The order was processed by Zippe on turn-key basis. The project comprises all parts like steel construction, erection, pipework, cabling, commissioning as well as training of Vetropack’s personnel. The batch house is designed to supply two melting furnaces.

Furthermore, the installation of two cullet recycling systems is also part of this project. In May 2023 the complete plant will go into operation.

However, a Hanting Hotel in Shanghai recently closed more than ten guest rooms for window and door renovation and upgrades during the peak demand periods, despite the potential loss of revenue. Why did they do this? The pay-off, definitely, is totally worth it. In this issue, LandVac will provide a new reference for getting rid of noise troubles through this renovation case.

The hotel is located next to a main road in Shanghai. Due to occasional guest complaints about significant night-time noise, the hotel searched for a solution to resolve the noise problem and create a better user experience for their customers. After multiple comparisons and in-depth communication, the hotel invited a LandVac technical team to carry out an upgrade and renovation of the whole window to resolve the noise problem.

After inspecting and analysing the site, LandVac technical team found that the hotel rooms were affected by wind noise, tire noise, and honking sounds, with the outdoor noise level reaching up to 72.5 decibels. The noise spectrum was mainly focused on mid and low frequencies. Meanwhile, the the sealing strips of the aluminium casement windows with insulated glass had a noticeable ageing problem, combined with the loosening of the opening window, leading to even worse overall sound insulation performance of the doors and windows, and unsatisfactory thermal insulation performance as well. In light of this, LandVac technical team carried out the following plan:

1. Choose the high-performance Hybrid VIG
The original windows with insulated glass had a significant resonance effect in the mid and low-frequency range, causing outdoor mid and low-frequency noise (humming sound) to easily enter the room. This type of glass is not suitable for windows next to main roads. Therefore, LandVac technical team chose the hybrid LandVac vacuum insulated glass to renovate the original windows. The excellent performance of perfect vacuum effectively compensates for the sound transmission shortcomings of insulated glass in the mid and low-frequency range. At the same time, the patented hybrid VIG technology of LandGlass can achieve excellent sound insulation effects across all frequency ranges.

2. Choose the energy saving windows with Superstructure technology
To solve the problem of ageing sealing strips and loosening of the opening window, LandVac technical team decided to use the whole energy saving windows with Superstructure technology, which further improves the air tightness and sound insulation effect of the window frame, while also fully realizing the thermal insulation performance of LandVac, offering more outstanding energy saving performance.

After the renovation, the sound insulation effect in the hotel rooms was significantly improved, successfully reducing the noise level to a comfortable range of 30-40 decibels during the day and below 30 decibels at night. After several days of continuous observation, the hotel was very satisfied with the soundproofing effect and also received unanimous positive reviews from guests and the hotel.

With the development of society, noise pollution has become one of the major environmental problems that disturb people’s physical and mental health. The implementation of the revised “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Pollution from Environmental Noise” published in 2022, put the night-time noise pollution under stricter control.

At present, LandVac products have been successfully applied in the environmental optimization of many well-known buildings and enterprises at home and abroad, meeting the noise reduction needs of different scenarios, and becoming a great choice for healthy work and quality life.

LandGlass invites you to experience the high performance of LandVac Vacuum insulated glass in thermal insulation and noise reduction in person. From May 6 to 9, 2023, LandGlass looks forward to seeing you at China Glass 2023 in Booth No.081, Hall N3, Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

Glass fibre is a synthetic material consisting of numerous, extremely fine fibres of glass. It is a unique industrial textile material, strong and versatile for a range of applications including infrastructure, building and construction, pipes and tanks, oil, gas, chemical and transportation.

Also known as fibreglass, glass fibre and the use of glass fibre mats are growing in a wide range of applications, which has increased the need for accurate, automated inspection. The volume of wet-laid non-woven materials for construction interiors is continuing to grow alongside the demand for high-quality construction materials.

These markets expect products with perfect fibre formation. AMETEK Surface Vision uses its SmartView web inspection and SmartAdvisor web monitoring systems along with SmartSync, creating a unified inspection platform to ensure high-quality results in the production process.

This total vision integration combines the power of advanced SmartView classification with the flexible, multi-position camera technology of SmartAdvisor.

As a result, the operator can rapidly determine the root cause of any defects and take the necessary corrective action. An integrated fault map provides an accurate process quality overview, while classified defects are synchronized with the associated video files from upstream cameras. An integrated database provides comprehensive reporting for all visual anomalies.

Volker Koelmel, Global Manager of Plastic, Nonwovens & Paper, said, “Defect-free glass fibres are essential in a growing range of applications. Our proven SmartView and SmartAdvisor systems provide manufacturers of glass fibre non-woven materials with the assurance they need that defects will be identified during the production process, leading to a high-quality product and a reduction in customer claims.”

As a world leader in glass melting and conditioning technologies trusted by glassmakers in 80 countries to design and install their furnaces, SORG is delighted to attend the event and share its knowledge.

Please visit SORG at booth N1-361.

NorthGlass will bring you:

• A Digital Intelligent Glass Factory
• Tempering lines
• Coating lines
• Glass processing automation lines
• Industrial glass automation lines
• Glass cutting machines
• Glass storage systems
• Processed glass products

In 2015, Consolidated Glass purchased its second tempering line, a Glaston RC Series, to be able to keep up its outstanding five to ten day lead times and push into the lucrative office partition market.

The same spirit of growth and expansion into new glass processing areas led the company to venture into laminated glass in 2021. This meant a new 15,000 square foot building and automated lamination line.

“We saw the move into laminating glass as an exciting opportunity to explore. It gives us an open door to many new areas, such as security, acoustic and decorative glass. After thoroughly reviewing six lines, we chose Glaston’s ProL lamination thanks to its convection heating and simplicity,” said Consolidated Glass Corporation’s Brad Bartley, General Manager, and Lindsey Merryman, Lamination Line Program Manager.

“We reviewed six different lines, comparing price and performance,” Brad said. “We were familiar with Glaston’s background and knew the technology they bring to the tempering world. That was important to us.” But what caught his attention most was the convection heating system used on the ProL line as opposed to the infrared (IR) heating systems that most competitors use.

“For me, just the simplicity was impressive. And when you’re investing that much in new technology, you want to know that the supplier is highly experienced in that area. I also spoke with close friends in the industry who praised Glaston’s lamination technology,” he said.

“Our entire team is very excited about the quality of laminated glass we have produced. It’s beautiful!” Lindsey said. “We’ve got a lot of great people working with us who are definitely up for the challenge. They’re willing to learn and work hard. So, we’re getting used to the lamination line and are continuing to add to our knowledge each day.”

In an environment that remains inflationary, the Saint-Gobain Group continued to effectively serve and support its customers while managing energy and raw material cost evolution.

Prices were up by 10.2 percent over the quarter, owing to price increases implemented last year and certain additional measures taken locally at the start of 2023, generating a positive price-cost spread overall. Volumes were down by 5.5 percent with a moderate market slowdown as expected, which reflects a contrasting situation: a marked decline in new construction but good resilience overall in renovation. The Group is proactively taking the commercial and industrial measures necessary to adapt to its environment and to continue its excellent operating performance in order to deliver an attractive operating margin despite difficult markets.

On a reported basis, sales progressed by 3.3 percent to EUR 12.4 billion, including a negative currency effect of 0.5 percent. The Group structure impact reduced sales by 0.9 percent and results from the ongoing optimization of the Group’s profile, both in terms of disposals – mainly in distribution (UK, Poland and Denmark), glass processing activities, Crystals & Detectors and ceramics for the steel industry – and in terms of acquisitions, mainly in construction chemicals (GCP Applied Technologies “GCP” and Impac in Mexico), in exterior products (Kaycan in North America) and in insulation (Rockwool India Pvt Ltd.).

Highlights
• Organic growth: +4.7 percent
• Good level of pricing, helping to generate a positive price-cost spread
• Confirmation of the Group’s resilience in a difficult environment
• Confidence in the 2023 outlook: operating margin between 9 percent and 11 percent

Proven resilience in a difficult environment
In an environment characterized by a marked decline in new construction and good resistance overall in renovation, the first quarter demonstrated the Group’s resilience thanks notably to the roll-out of the initiatives set out in its “Grow & Impact” plan.

• Strategically, the Group has benefited from the optimization of its portfolio (one-third of sales rotated since 2018) which has reinforced its profitable growth profile, and from its strong positioning on the structurally supportive renovation market (new energy efficiency regulations and subsidies).
• Operationally, the Group has leveraged its efficient local organization with close proximity to customers, priority given to the development of low-carbon solutions and processes, and results-driven accountability for country teams. This has allowed us to achieve in particular stronger pricing power (constant focus on the price-cost spread) and to take proactive measures to adapt to the local environment wherever necessary.

To read the full report click here.

In the traditional glass processing industry, as the demographic dividend fades, the incremental market shrinks, and market competition intensifies, only those enterprises with advantages in quality, efficiency and comprehensive costs can cope with challenges and seek development.

In the following case study, we will analyse the many advantages brought by smart factories in terms of efficiency, energy consumption, labour and other aspects, providing a reference for your enterprise’s development planning.

1. Efficiency improvement
In traditional glass processing factories, workers seem busy, but the overall efficiency is low. The key lies in the low efficiency of manual labour, which lowers machine performance. Meanwhile, unreasonable production organization and coordination also lead to low overall efficiency. In ZhuMei’s smart factory, only three digital operators are needed, each responsible for multiple machines, requiring no intervention during normal production. A shift can produce 1,200 pieces of shower glass, allowing the machine to operate at its best efficiency. Meanwhile, the smart factory uses ERP and MES systems to monitor and provide real-time feedback on production status, thereby reasonably coordinating production.

2. Reduction in labour
In ZhuMei’s smart factory, repetitive physical labourers such as glass handlers have been significantly reduced, not only lowering the company’s labour costs but also reducing the risk of work-related injuries. The specific data is as follows:

As shown in the table, a production shift can save labour by: 27 – 9 = 18 people; with an average annual salary of CNY 72,000/person, the annual savings in labour costs for one production shift are: 18 * 72 = CNY 1,296,000. Moreover, in the smart factory, the contact between people and glass, glass and glass, and glass and transfer racks is greatly reduced, thus avoiding scratches and stains and ensuring product quality.

In recent years, LandGlass smart factory team has successfully delivered several complete smart factory projects. From May 6-9, 2023, LandGlass team will be at China Glass 2023 in Booth 081, Hall N3, Shanghai New International Expo Centre, waiting for your visit and discussing the changes and opportunities brought by intelligent manufacturing to the glass processing industry.

Şişecam CEO Görkem Elverici commented, “As a strong global player in the glass and chemicals industries, we achieved sustainable success in this period thanks to our smart technologies and highly competent human resources, while ongoing economic and geopolitical risks persisted in the global arena. In an environment of rising costs and elevated inflation worldwide, Şişecam successfully emerged from the shadows of uncertainty with its effective cost and inventory optimization-based management approach.

“At Şişecam, we are steadily advancing toward our goal of becoming one of the world’s top three players in our core business lines. We made prudent investment decisions to remove the obstacles facing the supply processes of our business lines. Şişecam is moving forward on its value-creating growth journey. We effectively blend our production power derived from Şişecam’s 88-year history with our future vision.”

Referring to Şişecam’s major investments and key projects in the first three months of 2023, Elverici continued, “As in every period, Şişecam continued its growth initiatives in the first quarter of 2023 with a holistic development approach. In March 2023, we announced two strategic mining investments in Tarsus and Mersin. The first is a new sand preparation plant investment on our tract in Tarsus OIZ, the site of Şişecam flat glass investment which is in progress. The second mining-related investment is a capacity increase of our limestone and dolomite processing plant in Mersin.

“Also in March, Şişecam announced another investment to meet the logistics needs of its natural soda ash investment in the US. We made a decision to invest in a port operation in California together with Ciner Group, our current partner in the USA. Şişecam Chemicals USA has become a 50 percent shareholder of Denmar US LLC, the entity that will operate the Stockton Port Management project. Under this project, a logistics infrastructure is planned to facilitate future export activities of Şişecam’s ongoing soda ash investment in the United States. We plan to take further steps in the coming period to manage risks that may arise due to global disruptions in supply chains and guarantee the sustainability of our investments.”

Providing information about Şişecam becoming the sole shareholder of Şişecam Çevre Sistemleri A.Ş. at the beginning of the second quarter, Elverici stated, “We are continuing our efforts to become one of the world’s top three manufacturers in our core business lines. In April, Şişecam exercised its option to purchase the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s 10 percent stake in Şişecam Çevre Sistemleri A.Ş. As a result, Şişecam is now the sole shareholder of the company. At Şişecam, we are actively pursuing the vision of a better future with every step we take. Şişecam is supporting the growth and development of the recycling sector with new projects and investments. As a global company, we have significant goals focusing on sustainability.”

Elverici underscored that Şişecam embraces sustainability as a key element of its business model and is taking important steps toward the vision of a sustainable planet. He elaborated, “In the first quarter, Şişecam made a decision to further support its sustainability goals by signing the United Nations Global Compact – the world’s most comprehensive sustainability platform. The Global Compact consists of 10 principles on human rights, working conditions, the environment, and corruption. Şişecam considers sustainability as a key responsibility rather than an obligation. Our company aims to align all its strategies and operations with the 10 universal principles of the UN Global Compact.”

Regarding the earthquake disaster that caused tens of thousands of casualties leaving Türkiye in mourning, Elverici said, “In February, we suffered devastating earthquakes that deeply affected a large expanse in eastern Türkiye and Syria. Şişecam suffered losses from its stakeholders and business partners in these earthquakes. From day one of the disaster, Şişecam took action and provided ongoing support to its stakeholders and people in the region. We postponed the payments of our customers and made early payments to our suppliers in the region. Şişecam supported its stakeholders in need with ecosystem financing during a very difficult period. Furthermore, our efforts are ongoing to develop long-term permanent solutions in the area. We will overcome these difficult times with solidarity and heal the wounds together. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere condolences to those who lost their loved ones in this tragic disaster.”

The new shareholders’ representatives of the Supervisory Board are Peter Goldschmidt (Chairman, 58), CEO of Stada AG; Dr. Wolfgang Wienand (Vice Chairman, 51), CEO of Siegfried Holding AG; Eva Kienle (55), CFO KWS Saat SE & Co. KGaA; and Ann-Kristin Erkens (47), Corporate Senior Vice President Financial and Business Controlling at Henkel Adhesive Technologies. The remaining Supervisory Board members include Christine Wening (43) and Mario Just (57) representing the employees of SCHOTT Pharma.

With this move, SCHOTT is taking steps to ensure sustainable value creation for its SCHOTT Pharma business in line with international standards. SCHOTT Pharma AG & Co. KGaA is a pioneer in drug containment and delivery solutions for injectable drugs and has achieved a strong profitability, outperforming market growth rates in recent years according to its own estimates.

“SCHOTT Pharma is looking at exciting milestones ahead. The establishment of a Supervisory Board with members from outside the SCHOTT Group is a further important step towards SCHOTT Pharma’s capital market readiness. The newly appointed members have an excellent track record to govern the Management Team in taking full advantage of tremendous opportunities,” said Dr. Frank Heinricht, CEO of SCHOTT AG. The mandates are effective until the Annual General Meeting for the fiscal year ending 30 September 2026.

“Speaking on behalf of the Supervisory Board, we’re looking forward to contributing our expertise to SCHOTT Pharma’s exciting journey,” said Chairman Peter Goldschmidt. “SCHOTT Pharma has a strong track record and inspiring innovations in its pipeline, which hold the potential to further advance the pharma industry.”