Saudi Advanced Industries Company (SAIC) has said that its glass manufacturing subsidiary has began the operation of a new glass furnace.

Obeikan Glass Company, in which SAIC owns a 40% stake, will require four to five weeks until the furnace reaches maximum heat. At that stage, the company will begin producing float glass within two to three weeks as fine tuning of the process takes place.

The glass plant has been constructed at Yanbu el Bahr, industrial and port city in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea coast in Medina Province, approximately 350km north of Jeddah. When fully operational, it will produce 800 tonnes per day of clear and tinted glass. With provisions for on-line coatings, the plant is expected to be one of the most modern in the Gulf region, thanks to technology supplied by hot end specialist Fives Stein.