Company profile: Guardian Glass
Demand for flat glass prompts Guardian’s Goole furnace investment
� The furnace was recently installed at its Goole, UK facility.
Guardian Glass recently completed a furnace investment at its Goole, UK production facility. Greg Morris spoke to Guus Boekhoudt* about the flat glass manufacturer’s plans
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uardian Glass’ recent furnace investment in its Goole site resulted in a 20% increase in its melting capacity to 825 tonnes a day. The investment, completed in October, was made for a variety of reasons; while the facility’s previous furnace, which had started operations in 2003, was reaching the end of its campaign life there was also a compelling case to increase capacity. Continuing growth in glass demand from Guardian’s UK and Ireland customers, as well as the opportunity to improve the plant’s energy efficiency, were further incentives to invest. Guus Boekhoudt, the company’s Executive Vice President, said market analysis had indicated demand for flat glass across Europe is expected to continue until at least mid-2022. The company expects UK demand to also continue to increase. A 2.5% growth is expected in new construction while a 4% rise is anticipated in the renovation/refurbishment sector. Mr Boekhoudt said: “Guardian is rapidly becoming one of the largest glass producers in the UK – where close to 95% of the solar control glass produced in Goole serves the UK market. “This means less carbon impact in terms of bringing glass in from continental Europe.” It is the latest in a number of investments at the facility. The group installed a vacuum coater at the
Goole site in 2012 and a laminating line in 2008. Despite the positive market outlook, there are a few issues to consider. The group is concerned by the disruption caused by supply issues across the construction industry, as well as on-going supply chain problems and inflation pressure. The muchpublicised energy inflation, which has impacted much of industry, has also led to price increases. “In this volatile environment, business transformation is more important than ever. We are very focused on minimising waste across the organisation, and on driving transformation across all aspects of our business.”
Environment The company said the new furnace will be the largest in the UK and, based on the company’s own insights, is expected to have the highest energy and direct carbon emission efficiency. Mr Boekhoudt said: “While we prefer to not quote specific numbers, the carbon efficiency of the furnace is also expected to improve by a range in the double digits percentage versus the previous one.” The furnace’s footprint was enlarged to increase its production capacity, and its design was based on combustion engineering first principles – as opposed to retrospective add-ons to old technology.
10 Glass International December/January 2022
company profile Guardian.indd 1
14/01/2022 11:20:07
