Headquartered today in Louvain-la-Neuve, central Belgium, AGC Glass Europe produces, processes and markets flat glass for the construction industry, car manufacture and other industrial sectors. The origins of the Mol plant extend back to 1922, with the foundation of the ‘Compagnie Internationale pour la fabrication mécanique du verre’ (F.M.V.), which is still visible on the mosaic staircase of the main building.
“You could think it’s an old factory and yes it is… at the outside, but inside the factory you can find a lot of innovation and a state of the art float line,” says Ronny Van Broekhoven, who joined the company in 1997 as its General Services Manager, and has been its “proud” Site Manager since 2008. “Proud because 100 years is a long history,” he clarifies, of his role in be overseeing AGC’s historic centenary celebrations, and “proud also because the team is so great and thankful. 85% of our people live within 10km of the factory (including myself), so we are an important employer for the region.”
Location, location, location
One hundred years ago the factory’s location on the Colburnlei [road] in Gompel, Mol, northern Belgium, was strategically chosen to make the most of numerous advantages: the nearby Kwaadmechelen–Dessel canal, the international rail line between Antwerp and München Gladbach, the Mol–Wezel main road and the immediate proximity of the Mol-Donck sand quarries and Limburg coalfields. In short, Mol was the ideal location, with enormous potential for starting up a factory – as well as being right in the heart of the beautiful Kempen region, now designated a national park.
However, back in 1922, there were no specialist glass workers to be found in the Kempen. As a result, dozens of workers were brought in from the glass industry in Hainaut/Henegouwen to train local workers in the art of glass-making. All these workers of course also had to be housed, leading to the construction of a number of residential areas (cités) around the factory. Over time these gradually expanded into a fully-fledged community with all the facilities you’d expect: among them were built a factory school, a church and the ‘Casino’. Contrary to what its name suggests, this latter building was never in fact a conventional casino, rather it was principally a venue for events, festivals and gatherings, while at the same time serving as a hotel for employees. With its own football club (the Union Sportive) and brass band (‘De harmonie’), community life was also thriving. You can imagine this must have been a huge amount of construction for the ‘tranquil Kempen’. And you’ll still find traces of this even today: looking around the AGC Mol site there are many buildings to be seen that bear witness to this past. The history of the company is truly entwined with the history of the Kempen.
Royal visit and wartime experience
One important milestone in the history of the site is the visit to the factory of then King Albert I on 6 November 1929. According to one eyewitness and former director, Mr Schrijvers, the king and his entourage were the only people ever to have entered through the large iron gate opposite the entrance to the main building. This has since disappeared, being replaced by a small wall with a fixed gate. Despite the presence of the iron gate in front of the main building, the factory was at the time always accessed from the Colburnlei, where metal roller doors are now located.
1930 saw the merging of F.M.V. with a mirror factory at Moustier and the Roux glass business, giving rise to the name Glaver. Even then the factory already had a reputation for superior quality and for its specialisation in particular products, a market position it retains to this day.
Unfortunately, the factory has also known more difficult times, and was not spared during the Second World War. Many of its staff were called to arms, imprisoned, or fell victim to the hostilities. The far-reaching restrictions in the construction sector, and on the supply of raw materials – imposed by the occupying Germans – brought the factory to a complete standstill. In addition, parts of the facility were used by the occupiers for storing materials. Liberation by British forces appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel; but before that large parts of the factory had been burned, causing enormous damage to the northern and eastern parts of the site.
Growth and expansion
Nonetheless, despite the difficult economic situation immediately following the end of the war, the people of the Kempen refused to be deterred and set about rebuilding the factory. The icing on the cake was a new product, launched onto the market in 1948: the double-insulating Thermopane glass. In the years that followed, the factory saw nothing but expansion and exponential growth. Additional furnaces were built to provide a total of six, the capacity of each furnace being increased through application of the latest technologies, raising the scale of production to a truly industrial level.
1960 saw the merger between Glaver and Univerbel, resulting in a new name – Glaverbel – that is still widely known even today. While this immediately resulted in various extensions to production areas, the exponential growth experienced meant that the administration building also had to be enlarged. The ‘main building’ as it is known today already existed, but comprised just a single storey. Addition of a second floor was achieved without needing to interrupt business in the main building for even a single day.
Over time, the glass business’ products gradually became more differentiated. As the machines were adapted, becoming more specialised, the historic factory increasingly grew to resemble the structure that we now know as the Coater, Float, Kempenglas and Vertec departments.
The creation of Kempenglas NV, however, didn’t happen until 1998, 17 years after the acquisition of Glaverbel by Asahi Glass in 1981 – a move that saw Glaverbel taken into the global AGC organisation. The ‘Glaverbel’ name was consequently changed in 2007 to AGC (Flat) Glass Europe.
Current manufacturing capabilities
Today, the AGC Mol site comprises four production units and 620 employees. The company’s Vertec department deals with cutting, grinding, etching, chemically tempering the glass, particularly for the car interior markets and touch screen production. The Coater department coats the glass (via vacuum deposit) produced in Mol for automotive business: sunroofs and windscreens, while the Kempenglas department is where AGC’s insulating glass (double or triple) is assembled for building applications.
The company’s float line, “totally renewed in 2019” with a 400tpd furnace specialises in extra thin (up to 0.5mm) and extra clear glass and runs 24/7 all year round. “We produce for automotive markets (windscreens, sunroofs and car interior), electronics (touch screens), solar (solar mirrors) and medical services (microslides),” says Ronny Van Broekhoven. Extra capacity was required to stay current and meet future demand for innovations. “We invested many millions of euros in our plant,” he continues. “We did a cold repair of our float line […] We also spent on new machinery to bring added value to the glass such as an extra etching line, laser cutting, and chemical tempering.”
Centenary celebrations
“On 14 May we invited all our colleagues and their partners to celebrate our 100 years,” says Mr Van Broekhoven. “We [were able to] celebrate it at the lake shore” – from where, “in the past […] white sand has been taken out to produce our glass.”
AGC Mol is also planning (at time of writing) to open its doors in the first weekend of October: “Our colleagues will be able to show their families how the factory looks like from the inside,” explains Mr Van Broekhoven. “Also, neighbours, politicians and some colleagues from other plants will be invited.”
It is “great that our 100-year anniversary happens in the same year the UN declared as the International Year of Glass because of the importance of glass in daily life,” he adds. Throughout the year, AGC has been organising initiatives: an internal video campaign called ‘United by Passion for Glass’ starring AGC employees from all over Europe and Brazil passionate about glass. For its external stakeholders: customer events, local happenings, celebrations at its plants and a social media video campaign entitled ‘It’s a kind of magic’ to help people discover and learn more about the magical aspects of glass. “AGC likes to take this opportunity to celebrate the role played by glass and its many benefits to society,” notes Mr Van Broekhoven.
Continuing to strive for innovation and the development of new products in Mol is shaping a future for AGC Glass Europe that is as bright and sparkling as the glass that it manufactures – ensuring that the company will have even more to celebrate when it reaches its next milestone.