by up to 50%. Glass HTS 250 IS can therefore replace a standard mineral oil, without affecting the lubrication budget. It can also enhance a glass workshop’s productivity.

Flat glass Flat glass plants often aim to improve their productivity while decreasing their grinding cycle time. Well-known for its range of interleavant powders, coolants and flocculants, Condat has recently developed a new grinding coolant that suits most demanding operations.

Items such as sunroofs need high lubricating properties in order to keep top edge quality and productivity. The new CondaGlass FA 263 fits these requirements, as the edge grinding coolant allows for high speed work with high efficiency on glass removal. Some other characteristics of this coolant include: No foaming High corrosion protection High dilution ratio Compatible with flocculation and centrifugation.

Condat will be displaying its new lubricants on Hall 14 Stand G13 at this year’s glasstec.

info@condat.fr www.condat-lubricants.com

102 Glass International July/August 2016

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Advertorial: Marpak & Talos

Avoid costly trial shipments with the new TX1002 Transport Simulator

The Transport Simulator.

Following an intensive period of testing and research, Talos Packaging Systems have produced the new TX1002, the first of which has been installed to AkzoNobel’s Paint Division in the United Kingdom.

www.glass-international.com

The Transport Simulator has been well received by our customers, which also includes major glass container producers across Europe.

In order for AkzoNobel to fully understand the impact of protective packaging for transporting their paint cans without generating waste and costs, the TX1002 Transport Simulator is built on 4 axis’s to trial their packs in identical conditions to those endured on the roads.

axis’s. The recorded data is then downloaded to the simulator in the warehouse for simulation and analysis.

The TX1002 has helped eliminate expensive trial shipments as well as allowing AkzoNobel to plan their transportation methods and product packaging more comprehensively, which will in turn lead to a reduction in collapsed loads as well as the ability to save money on down-gauging packaging.

It also allows AkzoNobel to trial different packaging methods to find the best solution for them and their customers.

The TX1002 Transport Simulator can replicate a vehicles motion around roundabouts, moving over speed bumps and braking heavily as well as general vehicle movement.

“The Simulator is useful for trialling different product layouts and testing different secondary packaging types side by side,” said John Hewitt, Head of UK Logistics Supply Chain at ICI Paints AkzoNobel.

Real time data is collected from actual journeys made transporting product using a data logger, this records vehicle movement on 4

“It gives a more robust test that helps us feel more confident that our products will get there safely.”

www.marpak.co.uk http://talospackagingsystems.co.uk

104 Glass International July/August 2016

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MARPAK & TALOS REVOLUTIONISING PROTECTIVE PACKAGING FOR GLASS MANUFACTURERS Our unique infrastructure and partnerships create the complete packaging solution for your products. From bottle line solutions to conveyors, through to packaging machines and polythene protection; coupled with our ability to test the packaging process on our transport simulator, this brings you guaranteed savings in time and money.

Polythene film and sheeting

360 degree end of line packaging service

Pallet protection shrink

Transport simulation for testing load stability

Get in touch email: glasstec@marpak.co.uk

Shrink/Stretch-hood machines

Come visit us at Glasstec in September (Hall 15 Stand F30) to be entered into our free prize draw.

Glass International is the key publication for the glass market, reporting on worldwide glass production and processing issues.

Published 10 times per year in English in addition to regular foreign language editions in Chinese and Russian

Features include

Global news Technical articles Company profiles Case studies Country profiles

Regional economic briefings Statistics Conference reports Event listings

Subscribe today and receive Glass International delivered direct to your door 10 times per year FREE COPY of the Buyers’ Guide & Directory (normal price £217!)

FREE wall planner detailing glass industry events Searchable PDF version of EVERY ISSUE SUBSCRIBE TODAY! www.glass-international.com

www.glass-international.com Glass International HP Ad 2013.indd 1

15/09/2014 14:47

Events world

SGT celebrates its centenary This year, to mark the Society of Glass Technology’s 100 year anniversary, its conference will be held alongside the European Society of Glass’s (ESG) event.

z The celebration banquet will be held at Sheffield Cathedral, UK.

www.glass-international.com

T

he combined conference will take place over five days in Sheffield, UK, commencing Sunday 4th September.

The SGT conference will focus on the state of glass in all its forms. It aims to review both the theoretical challenges of understanding the glassy state, and its practical applications in the flat and hollow industries. This includes the latest advancements in medical technology, IT systems and waste vitrification.

The history of glass and its artistic uses will also be discussed, in a nod to the SGT’s founder, Professor W.E.S Turner.

In 1916, Professor Turner established the first university department dedicated to the study of the art, history, design, manufacture and scientific application of glass, as well as setting up the SGT itself.

The ESG conference has a strong industrial focus, and the combination of the two events aims to give attendees a scope of the glass industry at the moment, and bring together people from all sectors of the glass community.

SGT President, Professor Russell Hand, welcomed people to the event to discuss the industry’s knowledge of glass: “It is hard to imagine modern life without the fascinating material that is glass.

“We have come a long way in our use and understanding of this material since Professor Turner founded the Society of Glass Technology in 1916 to bring the wider glass community together, yet challenges and opportunities remain.”

Key themes The five-day event will be made up of

keynote talks, presentations and poster sessions, that will cover the five key themes of the conference: r Glass Industry, Manufacture and Applications Glass Science and r Applied Technology r Fundamental Science r History, Heritage and Archaeometry of Glass r Glass Art and Craft The Glass Industry, Manufacture and Applications sectior of the conference will incorporate a GlassTrend session on Wednesday, September 7 and a oneoff Furnace Solutions day on Thursday September 8.

Otto Schott Research Award The Otto Schott Research Award will also be presented at the opening of the conference.

Awarded in recognition of outstanding research contributions, it is presented every two years to individuals or small teams that have advanced the understanding of glass applications in optics, electronics, health or lifestyle, through research.

The recipient of the award will then present a paper providing insight into their research.

Keynote speakers Keynote speakers at this year’s event come from the UK as well as France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, the US, China, and Japan.

This includes Emma Barney, of the University of Nottingham, who will discuss the ‘Structure and properties of optical glasses’; Christian Russel of the Otto Schott Institute in Germany, who will present ‘New Aluminosilicate glasses for high performance laser applications’; Atsunobu Masuno, of the University of Tokyo, Japan, who will present a paper on ‘Functional oxide glasses prepared by a levitation technique’; and Corning Inc.’s John Mauro, whose paper is titled ‘Dynamical heterogeneities and relaxation in glass’.

Conference banquet A conference banquet will be held on Wednesday the 7th September, at the iconic Sheffield Cathedral (pictured).

The reception will start at 7pm and will be followed by an awards presentation, including the SGT Alastair Pilkington Award for outstanding research.

Named after the inventor of the modern float glass process, often acknowledged as the most significant development in glassmaking of the 20th century, the award is designed to encourage and recognise excellent work in glass research achieved by someone who has come into the field of glass studies relatively recently. r

The SGT100/ESG 2016 meeting takes place in Sheffield, UK 4th-8th September 2016. http://centenary.sgt.org/Conference.htm

106 Glass International July/August 2016

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Tooth Chain

CONVEYOR TOOTH CHAINS MADE IN GERMANY Uwe Gillert, Industry Management for the glass industry, has established close contact with the customer in field service and has a great understanding for the “hot topics� in the glass industry.

Excellent guiding characteristics, a long service life, reliable delivery: our laser-welded inverted tooth conveyor chains are convincing in any production setting. They offer a wide variety of application options: from hot bottles to entire vehicles, they carry the product precisely to the right location.

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

Renold GmbH Zur Dessel 14 31028 Gronau (Leine), Germany Phone +49 5182 58724 toothchain@renold.com www.renoldtoothchain.com

Visit us at the GL ASSTEC 2016 Hall 14 Stand 14 G18

Inspection

z Iris’s headquarters in Bron, France.

Strengthened global presence for inspection specialist Ahead of this September’s glasstec exhibition in Düsseldorf, Jean- Luc Logel* highlights the totally French-made equipment development priorities at Iris Inspection machines, as well as the company’s expanding global customer support network.

www.glass-international.com

T

he latest Evolution 12 and Evolution 5 HD camera-based, noncontact glass container inspection technology can be seen in operation on the Iris Inspection machines stand at glasstec 2016 exhibition in Düsseldorf this September.

Featuring optical systems, as well as improved computers and cameras, its latest generation equipment has been widely adopted by the international glass container industry.

In total, there are now more than 1000 installations of the company’s inspection machines throughout the world, including in excess of 200 of the latest generation.

The cameras provide 400x better

resolution and the advanced display screen deliver improved definition.

Positive customer feedback about the equipment’s specially developed architecture confirms its ability to help with valuable productivity improvements.

This has been possible thanks to better discrimination between ‘good’ and ‘bad’, providing improved reject precision.

Also highlighted will be the company’s Ultimate inspection machine for the detection of low contrast faults in premium liquor and perfumery bottles.

In addition, there are space saving benefits to be derived from combining the Evolution 12 and Ultimate equipment in a single machine.

Although targeted primarily at

producers of prestige bottles, Ultimate has also attracted the interest of carbonated beverage and beer bottle producers, who have addressed low contrast faults as well.

With fillers exerting increased pressure on their glass suppliers, Jean-Luc Logel looks forward to gauging the level of interest shown in the Ultimate machine in Düsseldorf.

Enhanced customer support In recent months, Iris has increased its sales support and service network for customers throughout the world via a series of important appointments.

Continued>>

108 Glass International July/August 2016

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GLASSTEC 2016 PROFILES

MOTIM FUSED CAST REFRACTORIES Ltd.

Stand: Hall 13/G81 Stand: Hall 14/C28

Stand B13

MOTIM

www.motim.hu

Quality Management Systems for Glass Containers

Agr International, Inc Tel: +1 724-482-2163 Fax:+1 724-482-2767 sales@agrintl.com www.agrintl.com

H-9200 Mosonmagyaróvár, Timföldgyári utca 9-13. phone: +36 96 574 100 • fax: +36 96 574 235 fusedcast@motim.hu

Serving the glass industry

Stand: Hall 13/B94

glass.fivesgroup.com Stand: Hall 13/A73 Encart media planner 2015 Asian glass.indd 1

27/05/2016 11:31:37

Stand: Hall 13/A31 7 Allée Mathieu Murgue - Terrenoire F 42100 Saint Etienne France www.bernardbonnefond.com

ZIPPE Industrieanlagen GmbH

1665 P.O. Box D-97866 Wertheim, Germany zippe@zippe.de www.zippe.de

Stand: Hall 13/C84

Stand: Hall 14/F34

Stand: Hall 13/ B45

Pennine Industrial Equipment

WALTEC Maschinen GmbH

TIAMA

Kronacher Str. 2a 96352 Wilhelmsthal - Steinberg Germany Tel +49 9260 9901-0 info@waltec.de www.waltec.de

ZA des Plattes, 1 Chemin des plattes, 69390 Vourles, France

Manor Croft Works, Commercial Road, Skelmanthorpe, Huddersfield, W. Yorks HD8 9DT, UK www.pennine.org

marketing@tiama.com www.tiama.com

Stay in touch: Join the Glassman Events Group

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

Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey RH1 1QX, UK www.glass-international.com

WWW.GLASSMANEVENTS.COM/SOUTH-AMERICA

REACHING THE SOUTH AMERICAN MARKET

www.glass-international.com

Glass International

@glassmanevents

To reserve your stand contact: South andTel Central America has been one of the most dynamic regions in WHO WILL VISIT? Ken Clark +44 (0) 1737 855117 kenclark@quartzltd.com the hollow glassmaking sector in recent years. There have been a host of

Stand: Hall 13/C74

new glassmaking facilities that have opened recently and there has been

As an exhibitor at Glassman,

you can expect to meet and do All visitors theinshow can attend the conference a paper contact: a renewed to interest the region thanks to its favourable economic and - to present business with: Gregpolitical Morris Tel +44 1737 855132 gregmorris@quartzltd.com conditions.

This, (0) coupled with an increased disposable income

• Presidents / owners • Technical / production directors Costa, Salguero, Buenos Aires • Factory managers Argentina, and its surrounding region, epitomises • Plant engineers • Technicians / engineers this renewed optimism. New President Mauricio • Production / R&D / test & Macri has moved the country to one that is Glass International July/August inspection personnel more free market-orientated compared to • Education & training personnel his predecessor, easing trade and currency • Consultants / researchers controls.

• Sales & marketing managers

among the population’s consumers, has seen a surge of confidence in glass packaging.

Pavilion 1, Centro

Glasstech profile.indd 1

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

Who have purchasing influence in the following areas: • Melting equipment

109 2016

8/11/16 4:12 PM

Inspection

www.glass-international.com

z Iris’s training centre.

In China, for example, agreement has been reached with Techimport Engineers Beijing Co to represent Iris Inspection machines in the world’s fastest developing market.

This company represents a portfolio of international equipment suppliers, covering all areas of the glassmaking process and will look to build on the installation successes already achieved by the Iris team in France, as well as delivering spare parts from a local facility.

“We need people with a good technical background to understand our customers’ problems and to address them with the best answers,” Mr Logel said.

Having achieved considerable success in Thailand in recent years, Iris now maintains an office for customer support and spare parts in Bangkok, while Hung Han has recently been named Iris Area Sales Manager for the Asian continent.

Based at the company’s headquarters in Bron but travelling frequently throughout Asia, Mr Han is multi-lingual, speaking fluent Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese), French and English.

Another market of growing significance is Africa, where Julien Allard is now responsible for sales, operating from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Elsewhere, last year Iris created a technical after-sales office in Sao Paulo, as well as offering service engineering support and spare parts from Monterrey, Mexico.

“After a few years of economic depression in Asia, there is evidence of fast recovery in China, which is very positive,” Mr Logel commented.

“While business in South America is currently fairly slow, our commitment to the market is a long-term one, hence our decision to provide local spare parts not only from Mexico but also from Brazil.”

Quality commitment A subsidiary of the Wisetec Group, Iris Inspection machines was established in 2002 to provide turnkey inspection solutions for mass-produced glass containers of any shape or colour.

Over the years, a team of dedicated research and development engineers has evolved a range of camera-based, noncontact inspection equipment to match the industry’s requirements and satisfy the needs of international customers.

From the outset, it was decided to manufacture all Iris equipment in France, as a means of securing the quality requirements demanded by customers.

The parent Wisetec Group was one of the first organisations in France to be registered in compliance with ISO 9001 quality management norms and subsequently, its Iris and Centralp manufacturing subsidiaries have also gained ISO 14001 environmental management accreditation.

All Iris inspection machines are

CE and UL certified, confirming that the company’s complete production organisation follows the recommendations of the most stringent quality standards in terms of flow management and documentation.

The nature of the ongoing Iris development programme means that customers are able to upgrade existing machines continuously, to take advantage of the latest software advances. All development work is conducted in-house and many of the hardware components used are developed and produced within the Wisetec Group.

Collectively, the group employs more than 70 research and development engineers, focused on hardware and software innovations and providing valuable support for member companies.

Thanks to the expertise of electronic specialists at sister company Centralp, Iris is able to ensure a long life expectancy for its equipment.

More than 14 years after the first Evolution machines were installed at Vetropack’s Swiss glassworks, for example, the equipment is still fully operational, thanks largely to the updated software installed.

“We are able to support existing equipment with spare parts, software support and maintenance, and look forward to delivering enhanced quality and competitiveness in the global marketplace,” Mr Logel confirmed. r

Hall 15, Stand C22 *Jean-Luc Logel, Managing Director, Iris Inspection machines, Bron, Lyon, France www.iris-im.fr

 The Evolution and Ultimate machines are manufactured in France.

110 Glass International July/August 2016

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The glassmaker’s diary DIARY.indd 1

r ESG 2016/SGT 100 conference 2016 marks the SGT’s centenary year and it will celebrate with events including a return to the university for its annual conference.

September 5th - 9th 2016 University of Sheffield, UK. CONTACT: www.esg2016.eu r Furnace Solutions Special Conference An extra Furnace Solutions conference to celebrate the 100th year of the Society of Glass Technology.

September 8th 2016 University of Sheffield, UK. CONTACT: www.furnacesolutions.co.uk r World Soda Ash Conference 2016 The conference and workshop will once again present the insight and analysis of the market.

September 20th - 23rd 2016 Lisbon, Portugal.

CONTACT:www.ihs.com/events/world-sodaash-2016/overview.html. r glasstec 2016 Biennial exhibition and conference devoted to all sectors of the glass industry.

September 20th - 23rd 2016 Messe Düsseldorf, Germany.

CONTACT: www.glasstec.de r International Glass Technology course Celsian’s regular five day course on glass technology, held in its hometown of Eindhoven.

Sept 26th - 30th 2016 Eindhoven, The Netherlands CONTACT: www.glasstrend.nl/events-NCNGSeptember-26-30-2016-Eindhoven-The-Nerherlands.php r ATIV Conference This year’s theme is ‘Glass: between technique and cre-ATIV-ity’. The conference will be split into two sessions for hollow and flat glass.

October 20th - 21st 2016 Parma University, Parma, Italy CONTACT: www.ativ-online.it r Glass Problems 2016 77th Conference on Glass Problems.

November 7th - 10th 2016 Columbus, Ohio, USA. CONTACT: www.glassproblemsconference.org r Glasstech Asia 2016 14th International Glass Products, Glass Manufacturing, Processing & Materials Exhibition.

November 24th - 26th 2016 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

CONTACT: www.glasstechasia.com.sg

8/1/16 12:12 PM

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1 04/02/2016 10:34:15 • Enabling flow control equipment

800-654-4567 (code 344) gigmrktg@airproducts.com airproducts.com/glass

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SCREEN PRINTING

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Analysis

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Supervision

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8/11/16 4:13 PM

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