Functional and decorative solutions in glass

SCHOTT Flat Glass, a business unit of SCHOTT AG, specialises in glass solutions for home appliances, such as glass panels for ovens, gas cookers and refrigerators. Joseph Altham spoke to Astrid Rotarius, Global Account & Marketing Manager at SCHOTT Flat Glass, to find out how the company has been moving into new markets around the world.

SCHOTT AG was founded by Otto Schott in 1884, and has more than a century’s worth of experience in special glass applications. The company is based in Mainz, Germany, has worldwide sales of €2.85 billion, and provides glass for many complex requirements, from optics to solar energy.

The main activity of SCHOTT Flat Glass is to produce glass for kitchens, and its most important products are glass panels for oven doors, refrigerator shelves and front panels as well as glass hob tops for gas cookers. Ovens with glass doors have the great advantage of allowing the chef to watch the food as it cooks. All glass panels made by SCHOTT Flat Glass are thermally toughened, and panels on the inside of the oven door are usually glass with a coating to reflect the heat back into the oven cavity. “There are different requirements,” said Astrid Rotarius. “The outer glass gives design. The coated inner glass sold under the name SCHOTT® Energy serves the function of decreasing energy consumption

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Pemco International is a leading global supplier of high performance enamel coatings. Driven by innovation and a commitment to sustainability, the company is dedicated to the research, development and manufacture of high quality glass frits, enamels for metal and glass substrates and conductive inks. Serving five key business segments, Pemco tailor-makes products for a variety of end-use applications. These include household appliances, glass processing, metal processing and the solar energy sectors, as well as a range of specialty applications.

For over 30 years Pemco has been producing glass enamel coatings and inks. The company is today recognized as one of the leading international suppliers of high quality enamels for automotive glazing, appliance glass, architectural glass and hollow glass, sold under the VITROMAIL brand. Activities are coordinated from the centre of excellence for glass enamels located in Filago near Milan, Italy.

Market Unit Manager Fabio Gioffreda explains Pemco’s success in the appliance glass segment: “Our Italian home market has always been a key market for domestic appliances and the glass oven doors, hob tops and display panels used by manufacturers. With the switch to environmentally friendly lead-free technology in the middle of the last decade, we have become the leading enamel supplier in this segment and the preferred supplier of Schott Flat Glass in Europe. Our success is based on the right combination of product quality, innovation and technical service.”

In the future Gioffreda sees a continued trend towards sophisticated surfaces colours and effects and the increased use of e n a m e l e d t e m p e r e d g l a s s i n t o t h e w i d e r k i t c h e n s p a c e . “ Wo r k i n g i n c l o s e c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h c u s t o m e r s l i k e S c h o t t w e w i l l remain at the forefront of the industry. At the same time we are planning to set up regional production and laboratory facilities in Asia and North-America to be able to service these markets effi ciently.”

In 2011 Pemco is celebrating its centenary anniversary. For over 100 years the company has been a dynamic innovator in e n a m e l i n g t e c h n o l o g y, p a r t n e r i n g w i t h c u s t o m e r s a n d s u p p l i e r s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d t o i n t r o d u c e b r e a k t h r o u g h p r o d u c t s a n d effi cient processes that make a lasting impression on end users.

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Source: Alno

and reducing the outside temperature of the oven door. All our glass is safety glass. The glass is tempered and impact-resistant.” success for us, since our customer Bosch won the award with our innovative glass solution,” said Astrid Rotarius. the local producers and to the big international manufacturers. The market is growing, and we are investing to meet the growth.”

Design award

Because consumers want a look as well as an oven, SCHOTT Flat Glass has to take aesthetic as well as safety considerations into account in its product developments.

One of the new products is SCHOTT SatinPlus® — a special type of glass which combines a matt satinated finish with the clear glass surface. “This was a joint development with the home appliance manufacturer Bosch and the kitchen manufacturer Alno. We work closely with our customers on such joint developments,” said Astrid Rotarius. “The customers are always looking for new designs and SCHOTT SatinPlus® offers a new look for the kitchen. The transparent window allows the cook to view the oven cavity and is also used for displays in the control panel, whilst at the same time the matt surface of the rest of the glass harmonises with the overall style of the built-in kitchen. Bosch won a prestigious award for this particular series of kitchen appliances – the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany 2011. This was also a great Markets

SCHOTT Flat Glass is very much a global business. “With around 3000 employees and 16 production sites in 12 countries we are ’At Home – Worldwide” says Astrid Rotarius. “We produce in all regions (Europe, North and South America and Asia) to serve our global home appliance customers worldwide.”

In recent years, SCHOTT Flat Glass has built up two new factories in eastern Europe. One is strategically located in the town of Valasske Mezirici, in the Czech Republic. “Our major customers have been moving east,” said Astrid Rotarius, “and our Czech site is close to the Polish border where they are located.” The newest factory of SCHOTT Flat Glass is located in Russia, near Nizhny Novgorod, and started production in 2007 to serve the growing home appliance market in Russia.

Beyond Europe, the opportunities are especially promising in Brazil, where Schott set up a factory as far back as 1996. “People in Brazil now have more money for consumer goods,” said Astrid Rotarius. “In Brazil, we sell both to Trends and prospects

As well as being the Marketing Manager at SCHOTT Flat Glass, Astrid Rotarius is also Sales Director for Asia. The Far East, she says, is a big market, and SCHOTT Flat Glass is continually investing in its factory in China. This factory in Suzhou, near Shanghai, was established in 2001 and serves the entire Asia Pacific region. Different cultures have different cuisines. As Astrid Rotarius acknowledged, the demand for baking ovens will inevitably be lower in China than it is in Europe. However, SCHOTT Flat Glass also produces glass hob tops for gas cookers, and these are proving to be successful in the land of the wok. “We have been making glass hob tops for over 30 years,” said Astrid Rotarius. “They are popular because glass is easy to clean, and we can offer a variety of printing and design possibilities.”

Glass in other home appliances such as refrigerator and dishwasher fronts is developing as a major trend and underlines that glass is becoming more and more popular in the kitchen and home. n