Glass International October 2016

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October 2016—Vol.39 No.9

BA VIDRO CEO INTERVIEW SGT CENTENARY CELEBRATION MOULDS I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

Glass International October 2016

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

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Defects no longer know where to hide

Intelligent engraving inspection The Evolution 12 engraving identification and inspection module is a software innovation that allows the machine to identify engravings in a container’s body or base.

Because it is very difficult to predict how an engraving will look, this module dramatically improves inspection in these areas. By calculating the position of the engraving, the machine identifies the pixels related to the engraving, as well as those that relate to a defect.

This algorithm has been improved and tested over recent months on several production lines, including those devoted to beers, carbonated beverages, wine and high value spirits.

VISIT US AT GLASSTEC 2016 DĂźsseldorf, Germany

20 - 23 Sept. 2016 - Hall 14 Booth C22

Contents

October 2016 Vol.39 No.9

WWW.GLASS-INTERNATIONAL.COM

2 Editor’s Comment

October 2016—Vol.39 No.9

BA VIDRO CEO INTERVIEW

4 International news

SGT CENTENARY CELEBRATION MOULDS I N T E R N A T I O N A L

A GLOBAL REVIEW OF GLASSMAKING

12 Company profile: BA Vidro A milestone in BA Vidro’s growth path

Glass International October 2016

12

21 SGT Centenary: Furnace Solutions Furnace Solutions celebrates past winners at SGT centenary event Furnaces 24 Electroglass: Colour change efficiency in container glassmaking

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

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16 Events world: Centenary conference SGT marks 100th anniversary in style

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Front cover image www.eme.de

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Moulds 27 ClearEdge: How to improve quality in container glassmaking 31 Intermolde: Modernisation and extension of a neck rings factory in Portugal Automation 33 Siemens: Gallo Glass impressed by EME and Siemens joint project 35 Heye: Heye’s Smart Plant Automation 37 futronic: Bridging the gap to modernity

31

Furnaces 42 Lubisol: A method to improve regenerator crown insulation

Plus find us on Linked-In and Twitter.

@Glass_Int

www.glass-international.com

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44 History 46 Technical topics

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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

www.glass-international.com

Designer: Annie Baker Tel: +44 (0)1737 855130 Email: anniebaker@quartzltd.com

Stölzle revamp brings welcome news after Brexit

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

S

Chief Executive Officer: Paul Michael

ome fantastic news from Austrian glass manufacturer Stölzle Flacconage with the opening of its new furnace and modernisation of its plant in Knottingley, UK. A new furnace is always good news in the industry, both obviously for the manufacturer and its equipment suppliers. The modernised site received £17 million of investment which included a white flint furnace, IS machines and revamped decoration facilities.

For Stölzle, the new-look site will become its centre of excellence with regards to the development, production and decoration of premium prestige bottles. It will serve the high-end luxury drinks business, in particular the renowned UK whisky sector.

The focus will be on tallware, gift products and feeder colouration, all made of flint glass with a fire polishing option on all production lines.

The company, of course, worked closely with its equipment suppliers on the choice of its technology. The technology allows it to be more flexible and environmentally conscious.

It has reduced its carbon footprint by 20%, lowered its NOx emissions and decreased its water consumption by 50%, saving the equivalent of 450,000 bathtubs of water a year.

One other, more parochial point, was it reaffirmed its faith in UK manufacturing, particularly after the Brexit vote. The UK economy has dominated the news since the vote to leave the EU in June.

Unfortunately, most of it has been bad news, with the UK pound plunging to record lows against other currencies.

The Brexit campaign was founded on the fact that it believed the UK could do business with its trading partners, without interference from EU bureaucracy and legislation.

For Stölzle’s CEO Johannes Schick to publically state its trust in its UK plant is a tremendous confidence boost, both to the 340 Knottingley workers, the UK glass industry and the UK economy as a whole. His words were echoed by British Glass CEO, Dave Dalton, who said it was welcome news in this time of UK economic uncertainty.

The next step is for further investment in the UK glass manufacturing industry.

Several sites are owned by European companies and it will be interesting to see if they follow Stölzle’s investment example. �

Greg Morris, Editor gregmorris@quartzltd.com

Production Executive: Martin Lawrence Managing Director: Steve Diprose

Subscriptions: Elizabeth Barford Tel: +44 (0)1737 855028 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 Email: subscriptions@quartzltd.com Published by Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey RH1 1QX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000. Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034.

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2 Glass International October 2016

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It’s always the smaller pieces... , Tomorrow s Technology Today

International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

RHI and Magnesita set to merge

RHI and Magnesita have reached an agreement to combine operations and create a large refractory company.

The combined group, to be named RHI Magnesita, will be established in the Netherlands and listed in London, UK. The transaction is expected to complete in 2017.

Both companies will remain separate and independent until then.

SGD name change

SGD Perfumery is changing its name to Verescence.

The new name reflects the company’s French origins and combines the glass skills (Ver) and the (escent) suffix, which literally means transformation.

This symbolises transforming sand into glass, transforming creative concepts into product innovations and transforming the company into a global leader in the beauty market.

With four plants dedicated to glass manufacture and five to decoration, Verescence has an annual production capacity of one billion bottles.

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Vidrala launches logistics business

Vidrala has launched Vidrala Logistics, to improve its service towards customers.

Based on recent experience and by acquiring its own transport pool management company, Vidrala is planning for the optimisation and process control of the supply chain to its customers.

Vidrala Logistics generated traffic of more than 4,000 deliveries through a modern fleet of 29 trailers, run by 52 operators in 2015.

Praxair and Linde call-off merger talks

Praxair and Linde have confirmed that discussions regarding a potential merger between the two have ended.

BA Vidro acquires Stirom Portugal’s BA Vidro has bought Romanian glass packaging manufacturer Stirom.

Stirom was founded in 1968 and its site (pictured) is based in the capital, Bucharest.

It was acquired in 2003 by Yioula Glassworks, a Greek company with six other glass plants throughout Greece, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

Stirom manufactures glass packaging for the food and beverage industry, as well as household glassware items.

The latest acquisition by BA Vidro follows on from its recent purchase of the HNG Global factory in Germany.

The acquisition of Stirom,

which posted an 18% growth in revenue for the first six months of the year, will bring BA Vidro’s total to nine plants, with sites also in Portugal, Spain and Germany.

The purchase is subject to ap-

proval from the Competition Council. It is expected that the transaction will be complete by the end of 2016.

An interview with BA Vidro’s CEO, Mrs Sandra Santos, is published on page 12 of this issue.

Chairman of Fuyao Glass presented with Phoenix Award Chairman Cho Tak Wong, founder of Fuyao Glass, has been presented with the Phoenix Award ‘Glass person of the year’ at a banquet held in his honour in Ohio.

The event was attended by members of the glass industry and guests from Mr Wong’s family and Fuyao Glass.

Mr Wong was also visiting the area to open Fuyao Glass’ new automotive glass plant, which will employ 2,000 people in the local area.

The Phoenix Award is presented each year to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the glass industry, whether in the field of science, art, or production.

The award winner is decided upon by a committee made up of suppliers to the industry.

Mr Wong, or Chairman Cho as he is known, was born and raised in rural China.

After convincing his local government to start a small factory for tempered glass, he went on to create Fuyao Glass, which is now China’s largest exporter of automotive glass.

The company has 11 production sites across China and subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Russia, Germany and Hong Kong.

Chairman Cho said: “I am excited, and also moved by this award. One of my interpretations is that it is to congratulate me, that I have been successful. The other interpretation is of encouragement, meaning, ‘you’ve been doing ok, but keep on going’.”

Fuyao Glass opens Ohio plant Fuyao Glass of China has completed work on its North American automotive glass manufacturing site.

Fuyao Glass Chairman, Cho

Tak Wong, attended the opening of the plant, and called it “the culmination of a monumental undertaking.”

“We are proud of our work

in Ohio, in the heart of the US auto corridor, and are highly committed to supporting the growth of the North American automotive market,” he said.

4 Glass International October 2016

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International News

Ardagh creates Absolut Facet limited edition bottle Ardagh Group has continued its relationship with Absolut with the launch of its latest limited edition bottle, Absolut Facet.

Once again, Ardagh designers and technologists, working closely with their customer, have achieved innovation in glass packaging by developing a colour and shape to create a blue bottle featuring an asymmetric design.

Gaia Gilardini, Global Communications Director, Absolut, said: “With

the Absolut Facet limited edition bottle, we want to celebrate the unexpected and encourage people to be open to the different journeys a night could take you. We believe the best nights are the ones that happen out of the blue unplanned and spontaneous.”

The round edges of the Facet bottle have been cut like a gem, creating a number of faces that catch the light in different ways.

Achieving this effect and

recreating the precise colour was one of several challenges that Ardagh met before producing the two and a half million bottles at its plant in Limmared, Sweden.

Ardagh’s Fredrik Källqvist stated: “We have been closely involved in several Absolut projects such as Unique with four million differently designed bottles, but each new project encourages us to raise the bar even higher and Facet is no exception.”

Gerresheimer to sell laboratory glassware business Gerresheimer is to sell its laboratory glassware business to a private equity investor.

It said the sale was part of an effort to focus on delivery devices and pharmaceutical packaging.

Duran group – part of JPMorgan’s merchant banking arm One Equity Partners – will pay $131m (€116m) in cash for Kimble Chase Life Science and Research Products, a USbased joint venture Ger-

resheimer co-owns with Chase Scientific Glass.

“Producing laboratory glassware is not a core business for us and synergies are very limited,” said Gerresheimer CEO Uwe Röhrhoff.

Sisecam opens two new flat glass plants in Russia Sisecam Group has invested US$310 million in establishing both a flat glass and an automotive glass production plant in the Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation.

The two plants were officially opened with a ceremony hosted by Dr. Reha Akçakaya, Sisecam’s Flat Glass Group President.

Sisecam and SaintGobain hold shares of 70% and 30%, respectively in the flat glass plant, which has a production capacity

of 230,000 tonnes per year.

A total of US$210 million was invested in the plant, located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone.

The automotive glass plant, with a capacity of 800,000 tool-sets/year, is 100% owned by Sisecam and is also located in the Alabuga Special Economy Zone.

It was established with an investment of around US$100 million.

The flat glass and automotive glass plants, which

are among the world’s most-equipped plants in terms of technology, employ 653 employees.

Sisecam Group is the only global manufacturer operating in all main fields of operation of the glass industry, comprising flat glass, glassware and glass packaging.

The company made its first investment in Russia in 2002, and operates eight production plants in the country.

Glass International October 2016

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Our in-house melting experts can help you improve combustion to increase glass production, reduce fuel consumption, improve glass quality, and reduce emissions.

Including NOX, SOX, CO2 and particulate matter every day.

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From the very first oxygen enrichment applications to our latest Cleanfire® burners, we’ve delivered safe, low-emission oxy-fuel solutions for over 50 years. And, right now, in addition to providing reliable gas supply, our team is optimizing production for hundreds of furnaces all over the world.

Call 800-654-4567 (code 344) to put the skills and experience of our global team to work for you. When you want improved melting, add one key ingredient. Us.

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International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

EME management appointment

German company EME has appointed Reinhold Wenig as its joint Managing Director.

Mr Wenig is a longtime Sorg Feuerungsbau veteran and has spent nearly 30 years with the Sorg group, where he started his career. He joins Jens Rosenthal as Managing Director of EME. Mr Wenig replaces Egbert Wenninger who left EME in July to rejoin Grenzebach and to be closer to his family.

Thai Malaya Glass chooses Sorg and EME

The new batch plant for Thai Malaya Glass (TMG) is being built for furnace SB4 with a capacity of 300 t/d and ready for future expansion.

TMG is relying again on the technical expertise and reliability of EME. Sorg has been chosen to supply two end-port regenerative furnaces complete with IRD doghouses and EME-NEND batch chargers.

These will feed a total of nine Sorg 340S forehearths.

glasstec success

Despite a slight drop in visitor numbers compared to the 2014 event, this year’s glasstec welcomed visitors from more countries, confirming its reputation as the international meeting place for all facets of the global glass industry.

A total of 1,235 exhibitors from 52 countries had the opportunity to meet with 40,200 visitors from more than 100 countries.

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Vetropack recommends Horn batch charger

Vetropack confirmed a decrease in energy costs thanks to the implementation of Horn’s batch charger, HVR 700F 2-P. The installation made an impact to the doghouse area, which is now much cleaner and closed.

Vetropack Straza based in Croatia said Horn installed the batch charging machine as an alternative to the existing common machine.

Stolzle Flaconnage in UK celebrates furnace opening Johannes Schick (CEO Stölzle, left) with local dignitaries and Knottingley Plant Manager Thomas Riss (second right).

Stölzle Glass Group’s UK site celebrated the opening of its new furnace.

It invited its customers and partners to celebrate the recent rebuild of its white flint furnace and extensive revamp of the whole plant.

A prestigious evening also took place The Oulton Hall Hotel, near Leeds, where guests enjoyed whisky tasting and a luxury banquet.

The Knottingley factory revamp included a new furnace from Poland’s Techglass, IS machines from Bottero, a batch house modification from Forglass, sorting equipment from Symplex, decoration facilities from KBA Kamman a cold end line from Sipac, a palletiser line from Emmeti and a shrinking device from MSK. Johannes Schick, Stolzle

CEO said: “Stölzle Flaconnage will be our new centre of excellence with regards to the development, production and decoration of Premium Prestige Bottles.

“The recent €17 million investment proves that we trust in our British plant, even in these difficult economic times of Brexit. The UK, and primarily Scotland, is definitely the cradle of whisky.”

Tata Chemicals opens £5.5 million turbine for soda ash business Tata Chemicals Europe has opened a £5.5m turbine which will provide energy for its soda ash business in Cheshire, UK. The turbine, the beneficiary of a £2.5m Government European Regional Growth Fund grant, is housed at Tata Chem-

icals’ Winnington CHP plant – which as a result performs at more than 80% efficiency.

The £5.5m investment has transformed the CHP plant, making it one of the most efficient CHP plants in the UK. The project will ensure that

soda ash and sodium bicarbonate have affordable energy for the next decade.

The soda ash business has reduced its carbon footprint by 10% in the past three years and a further 15% is planned for the next five years.

AGC to re-start Boussois furnace AGC Glass Europe is to re-start its furnace for production of float glass at Boussois, northern France in April 2017.

The furnace has been shut since 2013 due to the economic crisis in Europe.

The re-entry into service of the furnace was prompted by several factors, including: economic improvement in

Western and Central Europe impacting glass demand, sustained demand for automotive glass, which now accounts for a growing part of the group’s capacity, and the programmed shut-down for repair of other furnaces in the group.

AGC said that after refurbishment, the Boussois float furnace with its adjustable

capacity of up to 650 tonnes per day will be able to flexibly meet glass demand from the European and overseas glass markets and to improve customer service.

Its re-start will also lead to the creation of around 20 jobs at the site which currently employs 207 people.

8 Glass International October 2016

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From raw material delivery to batch charging We manage all your raw materials including cullet and provide sophisticated batch charging technology. Completely sealed doghouses, less dust, less emissions, less energy losses and now also modular for full redundancy.

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Enjoy these benefits – go with EME

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Glass is our Passion

International News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Lisec completes second acquisition in a month

Flat glass processing group Lisec has completed the acquisition of fellow Austrian company Schraml Glastechnik.

Schraml Glastechnik was established in 1963 as a glazier’s workshop and is based in Großraming.

Lisec has also acquired Glastronic, a part of the Jüllich Group.

Via the newly acquired company Lisec will exclusively purchase used Lisec machines, overhaul them according to the customers’ requirements and resell them.

The Hungarian company will keep its name Glastronic but with the suffix ‘Member of the Lisec Group’.

Sorg Keramik Services appoints MD The Sorg group has appointed Dr Arjen Steiner as the new Managing Director of Sorg Keramik Services (SKS).

SKS represents a group of companies within the Sorg organisation and is responsible for steel and refractory construction, endoscope inspections, hot and cold services as well as ceramic welding.

GPS appoints Metaglobal

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Glasproduktions-Service (GPS) has appointed Metaglobal as its exclusive sales representative for Portugal and Spain.

Metaglobal had its tenth anniversary in August and focuses on the container and tableware glass sector. It also represents the interests of other well known players in the market.

Glaston redundancies

Glaston is to lay off four staff after it concluded its employer-employee (YT) consultation on possible layoffs and personnel reductions.

Following the consultation, operations in Finland will be re-organised, resulting in a maximum of four redundancies and the personnel reductions will mostly be implemented immediately.

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 Glaston to make four staff redundant � 2 Tata Chemicals opens £5.5 million turbine for soda ash business � 3 AGC to re-start Boussois, France furnace � 4 EME management appointment � 5 Vetropack officially recommends Horn batch charger � 6 Absolut Facet limited edition bottle made by Ardagh � 7 Vitro approves acquisition of PPG � 8 SGD Perfumery changes its name � 9 Sisecam opens two new plants in Russia � 10 RHI and Magnesita to merge

Zecchetti installs palletisers at UK’s Beatson Clark The installation of a new twin palletiser on Beatson Clark’s amber glass lines in Rotherham, UK is set to make production faster and more flexible.

The South Yorkshire, UK glass manufacturer has invested £720,000 in a new Zecchetti conveyor line and palletiser which is able to both bulk and small pack.

“One of the amber lines previously packed only shrinkwrapped modular packs, which limited its use to pharmaceutical products in this format,” said Graham Lax, Head of Project Management at Beatson Clark.

“But the upgraded line gives Beatson Clark the flexibility to supply pharmaceutical containers in either bulk or small packs and will be able to handle other containers such as beer bottles too.”

Other benefits include a better environmental performance and an improved health and safety design, as there is easy access to components at a high level.

Vitro approves acquisition of PPG Vitro has approved the acquisition of PPG’s flat glass business for $755 million. The Mexican glassmaker said its shareholders had agreed to the proposal at an Ordinary Shareholders

Meeting.

The transaction includes four manufacturing plants with a total of five furnaces in the United States, a research and development centre for flat

glass and four distribution and fabrication facilities in Canada.

The financing for an amount of $500 million to fund a portion of the transaction costs was also approved.

10 Glass International October 2016

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Company profile: BA Vidro

A milestone in BA Vidro’s growth pa

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1

2

� Some of BA Vidro’s European plants: 1 Sierakow, Poland; 2. Avintes, Portugal; 3. Gardelegen, Germany; 4. Marinha Grande, Portugal; 5. Villafranca de los Barros; Spain.

Portugal’s BA Vidro recently acquired the Gardelegen plant in Germany, which means it now has eight plants throughout Europe. The company has also bought Romanian glass packaging manufacturer Stirom, which, following completion, will bring its number to nine. Here its CEO, Sandra Santos, discusses how the company has become one of the most efficient glass packaging companies in Europe.

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Company profile: BA Vidro

3

h path

B

Jedlice, Poland plant as part of its European expansion.

History BA is headquartered in Portugal and was incorporated in 1912 as Barbosa & Almeida, beginning its industrial activity in Porto in 1947. In the 1990s, BA confirmed its

4

A has been following HNG Global’s activity since 2013, and was attracted by its geographical position and operational performance improvement.

With one furnace with a nominal capacity of 360 tons/day that serves three production lines, the Gardelegen plant has modern production facilities and uses some of the most up-to-date manufacturing technologies.

Its strategic location and Germany’s road infrastructure also enable easy access to raw materials and a simplified distribution of its final products.

5

� Coca Cola

leadership in the Portuguese glass packaging industry, a growth path that continued with the acquisition of two more plants in Portugal, Marinha Grande in 1993 and Venda Nova in 2008. In 1998, BA built its first plant in Spain at Villafranca de los Barros and one year later acquired the second plant in the same country, in Léon. Its aim was to increase its internationalisation and in 2012 it purchased the Polish group, Warta Glass, which allowed it to expand into Eastern Europe.

Continued>>

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3

� �BA acquired the

In June 2016, BA reached an agreement with HNG Global and the transaction was closed in July. The acquisition of HNG Global reinforces BA’s presence in Europe and in the spirits market, which grew with the acquisition of the Polish plant in Sierakow.

Acquiring a plant in Germany (picture 3, inset) was one of BA’s goals since it started operations in Poland. BA considers this expansion an important step that will foster the development of the whole group.

Over the past few months, the focus has been on the successful integration of the German operations into the rest of the group. An experienced team, which has already executed the integration of other plants into the BA Group, is ensuring a short and effective process. In the domestic German team BA found a mature group that has enabled not only a smooth integration, but also allowed the BA Group to gain a better understanding of other market dynamics and opportunities, and capture synergies between operations.

The internal benchmarking in the group and its improvement activities will be reinforced with the new plant. BA believes that it will be able to better serve its customer base thanks to the acquisition of the Gardelegen plant. The portfolio of solutions that can be provided has expanded, as has its knowledge base.

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Company profile: BA Vidro

Avintes, Portugal

León, Spain

Sieraków, Poland

3 Furnaces

2 Furnaces

2 Furnaces

11 Lines

7 Lines

6 Lines

Certifications

Certifications

Certifications

ISO 9001:2008 (Quality)

ISO 9001:2008 (Quality)

ISO 9001:2008 (Quality)

ISO 14001:2004 (Environment)

ISO 14001:2004 (Environment)

ISO 14001:2004 (Environment)

FSSC 22000:2011 (Food Safety)

FSSC 22000:2011 (Food Safety)

FSSC 22000:2011 (Food Safety)

SA 8000:2008 (Social Accountability)

SA 8000:2008 (Social Accountability)

PN N 18001:2004 (Occupational Health and Safety)

Marinha Grande, Portugal 3 Furnaces 8 Lines Certifications ISO 9001:2008 (Quality)

Poland

ISO 14001:2004 (Environment)

Portugal

FSSC 22000:2011 (Food Safety) SA 8000:2008 (Social Accountability)

Spain Iberian and Polish plants

BA Vidro plants Venda Nova, Portugal

Villafranca de los Barros, Spain

Jedlice, Poland

2 Furnaces

2 Furnaces

2 Furnaces

8 Lines

7 Lines

7 Lines

Certifications

Certifications

Certifications

ISO 9001:2008 (Quality)

ISO 9001:2008 (Quality)

ISO 9001:2008 (Quality)

ISO 14001:2004 (Environment)

ISO 14001:2004 (Environment)

ISO 14001:2004 (Environment)

FSSC 22000:2011 (Food Safety)

FSSC 22000:2011 (Food Safety)

FSSC 22000:2011 (Food Safety)

SA 8000:2008 (Social Accountability)

SA 8000:2008 (Social Accountability)

PN N 18001:2004 (Occupational Health and Safety)

BA is today responsible for an annual production of six billion containers and an annual turnover of €570 million euros. It employs 2400 people globally. While being proud of its past, BA recognises that the global economic context and the glass packaging industry is ever more demanding, complex and uncertain. To that end, a focus on customers and on following market trends to provide them with innovative and value added solutions is key to continue its successful history.

www.glass-international.com

Customer focus Customer focus is an absolute priority for the group since it strives not only to find the best and most efficient solutions, with products adaptable to the consumers’ requirements, but also to participate in its customers’ creation process to provide them with differentiable solutions.

To continuously improve its customers’ competitiveness, BA places special emphasis on a rigorous industrial assets management and, at the same time, on industrial flexibility.

BA considers differentiation through product and service innovation as a key lever of its growth strategy. BA has been trying to respond to new

market trends that include lightweight products, food safety enhancement, environmentally friendly packages, and differentiated design and solutions. Several projects were developed in close collaboration with customers.

In 2015, BA developed 415 new projects, representing eight new models per week and launched 139 new products with its customers into the market. In 2016 BA created a new department, Innovation and Development, with direct report to one of its Executive Directors, highlighting the special role of innovation in the future of the company. New KPI’s and processes have been put in place to achieve the goals the group has set for the coming years.

To support innovation initiatives, in 2016 BA promoted a packaging design contest for the fifth consecutive time – the Glassberries Design Awards – at universities in several countries, stimulating creativity in packaging design. The initiative aims to introduce university students to the glass industry and, simultaneously, bring new ideas into the organisation to constantly challenge its designers.

Continued>>

14 Glass International October 2016

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Modern machinery BA has at its service the latest technology available and its strong investment plan allows the company to constantly renew its production capabilities. BA strives to be perceived by customers as the best choice of glass packaging supplier, and beyond it, a partner in innovation.

The factories are structured – in terms of size, technology and auxiliary equipment – to satisfy the different needs of the food & beverage industries. All factories are equipped with modern automatic inspection machines that guarantee the conformity of their characteristics with the customers’ requirements. Food safety is its motto and investments in technology and processes have been made to reinforce it.

BA has also invested in glass decoration as a differentiation factor, by providing services such as embossing, serigraphy, pressure sensitive labels and sleeves, and frosting, as a way of contributing to its customers’ differentiation and value creation process.

Social responsibility Environmental considerations are an integral part of BA’s overall management, and all its plants are under an Environmental Management System (ISO 14000). BA is committed to identifying and implementing best practices to minimise the environmental impact of its activities in the communities where its plants are located.

Besides using recycled glass in its production (between 3070%, depending on the glass colour), the group initiated its own recycling operations in 1988. In 2008 and 2010 it built two automatic cullet treatment facilities in two of its plants.

With the acquisition of the Polish operation, the group was able to add a third cullet treatment facility. In 2015 an investment was made in new technology to reduce the waste sent to landfill and increase the cullet quality and, consequently, the product quality.

People The success of the group has been built by its people. BA is a growing and international company, which requires a constant reflection and redefinition of people management policies.

With an increased cultural diversity among its employees, BA has been developing tools that support the development of common behavioural patterns across regions.

Benchmarking and standardisation has gained relevance by encouraging managers to better understand the business and the group activities, and to develop the team’s knowledge. All employees are regularly informed about the performance and the actions of all the company. The satisfaction and engagement of its people is considered fundamental to the success of BA’s growth strategy. �

*CEO, BA Vidro, Avintes, Portugal www.bavidro.com � BA Vidro serves major global customers such as Heineken.

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SGT marks 100th anniversary in style Delegates from around the globe attended the Society of Glass’s centenary meeting in the UK, travelling from as far as Brazil, USA and China to help celebrate. Greg Morris reports.

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A

n array of international delegates helped celebrate the Society of Glass Technology’s (SGT’s) 100th anniversary.

A total of 420 people from 28 countries attended the SGT Centenary conference in Sheffield, UK to mark 100 years since W.E.S Turner formed the organisation.

Delegates from the USA, Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Europe joined visitors from the UK to attend the five-day event.

The University of Sheffield celebration included conference presentations spanning five glass sectors, a banquet in the city cathedral and a number of commemorative presentations.

The meeting was the flagship event in a year of celebrations for the SGT,

which has included a memorial lecture, a dinner dance and the CelSian-NCNG International Glass Technology Course.

SGT origins Professor William Ernest Stephen (W.E.S) Turner established in Sheffield the first university department dedicated to the study of glass in all its aspects. Because his vision included studies of the art, history, design and manufacture of glass, as well as the application of science to these studies, his new department was named The Department of Glass Technology. In 1916 he also founded a learned society to foster the propagation of these studies and to

Award Winners The winner of the SGT/Alastair Pilkington Award in 2016 is Dr Anita Zeidler of the University of Bath, where she is the Royal Society – EPSRC Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow.

The award was made in recognition of seminal contributions to the development of (i) in situ high- pressure neutron diffraction to investigate the mechanisms of density-driven network collapse in glassy and liquid materials, and (ii) neutron diffraction with isotope substitution to investigate the structure of glasses and high-temperature glassforming oxide liquids, along with the structural differences that are associated with quantum effects in water. The award was presented by Mrs Rosalind Christian, daughter of Sir Alastair Pilkington, at the Opening Ceremony of the Centenary Conference. As well as being an invited speaker at the conference, Dr Zeidler made a presentation of the specific research which led to this award.

The 14th Otto Schott Research Award honoured three researchers from three continents for their groundbreaking findings on the strength of glass.

New glass materials with greater practical strength are critical to meet the challenges in the fields of

Continued>>

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Events world: SGT centenary conference

� An array of international delegates attended the SGT Centenary conference. Pic source: Christine Brown SGT.

with the award for his ground-breaking work on explaining the fundamentals of fatigue in glass and for his persistence in continuing to develop a deep understanding of the crack-growth which is responsible for fatigue in glass.

The award-winning scientists from Japan and France also research the special mechanical properties of glass. Professor Satoshi Yoshida was honoured for his research in the field of the elastic behavior of glass surfaces under mechanical stress, their role in the formation of cracks and other defects that affect its strength.

Jean-Pierre Guin from the University de Rennes in France received the award for his work on nanoscale aspects of

� Dr Anita Zeidler of the University of Bath (right), winner of the SGT - Alastair Pilkington Award in 2016. The Award was presented by Mrs Rosalind Christian (left), daughter of Sir Alastair Pilkington, at the Opening Ceremony of the Centenary Conference. Pic Source: Christine Brown, SGT.

crack growth and fatigue thresholds, as well as structure-property relationships for mechanical properties, including hardness, toughness and scratch resistance, in glass.

� For their pioneering work in the field of glass strength, Dr. Jean-Pierre Guin (Université de Rennes, France), Dr. Sheldon Wiederhorn (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, USA) and Professor Satoshi Yoshida (University of Shiga Perfecture, Hikone, Japan) (from left to right), have now been awarded the 14th Otto Schott Research Award. Pic Source: Schott.

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energy, medicine and communications.

Thin and bendable glass substrates are indispensable when it comes to developing for example, flexible displays, roll-to-roll manufacturing of printable electronics, for the next generation of touchscreen devices and for the encapsulation of organic semiconductors.

The laws of physics currently still set limits for glass, however. Three glass researchers from three continents took on the task of investigating and shifting these: Dr. Sheldon Wiederhorn National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, US, Professor Satoshi Yoshida, University of Shiga Perfecture, Hikone, Japan and Dr. Jean-Pierre Guin from the Université de Rennes, France.

For their pioneering work in the field of glass strength, they were awarded the 14th Otto Schott Research Award at the SGT conference.

“While cracks operate to divide, teams in the USA, Japan and France have been keeping exchanging ideas and sharing results. But there is still much fundamental, experimental and theoretical works to be done on cracks in brittle material. I hope the award will stimulate and reinforce research activities in this fascinating area,” said the Board of Trustees member of the Ernst Abbe Fund and presenter, Professor Tanguy Rouxel, at the award ceremony.

Dr. Sheldon Wiederhorn was presented

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Events world: SGT centenary conference

bring together experts and enthusiasts from every field of glass interest – the Society of Glass Technology.

The Society was founded in the midst of World War One. The UK glass industry had become moribund, relying on secret recipes passed down the generations and unable even to measure furnace temperature. The sudden lack of imports from the continent required them to extend their product range, particularly in laboratory ware and optical components, to source raw materials locally, and to adapt their technologies. A report written in 1915 recommended establishing a centre for research and teaching glass manufacturing, which eventually led to the creation of the SGT.

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Centenary conference The Sheffield event provided 245 talks as well as 60 poster sessions. It included the 2016 European Society of Glass meeting, a Glass Trend conference and a Furnace Solutions industrial conference day. There were a variety of plenary and keynote talks and contributed papers that covered all aspects of glass science, technology, manufacture, engineering, art, archaeometry and heritage. Topics scaled academia and industry and were addressed within five themes: Fundamental Glass Science; Applied Glass Science and Technology; Glass Industry, Manufacture and Applications; History, Heritage and Archaeometry of Glass; and Glass Art and Craft.

Day one featured an opening ceremony and the presentation of several awards.

This was followed by presentations from a number of glass award winners (see box, previous page).

These were Pilkington Award winner Dr Anita Zeidler and Otto Schott Award winners Dr Jean-Pierre Guin, Prof Satoshi Yoshida and Dr Sheldon Wiederhorn, who each presented a paper.

Papers dedicated to glass industry manufacturing began on day two.

These included two papers from Sorg’s Dr Matthias Lindig who discussed the successful development of the Sorg/EME NEND charger and IRD doghouse and, in a later paper, the realisation of the Sorg ARD regenerative chamber design.

Another notable paper was delivered

by Jorg Leicher of the Gas-und WarmeInstitut in Essen, Germany who discussed the challenges and advances in modeling oxy-fuel combustion in industrial furnaces.

The Glass Trend event took place on

� Sorg were among the companies to provide a paper. Pictured: Matthias Lindig. � Glass International columnist, John Henderson, was among those to receive a complimentary bottle of local relish.

day three within the Glass Industry, Manufacture and Application session.

It was standing room only for the first few speakers. International Congress of Glass (ICG) president Manoj Choudhary, whose day job is to work for Owens Corning Science and Technology Centre in Granville, USA, was the invited speaker.

He kicked off the day’s proceedings with a discussion about Heat Transfer in Fibreglass Insulation.

He reviewed the basic mechanisms of heat transfer – namely conduction, free convection and radiation in fibrous insulations – before assessing the relative contributions these phenomena have on the overall thermal conductivity

of fibreglass insulation. His 40-minute paper also discussed the procedure for calculation of radiation conductivity through a solution of Maxwell’s equations as well as presenting illustrative results.

Next up was Ardagh Glass’s SvenRoger Kahl who discussed a new research project proposal on the effect of batch composition on energy consumption.

He said it was important to gain a better understanding of the influence batch melt to conversion has on the total energy consumption of a glass melting furnace.

It is one of the necessary conditions required to design batches that can be melted with less energy, he said.

The proposed project came about after

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Events world: SGT centenary conference

� The event included a celebratory banquet at Sheffield Cathedal.

Pic Source: Christine Brown, SGT.

� International Commission of Glass President, Manoj Choudhary (Centre), joined SGT President Russell Hand (right) at the event. Pic Source: Christine Brown, SGT.

� Ardagh Glass’s Sven-Roger Kahl discussed a new research project proposal on the effect of batch

an expert workshop in 2015 involving the Dutch commission on glass technology (NNCD), CelSian and the Dutch Enterprise Agency.

The outcome of the presented papers and discussions was used to define the international research project. The aim of the project will be to develop a methodology to characterise batches in relation to their contribution to the energy consumption of a real melter.

Air Products unveiled its latest burner for the glass industry, the HRe oxy-fuel burner, which it describes as the first smart burner for the sector. Speaker Reed Hendershot described it as part of the Industrial Internet of Things

that uses recent advances in wireless communications, sensor development and cloud computing.

It uses recent communications technology that is adapted to a high temperature glass furnace environment, which is usually unfriendly to electronic components. The HRe burner is a bellwether of things to come as smart devices find a presence in industrial settings, stated Mr Hendershot.

The afternoon session saw six papers dedicated to container and flat glass and included two presentations from CelSian, a paper from Nippon Electric Glass of Japan, and talks from Eurotherm

by Schneider Electric, Saint-Gobain and

Land Instruments International.

The final three papers of the day included two papers from Italy’s Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro.

One was from Nicola Favaro, who discussed Chemical Agent exposure in the glass industry and the other – the final paper of the day – was from Stefano Ceola who gave a quality assessment and rejects overview of glass cullet.

Due to the increase in the amount of cullet used in furnaces, glass manufacturers have seen an increase in defects in the final glass container.

This is because cullet has been contaminated by ceramics, stones glass ceramics, among others.

To address this issue, recyclers have installed new colour sorting machines able to produce high quality coloured and no coloured flow from the mixed colour cullet. The introduction of these machines has had a positive impact on the amount of cullet recycled but led to some unexpected contradictions. The redox of the cullet feed is strongly impacted by the relative amount of different colours. Just a small variation can modify the redox of the batch, leading to instability in the glass colour, particularly in reduced glass. The demand for ever better cullet in terms of redox stability, lead content and minimal CSP content in the final glass container has lead to an increase of rejects in the cullet’s life cycle. �

*SGT, Sheffield, UK www.sgt.org

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composition on energy consumption.

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VALUE BY DESIGN SORG is delivering customers value by focusing on quality and design. Value is not the by-product of making something cheaper. Value is designed into our products to achieve the lowest total cost of owner­ship for our customers. Great designs take these value factors into account. www.sorg.de

SGT Centenary: Furnace Solutions

Furnace Solutions celebrates past winners at SGT centenary event As part of the Society of Glass Technology’s centenary conference, Furnace Solutions held a special meeting during the event. Sally Love attended the celebratory event.

� Richard Hulme of Guardian Glass (left) and Manoj Choudhary, President of the ICG. Pic Source:Christine Brown, SGT.

the past can be used to look towards the future.

Prof. Hand also gave a special mention to Neil Simpson, thanking him for all the time and effort he puts in to Furnace Solutions each year. Following on from

the event, Neil remarked on the success of this one-off Furnace Solutions session: “When the SGT Council asked MTC to add an additional Furnace Solutions Continued>>

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T

he conference welcomed past winners of the Michael Garvey Award, which is presented annually to the best paper given at the Furnace Solutions conference.

Neil Simpson, Chairman of the Melting Technical Committee (MTC) that organises the event, opened the day-long session, welcoming both the delegates and the returning Michael Garvey Award recipients.

With nine presentations over the course of the day, topics ranged from technology designed to save energy to intelligent control systems that can reduce a manufacturer’s costs, and from the properties of refractories to an overview of how the furnace itself has evolved in design over time.

During the day, Prof. Russell Hand, President of the SGT, also formally welcomed Peter West of Ardagh Glass into the Fellowship of the SGT. Mr West was a speaker at the event and discussed his view on how the container glass furnace has developed and advanced over the past 40 years, and how this knowledge of

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SGT Centenary: Furnace Solutions

� Neil Simpson, Chairman of the Melting Technical Committee (MTC). � Prof. Russell Hand, President of the SGT, also

� Prof. Russell Hand thanking Neil Simpson for his

formally welcomed Peter West of Ardagh.

work on the committee.

� The conference was well attended. � Erik Muijsenberg presented his paper on the self

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driving glass melting process.

Centenary at Sheffield we were all a bit nervous, since we did not want to negatively impact the future of the successful Furnace Solutions held at Lucideon in Stoke-on-Trent, UK each June. We knew we had to do something special, a little different but that retained the Furnace Solutions concept.

“We approached many of the presenters a year ago to book the space in their diaries. A significant portion of presenters were Directors or at Board level and all previous Garvey Award Recipients were represented.

“The calibre and transparency in content of the presentations exceeded my expectations. Several of the presentations could easily be turned into a training day in their own right, but were condensed into 40 minutes.”

One of these speakers was Richard Hulme of Guardian Glass, who started

the proceedings by delivering his presentation on ‘Mental Models’. Mr Hulme discussed how data and experience can be combined and interpreted, to create a ‘mental model’ that can help improve the operation of a furnace and aid operators if a problem occurs.

He was followed by Joaquin de Diego of Praxair, who discussed the company’s Optimelt regenerator technology.

Designed for large scale commercial systems, the thermo-chemical system regenerators expect to reduce fuel consumption in an air-fired furnace by approximately 30%, and in an oxy fuel furnace by 20%. The smaller size of the regenerators also make an economical argument for the technology.

The Optimelt system has enjoyed success in installations at a 50tpd furnace at a Pavisa plant in Mexico since 2014, and more recently the technology has been

advanced to cater for 240tpd furnaces under the name Optimelt Plus TCR. Erik Muijsenberg of the Czech Republic’s Glass Service also presented at the event, discussing ‘The self-driving glass melting process’, so called because he compared the theory behind selfdriving cars to the glass melting furnace.

He presented a fully automatic control system, the Expert System III, that can monitor the change in electricity type and its cost (e.g. standard from the grid, or various types of renewables such as solar, wind), and can switch between the best source according to the fuel cost to save plants money.

He also discussed how advanced furnace modelling can increase efficiency in a plant by selecting the best furnace design for the desired glass and pull rate.

This links to the electric usage of a plant as electric heating can be used to achieve a more efficient pull rate.

He showed how flexible furnaces, that use both gas and electricity, can operate at a higher pull rate when required, while reducing energy costs.

Other speakers included the afore mentioned Peter West of Ardagh Glass; Trevor Wilson from DSF Refractories; Alastair Wallace of Glass Futures; Stuart Hakes of FIC UK; Nick Shore from NSG; and John Naughton from Allied Glass in the UK. �

The next Furnace Solutions event will be held on the 8th June 2017 at the Lucideon building in Stoke-on-Trent, with the training day held the day before, as usual. More information from http://www.furnacesolutions.co.uk

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Furnaces

Colour change efficiency in container glassmaking Grahame Stuart* reports how a precisioncontrolled colour change bubbler system has helped decrease colour change time and losses in container glassmaking sites.

ďż˝ A 7 point precision control bubbler undergoing final testing in Electroglass workshops.

ďż˝ Typical Throat Bubbler Installation for

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Colour Change Purposes.

M

any container glass manufacturers will agree that carrying out a colour change can present problems with prolonged glass defects as the old colour is gradually flushed out of the furnace, working end and forehearths.

This is an issue particularly when going from a dark composition to a lighter one and can lead to defects such as the colder, darker glass becoming entrained from areas such as the corners of the throat and any areas where there is a transition in depth or glass flow direction.

The effects can last a number of days, coming and going as temperatures and pulls are changed.

A number of years ago Electroglass was asked to look at the possibility of installing its Precision Controlled Bubbler System (PCBS) in areas of the furnace, throat and working end where dark glasses may stagnate, causing the problems already mentioned.

Continued>>

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Furnaces

Homogeneity

Colour change Through a combination of physical model testing and experience, Electroglass engineers set about identifying areas where cold glass could accumulate and cause problems during and immediately after a colour change. The first colour change bubbler system was installed by Electroglass’ own in-house hot drilling team in the days leading up to a colour change on a furnace producing 250 tonnes per day of soda-lime glass in various colours for beer and wine bottle production.

Bubblers were placed in the throat entry and exit, forehearth entries from the working end and all four corners of the furnace.

After installation the bubblers were left switched off in readiness for the ‘off’ colour period during which glass could not be used for production and was simply drained to waste.

When ‘off’ colour was reached the furnace operators could switch on individual bubblers and adjust them independently thanks to a PLC control system which allows individual setting of bubble pressure, bubble duration and bubble frequency.

Bubblers were then operated until the desired colour could be seen at the spouts, at which time the bubblers were shut down and effectively stopped until the next colour change, when, by following an established bubbler start up procedure, bubbling could recommence with ease.

The furnace in question runs around six colour changes each year and the customer reports that the colour change bubbler system has helped decrease colour change time and losses significantly.

In addition to the systems supplied for furnace colour change there is also scope to install a similar system in colouring feeders where the sweeping out of old colour could save many hours improving overall production yield, particularly where frequent colour changes are required.

The special, blockage resistant bubbler injectors designed and manufactured by Electroglass are the key to the system’s continued success.

Having the ability to stop bubbling and a PLC control system that allows a start-up procedure to be implemented easily and quickly will no doubt continue to allow the use of bubblers to evolve and meet changing needs of glassmakers for many years to come. �

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At that time the Electroglass PCBS had been employed by glassmakers throughout the industry to help improve thermal and chemical homogeneity in many glass types by using single or multiple rows across the hot spot of the furnace. The system’s simplicity of operation and proven reliability at slow bubbling rates had found favour with companies looking for ways to employ bubbling without the pitfalls found with conventional continuous and semi continuous systems, namely, increased refractory wear, parasitic bubble entrainment and premature bubbler failure due to blockage.

The ability to effectively stop the bubblers for prolonged periods meant that the system could conceivably be employed for applications such as colour change bubbling, where bubbler operation may only be needed for 12-24 hours during the ‘off’ colour period.

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*Project Sales Engineer, Electroglass Ltd, UK. www.electroglass.co.uk info@electroglass.co.uk

Holmfield, Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK. HX3 6SX Tel: (44) (0) 1422 254472 • Fax: (44) (0) 1422 254473 Email: admin@parkinson-spencer.co.uk • www.parkinson-spencer.co.uk

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How to improve quality in container glassmaking Derek Whiteside* and Steve Hammond** report how container glassmakers can easily improve the quality of their operations by simply addressing the opportunities in mould design and repair. identify and wherever possible, measure the links between mould equipment and operational performance: � Defects linked to Mould and Neck Ring equipment are easily identified and are frequently in the top 10 defects for a factory. In a 2015 clearPerformance project check in the finish and neck of various kinds accounted for over 5% loss in Pack to Melt. Not surprisingly, deeper investigation showed there was also a

� A mould hand repair fixture.

clear correlation between these defects and poorly maintained mould equipment - especially the blank/ring match.

Other mould-related defects are obvious and common-place, with blank/ mould seams and deep/badly matched baffles being two examples, with both of these issues a potential major issue for carbonated ware. � Speed limitations can also be caused by mould equipment: the material and design of blanks, moulds and neck rings.

Experience has proved that a simple

redesign of for example, venting in blanks or neck rings can be a major factor in removing the barrier to speed up. � Downtime for mould changes due to out-of-specification equipment is rarely managed and measured but can represent a major loss. Each mould change will cost 10-15 minutes of lost production based on stop time and ramp up. � Cost of moulds and variable mould equipment is heavily impacted by the scrapping of components and replacement. Much of this is due to poor repair and cleaning methods; handling and transportation around the factory and storage.

These examples are all too familiar to Production and Forming teams and anybody who has been in a factory Production meeting will be familiar with the cry of “it is the moulds!”

Of course moulds are not the only cause or culprit (machine set up and operation as well as condition of variable are other critical factors) but the high correlation between mould equipment and poor performance is often not matched by a proportionate response in troubleshooting and improvement initiatives.

These improvements can mostly be achieved by focusing on Standard Continued>>

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E

verybody knows you can’t make glass containers without moulds that is obvious. But the experience of clearPerformance in projects across 16 countries is that the criticality of moulds and their impact on quality, productivity and cost is not always fully understood.

This means in practice that moulds, which are designed and manufactured to very tight tolerances (of 0.05mm) are rarely maintained to original specification and that furthermore in most cases there is no formally agreed tolerance for repaired moulds that would substitute for the original mould drawing specification. The question to be asked is: if moulds are designed and made to such tight tolerances, why is there not the same focus on the repaired equipment?

And where this question cannot be adequately answered, this means simply that the running moulds that reach the shop floor, may well not conform to any agreed specification and may well not be fit for purpose, with a direct result on operational performance and quality that is discussed below.

Conversely, there is good news because once the importance of mould design, materials and repair are understood and highlighted then improvements that will have a direct impact on performance can made with relative ease and low cost.

In order to show and prove the value of focus in this area, the first step is to

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� A mould Inspection area should be well-lit and properly equipped.

Repair

Operating Procedures, training and skill development in three broad areas: � Design � Inspection � Repair Measurable progress (dependent on the issues) can generally be achieved within months (or with a particularly motivated team, within weeks) and have direct impact of performance, productivity and profit.

Design

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Design Standards are an essential foundation for consistent, effective and quality mould equipment.

But surprisingly less than a quarter of the multi-site companies that clearPerformance has worked with have a company-wide, documented design standard, often because their growth has come from acquisition of different factories with different machine types, cooling systems and ways of working.

Even many single-site operations do not have clear Design Standards and often depend on mould makers, either fully or partially, for their designs.

Container companies clearly can function without a clear, written and agreed (between design and production) mould design standard but there are pitfalls: � Missing best practice � Consistency of design � Repeated errors � Transferability of moulds � Purchasing efficiency The development of a common standard takes time, commitment and teamwork but the longer-term benefits are there to achieve.

As well as a common Design Standard the development of best practice mould design will have direct benefits for quality and efficiency.

Blank/parison design is the obvious example but this extends equally to other components and mould features. Real examples from clearPerformance projects include a change to stippling design on a

sparkling wine bottle and re-design of the heel radius on an NNPB beer bottle that drastically reduces pressure breakage and increases the Pack to Melt.

Design is just as crucial for successful New Product Development where equipment is a major factor in the success of sampling and production and specifically poor design can be a major reason for resampling, leading to plant disruption and increased cost.

The importance of best design is clear but clearPerformance has seen examples where for various reasons this does not exist in glass companies. For some it is a matter using a default position based on history, like the company that based new product moulds on an existing cavity shape and for whom clearPerformance made recommendations on parison run, blank shape and neck ring cooling.

Given the importance of mould design best practice, this can be developed in a number of ways: � Exchange of experience and methods between factories in multi-site companies - an obvious opportunity but surprisingly under-used as each location is often convinced that their ways are best. � Establishing formal feedback and communication between design and production. Again obvious but rarely done properly. Simple methods include: designers attending samplings; an effective Job Off and Defect correction process and the appointment of a Mould Engineer to provide the interface between operations, design and New Product Development. � Take control of Design, even if it is contracted out, with a robust internal approval process that involves all the key departments in both signing off new developments and modifications. � Develop the skills of designers.

All of the above can be done independently by glass manufactures but it is in this kind of project that clearPerformance can support and accelerate the change required.

Considering the cost of moulds, the tight specifications of design and manufacture and their importance for efficiency and quality, mould repair often does not receive the attention it deserves. In the experience of clearPerformance the opportunities in Mould Repair Operations fall into two broad categories: 1) Inspection; and 2) Repair methods Inspection is the first step in making sure that correct and fit for purpose equipment reaches the shop floor. The essential requirements for this are: � A separate well-lit, properly equipped Inspection area (see photo 2). � Gauges to inspect critical dimensions. clearPerformance lists 13 different gauges required for mould inspection it is rare to find a complete set on site. Without gauges there is no way to effectively check and inspect the equipment to ensure that it meets specification. In some cases without a gauge, there is no way of accurately checking certain design features, with dovetail angles being a good example.

Apart from the essentials there is also the opportunity to achieve best practice by using electronic gauging that feeds data directly to a computer, improving accuracy and productivity. � A regime for inspecting a sample of new incoming equipment. � Running equipment (jobs on the machine or for job change) should be subject to 100% inspection. This is not uncommon and means equipment is cleaned/repaired and can be returned to the machine out of specification in critical dimensions such as mould and blank diameters and match sizes that can lead to glass defects. � There should be a fully trained inspector who checks the equipment independently of the repairer. � Standard Operating Procedures should be in place for each inspection operation. clearPerformance provides more than 20 Inspection SOP’s as part of a mould improvement project.

Glassmakers can use the above as a simple checklist to assess the effectiveness of their inspection process and if there are major gaps there is certainty that poor mould equipment will be put on the machine with the result of defects and reduced performance.

Continued>>

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� Mould shop layout.

Repair is dependent on skilled people and on best practice methods and processes.

In most glass factories there is a tradition of skilled mould repair but in the experience of clearPerformance, the workers are rarely supported with methods, organisation, training and automation. � Layout and Workflow impact effectiveness and productivity. A simple workflow of: receiving, cleaning, inspecting, repairing, final inspection and store sounds obvious but rarely exists.

Often this is because Mould Shops evolve over time with expansion, add people and equipment so that the logical workflow no longer exists. � Manual Workbenches can be located and designed ergonomically to maximise flexibility and work rate. Good lighting, a spray-welding torch and all needed tools on each bench are simple examples of this. � Developing repair skills. For

example all matches and seams: ring/ blank, blank/baffle, mould neck matches, baffles/funnels and guide plate/plungers.

Each of these is important to reduce defects. � There will always be some hand repair of mould equipment for minor repairs but more extensive repairs should be carried out using basic machine tools to improve the quality and consistency of work carried out.

At a basic level there is a simple list of equipment that should include: automated cleaning centre lathe, milling machine and dishing grinder.

Where Capex can be justified automation can be extended to include a CNC lathe, semi-automatic neck ring repair such as the Harald Hacks system and automated polishing. � Mould repairers should be trained to understand the link between mould issues and defects produced. A simple presentation and discussion will raise awareness that encourages care and

attention that can soon show in improved quality of work.

The conclusion, borne out by experience, is that moulds are critical but somewhat neglected in many companies.

The drive for efficiency often focuses on Hot End operations while not addressing the opportunities in mould design and repair.

The truism that you can’t make a container without moulds should be amended to “you can’t make good containers without good moulds” and if that is true then the approaches described are a good starting point for improved quality and performance and reduced costs. �

*Managing Directory, ** Directory clearPerformance, Warrington, UK http://www.clearperformance.co.uk/

Save money optimizing mould shop work and sets with

solution Optimizing mould shop work SILMould provides the history of repairs and changes for each mould in the mould ID card.

Preventing mould shortage Thanks to the mould status display, Hot End Managers know which moulds are available for production.

Improving mould set homogeneity SILMould provides the number of gob cuts per mould for the optimization of mould set usage.

+33 385 98 19 19 D whitehouse.indd 3

sales@vertech.eu

www.vertech.eu 13/10/2016 11:22:08

Moulds

� The modernised and expanded metalisation department.

Modernisation and extension of a neck rings factory in Portugal Portuguese mould manufacturer Intermolde has undergone a transformation at its Marinha Grande facility. It has increased the size of its Neck Rings manufacturing plant, which it says will lead to major improvements. Ricardo Ferreira* discusses the recent expansion. � Extra space for the metallisation area.

Specialisation by product Intermolde is, most likely, the only manufacturer of moulds for glass in Europe that has in the same area a production plant of more than 10,000 m2. It is not all in the same factory but in four adjacente units, each one with its speciality. The main unit roduces moulds, bottom plates, plungers and other accessories.

In the plant that belongs to Vidrimolde, in addition to the production of moulds for glass tableware, are produced blank moulds and baffles.

There is also the mould repair unit corresponding to another independent company called Mego.

The recent expanded unit is dedicated exclusively to the production of Neck Rings and Guide Rings.

It can be said that this specialisation by product/service has been a winning strategy for the organisational sector of the group.

This specialisation has allowed high levels of productivity and as a result the constant achievement of the demanding goals set in each period, which results in high quality products.

However, there are several common functional departments in the different units of the group: administration, commercial, purchasing, maintenance, Research, Development and Innovation (RDI), among others. This sharing of resources (human resources essentially) is a rooted practice in the group and allows to obtain very positive results.

Departmentalisation In addition to the above departments, usually configured as common departments in groups of businesses similar to Intermolde, there are also common departments in technological areas.

Continued>>

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ortuguese glass moulds manufacturer Intermolde has increased the size of its Neck Rings manufacturing plant.

The modernisation and expansion of its CNC machine unit has been continuous over the past four to five years and includes: � The conclusion of the south main facade; � The expansion of the CNC programming offices and engineering department; � Improvements in the quality control department; � Changing the entrance area and raw materials warehouse.

After this investment, management expects to take advantage of the following benefits: � Improvements in the materials flow with the entrance of raw materials in the south facade and exit of final product over the northern facade. � Increased workers’ satisfaction and also the partners who visit (suppliers, customers and so on).

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Moulds

The group scale effect has allowed this departmentalisation by process with consequent gains through the optimisation and specialisation of allocated resources. On the production line the main common areas are: � First CNC cutting operation in the mould (Blow and Blank). This operation simply makes a first milling in the raw material and prepares the required areas for metallisation. This sector assists both Intermolde and Vidrimolde. � Metallisation. This sector is located in the main factory Intermolde and attends to all the Intermolde productions, moulds and other accessories. It also serves the Vidrimolde and the Neck Rings production.

The metallisation sector has a range of welding/metallisation technologies.

The manual metallisation by microspray is used only in special cases. TIG, MIG and especially the PTA are the most used technologies and almost all of these productive cells are fully automated.

Besides being an attractive industry, and praised by all partners and friends visiting Intermolde, this department has grown in such a way that almost seems a factory within a factory.

The metallisation theme This theme was the subject of heated argument and a previous study. We could think that the traditional model of departmentalisation by process would fit well this sector because it is a technical area. But by measuring all the pros and cons, management decided to divide the metallisation department in two different sets.

Therefore the Neck Rings plant will have in its natural space its own metallisation area. This way the departmentalisation � Neck Rings final inspection

� Intermolde main building with neck ring plant behind and vitrimolde on right side by product/service is taken to the extreme and which has been the secret of Intermolde’s rapid and sustained growth over the past few years.

In addition to the initial cost of the transfer and the double spending related to the infrastructure (gas, ventilation, security and so on) there were other disadvantages concerning the department division that were taken in consideration, such as: � A slight increase of the indirect structure, for example, double management; � Greater effort and eventual cost of support teams, including the maintenance and engineering teams. � It may also imply an increased number of persons related to the function but that will be up to one to two additional members.

The expected benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages. The main advantages of dividing the metallisation department are: � Reduced entropy costs. These entropy costs are not easy to quantify but are easy to name: interaction costs between several internal clients, circulation costs of people and products, difficulty planning,

bureaucracy and so on. � Easier planning. � Decreased circulation of components between factories. Despite the short distance between them it basically means a reduction of costs. But it also means that there will be no possibility of circulating hot metallic parts outdoors with low temperature and consequent thermal shock with possible negative effect on product quality. � Accountability and motivation of operators. Greater accountability into something tangible as it is the product and not just the process itself, mean greater motivation of the metallization team.

The most important part is that work will be fully directed to the fulfilment of the goals of the Neck Ring factory. This will result in production gains, including more hours worked by existing staff, and quality gains. � Innovation gains - The convenience of technical interaction between the previous and subsequent operations to metallisation, means that most likely will be optimisation and innovation resulting gains and/or economic in any of these operations as they are technically interconnected.

Group goals

www.glass-international.com

According to what is planned by the Intermolde management the Neck Ring plant will have its own metallisation sector until the end of 2016. Management believes that this change is important for the fulfillment of one of the goals set in 2015 in a five-year strategic plan: It is a growth target translated into reaching a consolidated sales volume of €20 million by 2020 in the sector dedicated to moulds for packaging. �

*Sales Director, Intermolde, Marinha Grande, Portugal. www.intermolde.pt

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Automation

Gallo Glass impressed by EME and Siemens joint project Gallo Glass was the first company where the Sorg Group implemented a solution for plant-wide automation based on Simatic PCS 7. Its initial experiences with Simit were excellent. Bernhard Saftig* reports.

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Plant-wide automation With the (now completed) upgrade of the batch plant at the production site, located in Modesto, California, EME was able to go one step further on behalf of its customer and implement an end-to-end, cross-supplier automation system based on the Siemens Simatic PCS 7 process control system.

“The switch to Siemens was new territory for Gallo Glass,” says Knüttel, stressing the importance of the project.

It was a complex task, especially since there are several hundred different combinations and transportation routes that the batch can follow within the batch plant and on its way to the melting tanks. With the Siemens Siwarex U and Siwarex FTC weighing modules, it was also possible to integrate weighing applications directly into the automation system.

Gallo Glass commissioned EME to plan and upgrade the batch plant and parts of the cullet return system at its glass bottle production facilities. Image Source: Rumans Photography

Originally, the four melting tanks in operation were supplied by two batch plants, with the tanks assigned to a specific plant. This meant a relatively high deployment of staff to operate the two plants. With the new solution, the demand on the operators is reduced because the new system, including the control system, is fully redundant: weighing, mixing, and transport to the tanks. The result is an increase in flexibility and operating reliability at Gallo Glass.

Virtual commissioning with Simit In addition to its first-time use of Simatic PCS 7, EME also successfully premiered Simit. “The Gallo Glass plant is so complex that Simit was essential for us for conducting tests and evaluations. It optimised our

engineering and substantially shortened the commissioning time,” says Knüttel.

“We’re positively astounded by the simulation platform.”

Praise from all sides Gallo Glass’s converted plant has now been in operation since August 2015, and the company has been impressed by EME’s consulting, project planning, and implementation services. The excellent support throughout all project phases was especially important to the plant operators, a compliment that EME gladly passes on to Siemens: “Siemens’ products and especially its support are exemplary; there isn’t a competitor that comes anywhere close,” says Knüttel.

Continued>>

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he total package tipped the balance: To modernise its plant during operation, US glass manufacturer Gallo Glass commissioned EME Maschinenfabrik Clasen to plan and upgrade the batch plant and parts of the cullet return system at its glass bottle production facilities. Because these projects are always accompanied by an automation system, Siemens also participated as a longtime supplier for the Sorg Group. “What was probably decisive was that, with the batch plant from EME and the melting tanks from its sister company Nikolaus Sorg, we were able to supply core technology from a single source,” explains Roger Knüttel, Manager of the Control Engineering Department at EME. “This meant one less interface and a seamless automation concept.”

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In addition to faster commissioning, it was the obviously higher engineering quality, lower costs, reduced risks and the fact that we could use Simit to train customer personnel.

Do you see even more potential for plant-wide automation?

Mr Knüttel has been with EME since 1992 and established the Control Engineering Department there.

EME’s Roger Knuttel, Manager of the Control Engineering Department, discusses the benefits of digitalisation.

Mr. Knüttel, when was your first encounter with digitalisation at EME?

Our main focus is on the plant-wide automation of batch plants and melting tanks – but we’re also interested in integrating other parts of the glass factory at the customer’s request.

This article originally appeared in the GlassFocus 2016 journal published by Siemens, entitled ‘Successfully entering new territory’. �

*Head of the glass business at Siemens, Karlsruhe, Germany www.siemens.com/glass EME Maschinenfabrik Clasen, Erkelenz, Germany www.eme.de

That must be difficult sometimes?

Ultimately, it all depends on economic factors as well. We have to find the areas that make economic sense and offer the user added value.

Gallo was impressed by EME’s consulting, project planning, and implementation services.

Image Source: Rumans Photography

In 1994 the Sorg Group – and therefore we at EME – became the first to recognise the possibilities and implement the philosophy of plant-wide automation in the glass industry. We’re still committed to this philosophy today, and we operate accordingly. I would say that plant automation based on this principle is one of EME’s distinctive characteristics.

In which areas do you think the principle of digitalisation particularly pays off?

In virtual commissioning and plant simulation with Simit. But we also benefit from the template-supported automated planning of plants using modern control systems such as Simatic PCS 7 and Simatic S7 with Simatic WinCC AS-OS transfer.

Can you quantify the added value?

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With Simit, we’re able to test our plants and put them into virtual service beforehand, with no mechanical or electrical hardware involved. Faults are detected and corrected and the actual commissioning time at the building site is reduced. Thanks to Siemens’ modern development and project-planning environments, we can plan and test plants in about one-third of the time.

Just 15 years ago it took us three times as long.

What else impressed you about Simit?

How does Siemens best support you in this?

With good consulting and support services and intelligent, networkable products. And by continuing the intensive, productive collaboration with our automation experts. Siemens is definitely a key supplier for EME. Choosing an automation platform and making it your standard requires a high level of trust and a mutual partnership.

What would you like to see from Siemens in the future?

Siemens should respond even more vigorously to market demands and convert them into new products – entirely in line with Industry 4.0. I think it’s important that Siemens understands the demands that the batch process places on automation, which the experts at EME are familiar with, and work with EME to optimise the specific solutions.

For the first time, Gallo Glass chose the plant-wide automation concept from Siemens for the conversion of its plants. Image Source: Rumans Photography

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Industry 4.0

Heye’s Smart Plant Mark Ziegler* describes Heye International’s vision for a Smart Plant of the future, and the technology it has available today that will help glass plants to implement the principles of Industry 4.0.

Correct priorities Heye has been one of the industry’s pioneers in closed loop control, with many years’ experience as a glassmaker, equipment supplier and an important long-term partner.

Glassmaking is a demanding process and one that has become increasingly automated. Heye has looked specifically at the working steps in which the potential for error is highest or where the greatest savings can be achieved.

Heye’s long-term vision, the Smart Glass Plant, incorporates dedicated process control technology or the ability to accommodate assortment production, featuring different weights.

The technology available also includes the availability of swabbing robot sensor networks, safety concepts (e.g. blow side monitoring) or new servo concepts.

The information platform will be the Heye PlantPilot information management system, connecting data from the hot end and the cold end.

Among the company’s closed loop glassmaking process benchmarks is the Heye Process Control, which automatically regulates the horizontal and vertical plunger position, as well as the tube height. The result is a constant gob weight, with critical defects avoided.

An optional component of the process control system is the Heye Press Duration Control, which keeps the press duration of all cavities constant, provides for equal

heat dissipation and ensures repeatable wall thicknesses. Using this system, it is possible to control the individual phases of the pressing process.

In conjunction with dual motor shears, the Heye Servo Feeder mechanism allows stable and precise gob forming. This provides easy parameter settings and preselectable profiles to support the operator, resulting in a consistent gob form.

Precise gob loading starts at the feeder, and Heye has developed its Heye Servo Feeder. Delivering thermal homogeneity and top weight consistency, the Heye rotor mechanism is another key element of the company’s process knowhow, having been widely adopted by the international hollow glass community, even by customers not operating the company’s IS-Machines. The rotating movement of the rotor segments provides good thermal homogeneity of the glass melt, and the equipment’s proven design guarantees a reliable functionality and a long lifetime.

Replacing manual steps Heye’s automatic Swabbing Robot replaces the most critical manual working step and, depending on local conditions, improves productivity by up to 2%, through avoiding section stops and minimising container rejects. Up to 75% lubricant savings are standard.

The robot sprays into the opened moulds on the blank side. ‘Swabbing on the fly’ is the key advantage, which means that a section stop is unnecessary.

Short spraying cycles with a small amount of lubricant avoid bottles having to be rejected after swabbing.

Production efficiency can be increased by implementing a cushioning system of the invert that reduces the number of critical defects. Heye Ecomotion provides reliable self-regulating end position cushioning.

The system is designed to upgrade existing IS-Machines, replacing their

safety-critical oil cushioning. Ecomotion achieves the optimal deceleration point of the device by a control system and ‘distance-time monitoring’ of the entire pneumatic cylinder hub.

It is important that manual interference at difficult to access or hot locations of the machines is avoided. Heye has employed optional sensors to monitor the final blow valves and to conduct automatic pressure measurement of the entire process stage.

The trend monitoring of valve function is a good example of preventative maintenance, providing configurable alarm thresholds and avoiding the need for operators to climb into machines to check the valves’ functions.

Another option is to use sensors in the dead plate to measure the heat of the containers.

In the event of abnormal heat radiation, the following gobs for this section will be rejected to avoid a jam-up of hot glass.

To ensure efficient ware spacing and pusher operation at the end of the ISMachine conveyor, Heye has developed a pusher optimisation solution, where data from a light barrier at the end of the machine belt is delivered to a control unit. The pusher cycle start point is set according to the space between bottles on the belt.

Using a Heye Ware Transfer, automatic synchronisation is employed when initiating production, where the fingers of the guide belt go right into the gaps between bottles. The result is smooth article transfer, with no loss of production.

Concepts and solutions Collectively, these innovations deliver an advanced smart plant concept. Together with Heye PlantPilot, which integrates plant-wide data, they illustrate the value of closed loop systems and information feedback in 21st Century glassmaking. �

* Marketing Manager,Heye International, Obenkirchen, Germany www.heye-international.com

www.glass-international.com

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nformation integration is among the many exciting challenges posed by Industry 4.0, employing concepts that make extensive use of sensors, the processing of collected data and its intelligent analysis.

Experts believe that the fourth industrial revolution could be widely adopted throughout industry within 20 years and Heye International is already working to adapt the best concepts to the glass container manufacturing process today.

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Automation

Bridging the gap to modernity Wolfgang Lachmann* explains how a bridging technology for IS machines has helped bring obsolete control systems up to date and which ensures glassmakers do not have to opt for a complete retrofit.

Keeping pace Provided the system and its mechanical components are carefully maintained and regularly overhauled, the robust IS

machines have a service life of 20 or 25 years. This is not quite so easy as far as the electronics are concerned. “To keep pace with modern manufacturing trends, the systems should be retrofitted with the latest generation of control and drive technology in the course of their lifecycle,” states Wolfgang Lachmann, Managing Director, Development & Technology at futronic. “At least the operating software should always be up to date.”

Not that the technology is liable to give up the ghost at some point – it simply can’t stay abreast of the information technology’s rapid innovation cycles. Put another way: “There comes a time when something or other is hopelessly out of date and spare parts are not available any more,” Lachmann continues. A glance back over the company’s history illustrates exactly what he means.

generation as ‘our flagship’, not without a certain pride. The Flexible Modular Timing (FMT) is a distributed control system for IS machines with anything up to 24 sections that can be tailored to each customer’s individual specification.

From generation to generation futronic secured its first contract to design a control system for glass machines in spring 1978.

After just four months, the company’s development engineers were able to unveil the MP-ST. This system marked the entry of computer technology into glass production. Transistor logic and relays were no longer up to the challenge – the MP-ST was a groundbreaking invention and a paradigm shift.

Nearly 10 ten years later, futronic presented its successor: at the time, the Computer Integrated Manufacturing of Glass (CIMOG) was the first control system anywhere in the world to facilitate freely programmable special cycles for the production process. The FMT24S machine control has been on the market since 2004: Lachmann refers to this third

� Managing Director Wolfgang Lachmann, responsible for Development & Technology at futronic .

Lean version for modest needs The CIMOG, too, was designed to control IS machines with up to 24 sections, making it definitely oversized for the smaller-scale plant and machinery that was particularly popular in the Far East.

In the early 1990s, therefore, futronic’s specialists came up with a lean – and hence low-cost – alternative initially for customers in the Asian market, which Continued>>

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ore than 300 IS machines with a futronic-built EPRO control performed impeccably for many years in glassworks around the globe.

Yet the technology is gradually coming up against its limits: the EPRO’s ArcNet communication structure is obsolete and several of its components are no longer manufactured and therefore difficult to get hold of.

A comprehensive retrofit is the only way out of this dilemma. A bridging technology developed by futronic for this purpose brings yesterday’s control up to date with a slimmed-down version of the FMT24S in return for an altogether manageable investment.

From the outset, futronic has pursued an open source strategy with its machine controls and drives: the systems must be flexibly tailored to machines from different manufacturers as well as to different specifications.

The automation specialists have made a name for themselves as an OEM and supplier to plant and equipment manufacturers for the glass industry.

Many end users have likewise trusted for years in technology made in Tettnang, Germany and insist on it whenever they invest in new equipment.

The concept is no less successful whenever it comes to modernising an old plant or used machines. futronic’s experts can meanwhile draw on several decades of experience with retrofits – in fact, this has become one of the company’s core competencies.

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Automation

� Fig 1. The central processor rack containing the ArcNet module is removed

� Fig 2. The new module comprises the so-called FMT24S machine proces-

from the control cabinet along with the old connections for the control panel and

sor (left) and the bridging EPRO Interface Board (EIB) developed specially for

the flat cables for the valve drivers.

the purpose. The connections for the EPRO valve drivers and the control panel are located on the front plate and all others on the rear. The rack can be tilted forward for installation.

The future “We expect to see ArcNet disappearing off the scene very soon. In the foreseeable future, modules such as the ArcNet plugin cards will cease to be available, and the same also goes for spare parts,” Lachmann predicts. Several components such as hubs, controls or so called phys for ArcNet are already difficult to get hold of.

“We buy all our modules from the last manufacturer; there aren’t any second sources around any more,” he adds.

The situation regarding the software in OT and MCT is no better: “The control software runs under DOS, but computers that still support such an ancient operating system are gradually dying out.

In the meantime, there are hardly any left.” futronic’s technicians have worked out a solution as a temporary measure: modern, Windows-based PCs can now be used in conjunction with the specifically developed ArcWrapper software and a socalled DOSBox. However, the supplier already has made clear that it will no longer support the DOS-Box. futronic can continue to manufacture the system’s other EPRO modules itself without any problems for a while ahead.

Mr Lachmann’s conclusion is a doubleedged sword: “The ArcNet system and the obsolete software are the bottleneck.

Revising them and bringing them into line with the Windows standard would be equivalent to a write-off.”

On the other hand, “many of our EPRO systems have got a good few years to go yet.” And there’s no reason to take a wellmaintained system off the production line. After all, customers have made a longterm investment in futronic technology: “We’re not going to leave them standing, even if certain parts or components are no longer made.” So, what to do?

Retrofits The answer is surprisingly straightforward. “futronic already has a modern control in its portfolio, namely the FMT24S, the CIMOG’s successor,” Lachmann points out. And if it’s been done with the CIMOG before, why shouldn’t it be possible to do it again?

Lachmann outlines the underlying idea: “We discovered that components from the FMT24S system can be adapted at a reasonable cost and used as replacements for the critical EPRO modules.” It’s the customer’s choice: either completely refurbish their existing equipment and invest in a new FMT control, or opt for a retrofit – in other words, the slimmed-down version of the FMT including the EPRO parts that can still be maintenanced, which means to invest in only one third of the costs.

“Whichever option the customer selects, he is bound to profit,” says Lachmann.

Up to date technology The first step in the EPRO retrofit is always to remove the central processor rack (Fig. 1) from the control cabinet and replace it with a similar module comprised of the so-called FMT24S machine processor (FMT24S-MPR) and a new board specially developed for this purpose by futronic’s hardware specialists.

Continued>>

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is traditionally an important pillar of the company’s business, and which soon attracted attention of customers worldwide: the EPRO (Economic Production) manages without the CIMOG’s high-end functionality and controls a maximum of 12 sections.

Approximately 300 EPRO controlled systems are productive worldwide even now and are doing a reliable job. futronic shipped its last new system in 2013. The EPRO is based on what is essentially obsolete technology. The control and the visualising components OT and MCT communicate via an ArcNet network.

It’s a technology that dates back to the late seventies, and since the advent of Fast Ethernet in local area networks it has been relegated into virtual insignificance. There’s only one large German automation company that offers ArcNet architecture components, and it is probably thanks solely to its enormous power in the market that parts can still be purchased for it at all.

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Automation

This EPRO Interface Board (EIB) bridges the gap between the internal control algorithm of the EPRO components and the FMT system – that is to say, the old system and the new one.

The new electronics board has connections for the EPRO valve drivers on the front plate as well as the control panel of the glass machine (Fig. 2).

All other connections for the machine components controlled by the central processor rack, such as the shear or the reject valve, are located on the rear of the module. Finally, the old DOS computer makes way for a standard PC with a current Windows operating system.

A special version of the control software with the modern, EPRO-tailored FMT24S user interface is then installed on this PC. All network components and IT hardware, such as switches or cable and connection systems, can now also be purchased ‘off the peg’ and the network connection is established via the PC’s own Ethernet port.

The retrofitted EPRO now offers some new features that meet the FMT standard, provided that the customer has enhanced their production programmes.

Furthermore the customer can easily add more FMT components for specific functions if required, e.g. an upgrade of the controller for servo proportional valves.

And what happens to all the precious data? What about the jobs and their parameters? Lachmann: “We copy the entire data from the old EPRO control and import it into the new system. That’s part of the parcel, of course. Nothing whatsoever is lost.”

The retrofit is designed to bring an EPRO controlled system right up to date again. Lachmann admits, however, that the owner must not forget “that a retrofit is only ever an interim solution in return for a manageable investment.

The day inevitably comes when only the big cogs make a difference, and there’s no alternative to extensive modernisation.” � � Fig 3. Neat and tidy: this (new) control cabinet still houses an original EPRO control (left). Each retrofit should also include new cables, depending on the system’s age and condition. They could become brittle over the years and lead to faults in view of the harsh production conditions prevailing in glassworks.

Managing Director, futronic, Tettnag, Germany. www.futronic.de **This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the futronic journal of 2016, written by Rene Kius.

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Furnaces

A method to improve regenerator crown insulation Prof. Stan Lyutskanov* highlights how the thermal insulation of furnace crowns can have an impact on energy efficiency and cost savings for manufacturers.

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ulgarian company Lubisol can offer energy and fuel savings thanks to the efficient thermal insulation of glass furnace crowns.

Lubisol’s crown insulation design is based on the principle that efficiency can be improved by applying a combination of light insulating bricks with its 2-SL insulating material.

Lubisol 2-SL contains foamed aluminium phosphate (AlPO4) in the form of granules, with a specific density of 0.33kg/dm³ and low thermal conductivity. The material is suitable for high temperature applications.

Its insulation package has been applied on a large number of glass furnace crowns, including regenerator crowns, with excellent results.

The efficiency of the regenerator crown insulation is often underestimated. The area of the regenerators is only 50% smaller than the melter crown area and the design with improved efficiency should be considered as an important

source of energy and fuel savings.

Lubisol has gathered plenty of positive experience, taking into account the specific conditions connected with the regenerator’s crown design. The maximum temperature in the regenerator crown is usually about 1250°C, which is much lower than the 1560 – 1600°C temperature that prevails in melter crowns. The lower maximum temperature allows the application of more efficient insulation and larger energy and fuel savings.

Lubisol has a computer programme for heat loss calculations, which shows the temperature distribution among the different layers of the glass furnace crowns.

The calculations have made it possible to optimise the total insulation effect by choosing the suitable thickness for the layer of Lubisol 2-SL. Several cases below highlight the improved efficiency of regenerator crown insulations carried out

by Lubisol.

Q = 2034 [W/sq.m]= 645 [Btu/sq.ft.hour] t<<=50°C=122°F

crowns.

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� Lubisol 2-SL (Super Light) is suitable for high temperature thermal insulation of glass furnace

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S5 S4 S3 S2

S1

t(4)=163°C=326°F t(3)=926°C=1698°F t(2)=1034°C=1894°F t(1)=1062°C=1944°F

S1 tr=1188°C=2170°F tf=1250°C=2282°F R=5000 [MM]

tf=1250°C=2282°F R=5000 [MM]

� Heat losses of a typical glass regenerator crown with a silica crown thick-

� Heat losses and temperatures after the upgrading of the same crown after

ness of 300mm and two layers of light silica bricks.

applying a layer of 114mm Lubisol 2-SL.

42 Glass International October 2016

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Furnaces

� The latest Lubisol crown insulation package has been applied to 80 glass furnaces worldwide in the past 10 years.

Container glass furnace regenerator crowns Fig. 1 displays the heat losses of a typical glass regenerator crown with a silica crown of 300mm thickness and two layers of light silica bricks. The heat losses are 2034W/m².

Fig. 2 shows heat losses and temperatures after the upgrading of the same crown after applying a 114mm layer of Lubisol 2-SL. The heat losses are reduced to 923W/m². The difference of 1111W/m² brings fuel savings of 1540m³/m²/year natural gas. For an insulated area of 90m² the amount of saved fuel is 130,500m³/year at a cost of €32,625/year.

THERMAL-SHOCK

Float glass furnaces The heat loss calculations and the temperature distributions shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are also valid for regenerator crowns in a typical float glass furnace. The heat losses are reduced from 2034W/m² to 923W/m² after upgrading the crown with Lubisol insulation. The amount of saved energy is 1111 W/m² and the amount of saved fuel is 1540m³/m²/year natural gas. For an area of 210m² the total amount of the saved fuel is 323400m³/year at a cost of €80,850/year.

STACKERS

Sodium silicate furnaces Fig. 3 highlights the heat losses and temperature distribution of magnesite regenerator crowns of a furnace melting sodium silicate. The heat losses are high: 4708W/m². Fig. 4 shows the improved design of the same crown with a Lubisol insulation package. Heat losses are reduced to 1064W/m². The reduction of the heat losses is 3544W/m² and fuel savings are 4961m³/ m²/year. For an area of 100.6m² the amount of saved fuel will be 499,136m³/year at a cost of €124,784/year. This case history shows that the heat losses can be high when the importance of the efficiency of the regenerator crown is underestimated.

Upgrading to improve efficiency is applicable on all kinds of regenerator crowns, made out of silica, magnesite, mulite, sillimanite or fused-cast refractories. The Lubisol insulation package is suitable for application on all types of glass melting furnaces, including float, container, tableware, technical glass, sodium silicate and others.

The latest Lubisol crown insulation package has been applied to 80 glass furnaces worldwide in the past 10 years. About 70 of them also have insulation on the regenerator crowns. Lubisol insulation has also been applied on two float glass furnaces – one in Turkey and one in Bulgaria. The results have been excellent with a large amount of fuel saved.

Insulation has also been applied on 12 container plants in Turkey and eight in India. The best reference for Lubisol is the fact that one single large glass manufacturer has applied its insulation on 18 glass furnaces. �

*Manager, Lubisol, Sofia, Bulgaria Email: office@lubisol.com www. Lubisol.com Glass International October 2016

Manual PALLETIZER

CULLET CRUSHER • Belt and spindles tempering lines • Annealing lehrs • Chemical tempering ovens • Hot-end coating • Mold pre-heating kilns • Stackers + cross conveyors • Scraper conveyors • Cullet crushers • Thermal shock test systems Contact us: vidromecanica@vidromecanica.com

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2016 anuncio HALF PAGE OUTROS.indd 1

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History

Prof. John Parker

Bottled gas is not codswallop Prof. John Parker examines the rise and fall of Hiram Codd and his role in ensuring glass was used for the manufacture of soft drinks.

www.glass-international.com

N

atural carbonated beverages go back a long way and spring waters saturated with gases and rich in dissolved minerals have spawned numerous spa towns. Their effervescent drinks allegedly could cure numerous digestive problems, even though (or perhaps because) they didn’t smell so good. Bottling them for wider distribution goes back to the 17th century.

During the 18th century Joseph Priestley isolated oxygen, the active component of air, and recognised carbon dioxide (CO2) which he termed ‘fixed air’.

His interests in gases led him to create carbonated water artificially, with CO2 from fermentation, for the sailors on Cooke’s second voyage to the South Sea Islands, mistakenly believing it would prevent scurvy (1772). However, he failed to pursue this. Instead, in 1783 J. J. Schweppe of Switzerland exchanged the trade of watch-making for commercial production of soda water, eventually moving his burgeoning business to London in 1792.

Such products initially were medicinal.

The later tag ‘soda’ derived from sodium salts such as the carbonate added to control the drink’s acidity.

Flavourings and other minor additives made the drink more palatable and it slowly dropped its healthy credentials evolving into the onomatopoeic ‘pop’, from opening a corked bottle.

During the 1851 Great Exhibition over a million bottles were consumed.

Maintaining sufficient CO2 in solution required containers able to withstand high internal pressure. Early earthenware vessels gave too short a shelf life and were replaced by glass bottles. Corks were used as seals but failed if they dried out.

From 1840 one way to avoid that fate was the round-bottomed, torpedo-shaped Hamilton bottle. Usually laid flat, it tended to roll off shelves and shatter.

A young man, Hiram Codd, employed by a cork manufacturer as a salesman,

puzzled over the ‘cork’ issue. His solution was revolutionary –a glass ball, a marble.

This sat in the bottle neck where the internal pressure forced it against a rubber ring to create a seal. His genius was to use pinched indentations in the neck to trap the marble during pouring, but which allowed the bottle to be resealed after drinking.

His patent, dated 1872, proposed the neck design and a way to making it, the Codd bottle. Bottles were filled upside down. One machine, able to fill 20 bottles per minute, was aptly called Hercules.

There was competition – the popular swing-top neck closure first made in 1859 was perfected in 1872 but cleaning the stopper was an issue.

The availability of effective containers led to a rapid expansion of the industry and soon most towns had a company bottling ‘pop’. The bottles were mostly embossed with the bottler’s name, making them a collectors’ paradise now.

Codd finally found a business partner, Rylands, after several Dragon’s Den style interviews. Two London factories made marbles while the Hope Glassworks in Barnsley, Yorkshire made bottles. Ultimately these bottles spread throughout the British Empire and Europe. Some are still produced in Japan and India.

While effective – the bottle could be opened by pushing the marble down with the thumb or a special tool – they were also expensive, costing more than the wholesale value of the drink inside.

Consequently the pressure to re-use the bottles was enormous and led to another Codd project on recycling.

The height of returned bottles facilitated separation, but coloured glaze on the neck also became a unique identifier. Most towns had only two or three fillers and so sorting was possible even with a limited colour palette. Interestingly blue evoked poison among the populace, curtailing its use; consequently bottles glazed blue are

rare and serious collectors’ items. Young children were recruited to the recycling chain by offering them a small reward for a gross of bottles. The same children could also undermine the process by breaking the bottles to harvest the marbles inside for their own play.

Codd bottles continued to be widely used even after the turn of the century.

As bottle blowing moved to machine production, dimensional stability improved and facilitated production of a rolled neck that could be sealed with a crown cap. The first crown patent appeared 1892 and sounded the death knell of the Codd bottle, although its demise was delayed by the investment costs of re-tooling.

Of course some looked down on the innocuous content of these bottles, which did not match up to the intoxicating characteristics of the beer they preferred to drink. Cheap beers were also known as wallop and so, it is said, the disparaging term for soda water became Codd’s Wallop, later shortened to ‘codswallop’ – something rubbishy. Sadly, etymologists now argue that the word wallop for beer was not current at the time of the Codd’s bottle and also that the spelling of the term has never had a double ‘d’.

So. the common account of the term’s origins is itself believed to be a load of codswallop! �

Bibliography C Munsey, http://www.antiquebottles. com/codd/ h t t p : / / w w w. c o l l e c to r s we e k ly. c o m / bottles/soda-and-seltzer Brian Moody, Packaging in Glass, Hutchinson Benham, London (1977)

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

44 Glass International October 2016

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Technical Topics

John Henderson Henderson Technology

Glass as a Material Glass pervades almost every avenue of human endeavour thanks to its use in television and modern-day technology such as tablets and smartphone, reflects John Henderson*. He explains how the invention of the electric light and subsequently of radio valves boosted the rise of technical glass.

www.glass-international.com

I

n light of this special year for glass, the centenary of the Society of Glass Technology (SGT) in the UK, I hope our regular readers (I believe there are one or two out there) will forgive the reflective tone of the column.

Glass has been around for centuries and which century that is largely depends on which account you read, although it is generally recognised as being BC. It could be argued that the development of ‘human civilisation’ was – and is – highly influenced by progress in the making and utilisation of glass.

Glass is a wonderfully versatile material and can be made from the most basic of ingredients, even by those who really did not know what they were doing. In early attempts at glassmaking the composition of the final glass did not always reflect the raw material mix used as the glassmaker strove to produce something usable.

Often, a crude glass would be formed and all the materials not used would float to the top as a scum and have to be taken off before it could be used.

As the understanding of how the raw materials reacted together to form a glass progressed, more useful glasses could be, and were, produced. A basic chronology would show that alkali-lime-silica glasses became prevalent first, then basic lead glasses followed by boron-containing glasses and then the more technical glasses that we know today.

The great boost to development of technical glass came from the invention of the electric light and, subsequently,

radio valves. The need for different glasses to seal to each other and to metals produced a flood of new compositional work in which borosilicates and aluminosilicates in particular were prominent. The cathode ray tube further boosted the development of lead glasses, which were used extensively in radar and other electronic displays and, of course, in television.

Meanwhile the development of sodalime-silica glasses was progressing at a

� SGT President Prof Russell Hand at this year’s Centenary Conference.

pace as fast as the development of the machines that processed it. Principally the manufacture of containers was the driving force here, but later flat glass became equally important. More recently the development of flat glass has been aligned with the growth of the communications and computing industries as thin strong glasses have been made for flat screen television, monitors, smartphones and tablets. The volume may not be as much

as traditional ‘window glass’, but many would argue that its impact on society was equally as profound.

We now have access to glasses made from silicates, borates and phosphates and mixtures of these. There are also glasses with none of these more traditional glass formers incorporated at all. There are glasses for filling teeth and for repairing bones, glasses for feeding trace elements to cattle, glasses the thickness of a hair for carrying phone calls and data from one continent to another, glasses that immobilise nuclear waste, and the list goes on. Glass pervades almost every avenue of human endeavour and yet it is still taken for granted by many of the population it so ably serves.

One thing has not changed, however: the need to melt glass (come to think of it, perhaps it has if you consider sol gel etc., but, no, not in bulk), to form it into something useful. Furnace design and efficiency has improved, but the basic concept of putting a mixture of raw materials into some form of container and heating it until it melts is as old as the history of glass itself.

One other thing that has not changed is the ingenuity, ambition and dedication of the ‘glassmakers’ (scientist, technologist, engineer, artist or historian) who constantly strive to do it better or differently or innovatively. �

*Henderson Technology, Sheffield, UK info@hendersontechnology.com www.hendersontechnology.com

46 Glass International October 2016

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