Glaverbel Czech

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9/8/01
4:32 PM
Page 1 Macintosh HD:WORK IN PROGRESS:Air Products:AP_Glaverbel Case Study:
For more information:
For more information:
Glaverbel Czech
Europe, Middle East and Africa
Commercial Technology Group
Air Products PLC
Fourth Avenue
Crewe
Cheshire CW1 6XL
England
Asia
Air Products Asia, Inc.
9 Temasek Boulevard
#28-01 Suntec Tower 2
Singapore 038989
Our work together
Tel: +44 (0)800-389-0202
Fax: + 44 (0)1270-259-506
E-mail: [email protected]
Air Products GmbH
Hüttenstraße 50
D-45527 Hattingen
Tel: +49 (0)1805-427-835
Fax: +49 (0)2324-689-100
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +65-332-1610
Fax: + 65-332-1600
E-mail: [email protected]
United States and Canada
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
7201 Hamilton Boulevard
Allentown, PA 18195-1501
Tel: (+1) 800-654-4567
Fax: (+1) 800-880-5204
E-mail: [email protected]
Air Products spol. s.r.o.
Ústecká 30
405 30 Decín
˘˘
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 800 100 700
Fax: +420 412 510 271
E-mail: [email protected]
tell me more
www.airproducts.com/glass
© Air Products and Chemicals Inc. 2001 337-11-002-GLB
“Our philosophy is to concentrate on making and selling
glass, and to buy in expertise in other areas. Air Products
has given us excellent support right from the start.”
ˇ
Pavel Sedlbauer,
Production Manager, Glaverbel Czech.
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In just ten years, the Czech subsidiary of Belgian glassmaker Glaverbel has turned
itself from a lumbering model of inefficiency into a modern and highly competitive
producer of float and automotive glass. One of the keys to this transformation has
been Glaverbel’s partnership with Air Products.
In 1991 the state-owned glass company
in former Czechoslovakia was typical of
much east European industry at the time:
over-staffed and under-funded. The
company’s three manufacturing plants
near Teplice, in what is now the north of
the Czech Republic, employed around
7,000 people to produce glass of rather
ˇ
poor quality, says Pavel Sedlbauer,
the
group’s Production Manager.
As a subsidiary of the Belgian Glaverbel
group, which itself belongs to Japan’s
Asahi Glass, the company now runs four
plants (including glass manufacturing
and fabrication) with just 1,500
employees. Turnover has tripled, giving
Glaverbel Czech a capacity of 1,300
tonnes/day from its two float glass lines.
Quality is much better too, allowing the
company to break into the highly
competitive automotive market: Glaverbel
Czech is a leading supplier to the
ˇ
Volkswagen-Skoda
group.
Essential to these improvements in both
quality and capacity has been Glaverbel
Czech’s relationship with industrial gas
supplier Air Products. The partnership,
which began in 1994, encompasses
the supply of nitrogen, hydrogen,
compressed air, oxygen and other gases,
as well as technology and know-how.
“Our philosophy is to concentrate on
making and selling glass, and to buy in
expertise in other areas. Air Products has
given us excellent support right from the
ˇ
start,” says Pavel Sedlbauer.
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In just ten years, the Czech subsidiary of Belgian glassmaker Glaverbel has turned
itself from a lumbering model of inefficiency into a modern and highly competitive
producer of float and automotive glass. One of the keys to this transformation has
been Glaverbel’s partnership with Air Products.
In 1991 the state-owned glass company
in former Czechoslovakia was typical of
much east European industry at the time:
over-staffed and under-funded. The
company’s three manufacturing plants
near Teplice, in what is now the north of
the Czech Republic, employed around
7,000 people to produce glass of rather
ˇ
poor quality, says Pavel Sedlbauer,
the
group’s Production Manager.
As a subsidiary of the Belgian Glaverbel
group, which itself belongs to Japan’s
Asahi Glass, the company now runs four
plants (including glass manufacturing
and fabrication) with just 1,500
employees. Turnover has tripled, giving
Glaverbel Czech a capacity of 1,300
tonnes/day from its two float glass lines.
Quality is much better too, allowing the
company to break into the highly
competitive automotive market: Glaverbel
Czech is a leading supplier to the
ˇ
Volkswagen-Skoda
group.
Essential to these improvements in both
quality and capacity has been Glaverbel
Czech’s relationship with industrial gas
supplier Air Products. The partnership,
which began in 1994, encompasses
the supply of nitrogen, hydrogen,
compressed air, oxygen and other gases,
as well as technology and know-how.
“Our philosophy is to concentrate on
making and selling glass, and to buy in
expertise in other areas. Air Products has
given us excellent support right from the
ˇ
start,” says Pavel Sedlbauer.
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Turnround at Teplice
4
The pace of change has been rapid, and
it says a lot for Czech flexibility that both
managers and workers were able to
adapt to the new way of working, says
ˇ
Pavel Sedlbauer.
Václav Harant,
Air Products General Manager Czech and
Slovak Republics, is emphatic: “The staff
at Glaverbel Czech are some of the most
innovative and dynamic people I have
met within the Glaverbel group,” he says.
Of course the transformation has not
been just about gases. When the
company came up for privatisation in
1991, its status as eastern Europe’s only
float glass manufacturer made it a
valuable acquisition — for a new owner
prepared to spend money on making the
plants competitive. Glaverbel did just
ˇ
that, says Pavel Sedlbauer:
“We have had
very good co-operation with Belgium.
Glaverbel was quick to invest, and that
investment has produced good results.”
Good gas for
good glass
Glaverbel gave its new Czech subsidiary
the name Glavunion, and set about
ˇ
modernising the three plants at Retenice,
Barevka and Oloví. All except Oloví are
close to Teplice, a town of 70,000
ˇ
people. The main plant, at Retenice,
makes float glass; Barevka makes
patterned and wired glass, while Oloví
produces automotive mirrors. Also in the
Glaverbel group are the nearby Splintex
automotive glass factory and another site
manufacturing double glazing.
Since the original float glass line using
Pilkington technology was installed at
ˇ
Retenice
in 1969, expectations of glass
quality have continued to improve — and
defect-free float glass demands highquality nitrogen and hydrogen for the
protective atmosphere above the tin
bath. In keeping with their new
philosophy of outsourcing wherever
possible, in 1994 the management team
prepared to shut down the existing onsite gas facilities and looked around for
an independent gas supplier.
As well as upgrading plant and
equipment, Glaverbel has spent around
500 million CZK (£10 million) on
information technology, including a
world-class enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system from SAP. An even larger
investment was a new greenfield factory
at Kryry, 70 km from Teplice, for mirrors
and furniture glass. In 1998, to
emphasise the connection with the
parent company, Glavunion was
re-named Glaverbel Czech.
Of the companies they approached,
Air Products had the most comprehensive
ˇ
offering, says Pavel Sedlbauer.
The first
contracts for nitrogen and compressed
air were signed in 1995. The following
year Air Products installed a new
cryogenic air separation plant next to
ˇ
the production line at Retenice,
and
in 1997 Glaverbel Czech signed a
new longer-term contract for nitrogen
and hydrogen.
A winning partnership
Václav Harant of Air Products is confident that Glaverbel
Czech has not yet seen the full benefits of oxy-fuel
combustion, which can include increased production,
improved glass quality, better stability of the melting
process, lower furnace NO2 emissions, lower operating
costs and increased furnace life.
The new air separation plant provides
3,200 m3/h of nitrogen. During periods of
low demand, excess nitrogen is stored on
site as liquefied gas, which can then be
vapourised to meet peak requirements.
“The gas quality is excellent,” says Petr
ˇ
Mazzolini, plant manager at Retenice.
“For instance, our nitrogen contract says
that the oxygen concentration must be
less than 10 ppm – but most of the time
it’s down in the range 0.1 – 0.5 ppm.”
The existing compressed-air system was
in good condition, so Air Products was
able to take this over on an operations
contract, freeing Glaverbel Czech from
the responsibility of looking after a big
capital investment. The compressed air
— 10, 000 m3/h of it — supplies the
air separation plant, operates lifting
equipment, and is also used in
pneumatic conveying systems handling
soda ash, fluorspar and other raw
materials that arrive by rail.
Hydrogen is brought in by tanker and
stored in high capacity tanks, replacing
the old electrolysis plant that used to
ˇ
supply Retenice.
Other gases supplied by
Air Products in smaller quantities include
argon and sulphur hexafluoride for
double glazing.
Oxy-fuel: careful
planning brings results
In 1998, with the guidance of Air Products,
Glaverbel Czech began trials with oxygen
to increase furnace pull, improve glass
quality and reduce natural gas costs.
“Making the change to oxy-fuel
combustion is a risky business, so we
have taken it slowly,” says Pavel
ˇ
Sedlbauer.
“Right from the start we have
had good support from Air Products, and
we now have two years of successful
experience with oxygen.” A daily tanker
delivery of liquid oxygen provides up to
800 m3/h of the gas for the furnaces.
ˇ
On Line 2 at Retenice,
which produces
clear glass, the use of oxygen in the
most sensitive furnace zones has brought
significant benefits, according to Petr
Mazzolini. “Previously, capacity on Line 2
was limited by the melt rate of the
furnace,” he says. “Oxygen has increased
the furnace pull by 5–7% and the
bottleneck has shifted to the glass
forming equipment. And the melting
stability is much improved.”
On Line 1 the benefits of oxygen
combustion are less clear, because this
line is used to make coloured glass and
its throughput is limited as much by the
changeover time between campaigns as
by furnace capacity. Without oxygen,
changing from one colour to another
required up to four days. “Oxygen has
definitely reduced this time, though we
are not yet sure by how much,” says
Petr Mazzolini.
Air Products has been supplying oxy-fuel
technology to the glass industry since
the mid-1970s, and its Cleanfire® burner
has been a recognised leader since its
introduction in 1991. By increasing the
proportion of radiation emitted in the
visible and near-infrared parts of the
spectrum, the Cleanfire® flame is ideal
for boosting purposes and transmits
more energy deeper into the melt than
is possible with conventional oxy-fuel
burners. Air Products’ Cleanfire® HR™
burners are also available, and with their
high radiation and flat flame shape,
are much more suited to full oxy-fuel
furnace conversions where no air-fuel
burners are used.
Air Products has always emphasised
the importance of technical expertise and
long-term relationships with its
customers. “The average length of our
gas supply contracts is 15 years, so the
relationship between Glaverbel Czech
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Turnround at Teplice
4
The pace of change has been rapid, and
it says a lot for Czech flexibility that both
managers and workers were able to
adapt to the new way of working, says
ˇ
Pavel Sedlbauer.
Václav Harant,
Air Products General Manager Czech and
Slovak Republics, is emphatic: “The staff
at Glaverbel Czech are some of the most
innovative and dynamic people I have
met within the Glaverbel group,” he says.
Of course the transformation has not
been just about gases. When the
company came up for privatisation in
1991, its status as eastern Europe’s only
float glass manufacturer made it a
valuable acquisition — for a new owner
prepared to spend money on making the
plants competitive. Glaverbel did just
ˇ
that, says Pavel Sedlbauer:
“We have had
very good co-operation with Belgium.
Glaverbel was quick to invest, and that
investment has produced good results.”
Good gas for
good glass
Glaverbel gave its new Czech subsidiary
the name Glavunion, and set about
ˇ
modernising the three plants at Retenice,
Barevka and Oloví. All except Oloví are
close to Teplice, a town of 70,000
ˇ
people. The main plant, at Retenice,
makes float glass; Barevka makes
patterned and wired glass, while Oloví
produces automotive mirrors. Also in the
Glaverbel group are the nearby Splintex
automotive glass factory and another site
manufacturing double glazing.
Since the original float glass line using
Pilkington technology was installed at
ˇ
Retenice
in 1969, expectations of glass
quality have continued to improve — and
defect-free float glass demands highquality nitrogen and hydrogen for the
protective atmosphere above the tin
bath. In keeping with their new
philosophy of outsourcing wherever
possible, in 1994 the management team
prepared to shut down the existing onsite gas facilities and looked around for
an independent gas supplier.
As well as upgrading plant and
equipment, Glaverbel has spent around
500 million CZK (£10 million) on
information technology, including a
world-class enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system from SAP. An even larger
investment was a new greenfield factory
at Kryry, 70 km from Teplice, for mirrors
and furniture glass. In 1998, to
emphasise the connection with the
parent company, Glavunion was
re-named Glaverbel Czech.
Of the companies they approached,
Air Products had the most comprehensive
ˇ
offering, says Pavel Sedlbauer.
The first
contracts for nitrogen and compressed
air were signed in 1995. The following
year Air Products installed a new
cryogenic air separation plant next to
ˇ
the production line at Retenice,
and
in 1997 Glaverbel Czech signed a
new longer-term contract for nitrogen
and hydrogen.
A winning partnership
Václav Harant of Air Products is confident that Glaverbel
Czech has not yet seen the full benefits of oxy-fuel
combustion, which can include increased production,
improved glass quality, better stability of the melting
process, lower furnace NO2 emissions, lower operating
costs and increased furnace life.
The new air separation plant provides
3,200 m3/h of nitrogen. During periods of
low demand, excess nitrogen is stored on
site as liquefied gas, which can then be
vapourised to meet peak requirements.
“The gas quality is excellent,” says Petr
ˇ
Mazzolini, plant manager at Retenice.
“For instance, our nitrogen contract says
that the oxygen concentration must be
less than 10 ppm – but most of the time
it’s down in the range 0.1 – 0.5 ppm.”
The existing compressed-air system was
in good condition, so Air Products was
able to take this over on an operations
contract, freeing Glaverbel Czech from
the responsibility of looking after a big
capital investment. The compressed air
— 10, 000 m3/h of it — supplies the
air separation plant, operates lifting
equipment, and is also used in
pneumatic conveying systems handling
soda ash, fluorspar and other raw
materials that arrive by rail.
Hydrogen is brought in by tanker and
stored in high capacity tanks, replacing
the old electrolysis plant that used to
ˇ
supply Retenice.
Other gases supplied by
Air Products in smaller quantities include
argon and sulphur hexafluoride for
double glazing.
Oxy-fuel: careful
planning brings results
In 1998, with the guidance of Air Products,
Glaverbel Czech began trials with oxygen
to increase furnace pull, improve glass
quality and reduce natural gas costs.
“Making the change to oxy-fuel
combustion is a risky business, so we
have taken it slowly,” says Pavel
ˇ
Sedlbauer.
“Right from the start we have
had good support from Air Products, and
we now have two years of successful
experience with oxygen.” A daily tanker
delivery of liquid oxygen provides up to
800 m3/h of the gas for the furnaces.
ˇ
On Line 2 at Retenice,
which produces
clear glass, the use of oxygen in the
most sensitive furnace zones has brought
significant benefits, according to Petr
Mazzolini. “Previously, capacity on Line 2
was limited by the melt rate of the
furnace,” he says. “Oxygen has increased
the furnace pull by 5–7% and the
bottleneck has shifted to the glass
forming equipment. And the melting
stability is much improved.”
On Line 1 the benefits of oxygen
combustion are less clear, because this
line is used to make coloured glass and
its throughput is limited as much by the
changeover time between campaigns as
by furnace capacity. Without oxygen,
changing from one colour to another
required up to four days. “Oxygen has
definitely reduced this time, though we
are not yet sure by how much,” says
Petr Mazzolini.
Air Products has been supplying oxy-fuel
technology to the glass industry since
the mid-1970s, and its Cleanfire® burner
has been a recognised leader since its
introduction in 1991. By increasing the
proportion of radiation emitted in the
visible and near-infrared parts of the
spectrum, the Cleanfire® flame is ideal
for boosting purposes and transmits
more energy deeper into the melt than
is possible with conventional oxy-fuel
burners. Air Products’ Cleanfire® HR™
burners are also available, and with their
high radiation and flat flame shape,
are much more suited to full oxy-fuel
furnace conversions where no air-fuel
burners are used.
Air Products has always emphasised
the importance of technical expertise and
long-term relationships with its
customers. “The average length of our
gas supply contracts is 15 years, so the
relationship between Glaverbel Czech
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and Air Products is a real ‘marriage’,”
says Václav Harant. More recently,
Air Products has been strengthening
customer relationships even further
through its MEGASYS® gas service
offering.
Originally developed for the semiconductor
industry, MEGASYS® transfers responsibility
for gas management from the customer
to Air Products. For both on-site generation
and tanker or cylinder deliveries,
Air Products assures gas availability and
quality, as well as technical service levels
— typically including a permanent
Air Products staff presence on the
customer’s site.
Now Air Products is expanding the
MEGASYS® concept to cover the glass
industry. “We want to take on more
responsibility for gas supplies and
equipment, and to have Air Products
people closer to the melting process,”
says Václav Harant. “Currently we have
ˇ
one person full-time on the Retenice
site,
and we are talking to Glaverbel Czech
about increasing the number to three.”
“As plant manager, I’m very pleased with
the way the partnership has worked out,”
says Petr Mazzolini. “Our collaboration
has developed step-by-step each year,
and the co-operation at management
level has been excellent. I’m sure we
made the right choice with Air Products.”
“Back in 1994, the idea that Air Products
could offer Glaverbel Czech global
solutions for glass technology as well as
gas supply was a new one to them,” he
continues. “But within six months they
had embraced the idea of a partnership
with us and were very open to the
new technology.”
“Back in 1994, the idea that Air Products could
offer Glaverbel Czech global solutions for glass
technology as well as gas supply was a new
one to them, but within six months they had
embraced the idea of a partnership with us and
were very open to the new technology.”
Václav Harant, General Manager, Air Products,
Czech and Slovak Republics.
Glaverbel_8pp
9/8/01
4:32 PM
Page 1 Macintosh HD:WORK IN PROGRESS:Air Products:AP_Glaverbel Case Study:
For more information:
For more information:
Glaverbel Czech
Europe, Middle East and Africa
Commercial Technology Group
Air Products PLC
Fourth Avenue
Crewe
Cheshire CW1 6XL
England
Asia
Air Products Asia, Inc.
9 Temasek Boulevard
#28-01 Suntec Tower 2
Singapore 038989
Our work together
Tel: +44 (0)800-389-0202
Fax: + 44 (0)1270-259-506
E-mail: [email protected]
Air Products GmbH
Hüttenstraße 50
D-45527 Hattingen
Tel: +49 (0)1805-427-835
Fax: +49 (0)2324-689-100
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +65-332-1610
Fax: + 65-332-1600
E-mail: [email protected]
United States and Canada
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
7201 Hamilton Boulevard
Allentown, PA 18195-1501
Tel: (+1) 800-654-4567
Fax: (+1) 800-880-5204
E-mail: [email protected]
Air Products spol. s.r.o.
Ústecká 30
405 30 Decín
˘˘
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 800 100 700
Fax: +420 412 510 271
E-mail: [email protected]
tell me more
www.airproducts.com/glass
© Air Products and Chemicals Inc. 2001 337-11-002-GLB
“Our philosophy is to concentrate on making and selling
glass, and to buy in expertise in other areas. Air Products
has given us excellent support right from the start.”
ˇ
Pavel Sedlbauer,
Production Manager, Glaverbel Czech.