Advanced glass melting and conditioning technologies Fives Stein

ADVANCED GLASS MELTING AND CONDITIONING TECHNOLOGIES

Fives Stein Ltd is a global leader in the design and supply of high-quality glass melting, conditioning and furnace boosting systems for all types of glass products. Philip Yorke talked to Kevin Rivers, the company’s sales support manager about its unique niche products and move into new market sectors.

Fives Stein Ltd was founded in the UK in 2008 and is the result of a merger between two of Britain’s most famous brands in the glass melting industry. These are BH-F (Engineering) Ltd and Penelectro Ltd. BH-F was founded in 1917 was responsible for the first introduction to Britain of a modern glass feeder. By the end of the 1970s BH-F had positioned itself as a leading specialist in the supply of specialised equipment for glass conditioning and gob forming. By the end of the 1980s the company’s 400 series of forehearths were being utilised by the majority of glass manufacturers worldwide. ‘Penelectro’ was established in the late 1950s, and it was re-established as an independent company in 1993. They were a specialist supplier of electric melting technology and the company became an integral part of the Fives Group in 1999. Penelectro has been particularly successful in the development of furnaces for borosilicate and neutral glasses and in larger, specialist boosting systems for E-glass and ECR glass-fibre production.

Together these two companies offer an unrivalled level of expertise and experience and complement the broad product portfolio of the international Fives Stein Glass Group. Today Fives Stein Ltd stands out as a premier engineering and hot-end-equipment specialist supplier of new glassmakers and has already delivered equipment to many customers worldwide.

Prioritising R&D

With many active global patents, Fives Stein places a high priority on its investment in research and development. Its main focus today is centred on melting furnaces, conditioning lines and delivery equipment to the forming process. The company’s powerful calculation and modelling resources help master the complex phenomena occurring in combustion enclosures and glass melting furnaces. The most advanced testing and measurement tools are also available to rigorously test new equipment and to validate the results. Today, Fives Stein’s unrivalled expertise in supplying thermal equipment and advanced technology furnaces places them at the forefront of their industry.

Mr Rivers said, “We have always been a technology-driven company and are an independent operating company within the global Fives Group. Large projects, such as float glass contracts are handled by our parent company but we do make small, high-tech furnaces for special applications. We also make a lot of equipment for the conditioning of molten glass for the container, flaconnage and tableware industries.

“We have the benefit of a worldwide customer base and two of our biggest markets are the Middle East and Asia. We also serve our European markets and are doing an increasing amount of business in Russia via our trading partners. However, in terms of future growth we have turned our attention to Brazil and the South American markets.

“We can utilise Fives Group offices worldwide for customer support services in these regions, and we also have agents in North

America, China, Italy, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea.”

Mr Rivers added, “We offer a broad range of standard products but these are usually tailored to suit a specific customer’s needs. We also provide modular systems, and work closely with our customers to develop new products, and we carry out R&D with them onthe-run. A new and interesting business sector for us is the growing demand for touch-screen glass, where we are already well established and where we have plans to set up further units to meet the increasing global demand. As I said earlier, we specialise in small furnaces that are capable of handling 20–70 tonnes and these are generally designed for use with high-end value products. This tonnage is tiny compared to our parent company’s float glass furnaces, which are designed to handle over 800 tonnes of glass per day.

“We continue to invest heavily in new technology and not only utilise our resources in the UK but also our group’s facilities and the expertise of others specialists, particu-

larly for mathematical modelling. One of the most exciting projects at this time is our development of new technologies in glass melting, which will revolutionise the current methods of glass production.”

Commitment to core values

Fives Stein’s commitment to its customers goes beyond high standards of technical support and a customer orientated culture.

The company’s objective is to be the leading thermal engineering company in the glass industry worldwide, creating added value through its development of advanced solutions which are designed to offer additional benefits to customers. In addition, the company strives to achieve superior business performance at all levels of its operations.

Yet another important commitment is a focus on health and safety as well as an ongoing environmental programme that is designed to lead towards sustainable development in the future. Fives Stein’s certification to ISO 9001: 2000 underscores its determination to live up to and exceed its customers’ expectations. n

For further details of Fives Stein’s innovative glass furnace products and services visit: www.fivesgroup.com/fivesstein/uk

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