Turkish glass container specialist Gurallar Cam Ambalaj has selected Applied Vision’s

Volcano glass inspection systems for its second furnace project later this year in Kutahya. USA-based Applied Vision has continued its strategic growth into the glass container market due to its advancements in glass inspection technology and global support network.

Glaston President and CEO, Arto Metsänen is to retire on 1 January 2021 and has agreed to step down as CEO next month. The Board of Directors has nominated his current deputy, Sasu Koivumäki as acting CEO, with the recruitment process for a new CEO already underway.

VPInstruments, manufacturer of flow metering equipment for easy insights to energy flows, has provided a major update to its VP Academy online e-learning platform. The update contains the addition of the VPFlowScope DP, VPFlowScope Probe and the VPFlowScope in-line product range.  

For a second year in succession, Forglass has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious Gazelles of Business ranking of the most dynamically growing businesses in the small-to-medium enterprise sector in Poland.

According to the company, this recognition reflects its positive reputation and credibility which, thanks to its dynamic development, can cope well even with much larger competitors.

www.forglass.eu

Tobias Wachtmann is to take over as Head of Vertical Glass & Solar at Siemens in Karlsruhe, Germany on 1 June, succeeding Bernhard Saftig, who retires in early July.

Mr Saftig has served glass industry customers at Siemens in positions of responsibility for more than three decades and leaves a strong foundation on which his successor can build. 

Glaston’s first quarter 2020 results confirm a stable order book value of €45.6 million, driven by the insulating glass sector, where orders have grown by more than 70% year-on-year. Heat treatment equipment orders were also positive. Net sales grew by 6% to €46.9 million.

A recent statement from Glaston confirms that production facilities in Finland, Germany, Switzerland and China have successfully maintained operations throughout the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

From the outset, the focus has been on securing the operations, the safety of employees and on continuous support for customers. This means that machines and lines for processing architectural, automotive, solar and appliance glass continue to be delivered to customers throughout the world.

The Combined Coating Measurement System (CCMS) from Agr International provides operators with a one-stop, single operation testing station for measuring and managing the container coating process.

This system utilises Agr’s proven reflective coating measurement technology, features a fully automated measurement approach and incorporates a number of technological advances.

It provides a 33% improvement in testing throughput and a 70% improvement in precision over previous Agr coating measurement systems.

Poland’s Forglass has recently completed a batch plant expansion project on behalf of glass wool production specialist, Saint-Gobain Isover.

The Chemillé plant in France was constructed some 10 years ago and recently the company decided to expand its glass wool production by constructing a second furnace. Calculations showed that the capacity of the batch plant was sufficient to supply both furnaces.

What was needed was an additional line for transporting the mixed batch to the new furnace, fully integrated with the client’s existing control system.

Czech Republic-based Glass Service is celebrating 30 years’ service in support of the international glassmaking industry.

Together with affiliated companies FlammaTec spol s r o, FlammaTec Germany GmbH, FIC (UK) Ltd, FIC Germany GmbH, Augmented Sensors and Systems d o o (A-SENS), Glass Service provides extensive consulting and engineering services to customers.

An investment group led by the owner of a worldwide construction company has acquired Henry F Teichmann Inc, the global process engineering and contracting firm dedicated to serving the glass industry.

Stephen F D’Angelo, owner and Chief Executive Officer of Pittsburgh-based dck worldwide, completed the transaction in mid-February, positioning Teichmann as an affiliate and strategic partner of the construction firm that has completed building projects in 125 countries.

Vibratory batch chargers with two pusher paddles and either servo- or frequency-controlled drives from HORN Glass Industries AG are increasingly specified in the glass market.

The reliability of this equipment has been reconfirmed by Wiegand-Glas in Steinbach, Germany in recent months. In 2018, HORN delivered a melting furnace together with an HRV 700S-2P batch charger, equipped with servo drive.

The servo drive allows the improved adjustment of the movement of the pusher paddles. Thus, the batch layer on the glass surface can be influenced more precisely.

In response to the international glass container industry’s growing acceptance and adoption of ‘smart’ manufacturing practises, IRIS Inspection machines has expanded its NEO range of smart inspection solutions.

Created in close consultation with key customers, the latest NEO technology goes beyond the conventional boundaries associated with specialist inspection machines, delivering a more comprehensive offering to face the challenges presented by the smart factory.

Germany’s NOGRID GmbH, leading supplier of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has relocated its headquarters to Mainz. Larger office space and training rooms (pictured) will help the company to prepare for further growth.

Separately, NOGRID has also announced its latest pointsBlow 3.2.5 software release (software especially for the simulation of the glass container forming process in full 3D) and NOGRID points 6.7.3, a general-purpose simulation software. Both releases provide a series of innovative features, with faster computation time ensuring reliable solutions.

According to PaneraTech CEO Yakup Bayram (pictured with Fred Aker, Vice President of Sales and Marketing), self-service SmartMelter inspections will be available to new customers for initial inspections effective immediately. This service, previously extended only to repeat customers, will help glass manufacturers ensure safe and reliable furnace operations as they are forced to adjust maintenance and repair schedules.

Following the departure of Miikkael Niemi, Jukka Manner (pictured) has been appointed CEO at Sparklike Oy, Finland’s leading supplier of non-destructive insulating gas analysers. Mr Manner has been Sparklike’s Sales and Marketing Director since early 2019, a position he will continue to perform in parallel.

Working alongside him is Iiro Jantunen, Chief Technology Officer, who has been responsible for product development, production maintenance and quality assurance since joining the business last November.

www.sparklike.com

Glaston Group has been awarded a contract for an FC Series tempering line with Dutch company Steinfort Glas, an expert in glass processing serving the construction, furniture, interior design and automotive industries. The order was received in early February 2020 and the line will be delivered during the last quarter of 2020. In addition, the deal includes a co-operation agreement sharing resources and linking companies core knowhows to a common learning curve.