Forglass is set to help modernise Saint-Gobain Isover’s glass wool facility in Orange, France.
The Polish glass melting supplier will supply an engineering solution for the French manufacturing plant.
The crux of the project is the replacement of the current batch transport system, which was where challenges began to arise.
The building that houses the glassworks is over four decades old and has undergone many modernisations in its lifetime, so accurate documentation is scarce and sometimes non-existent.
Forglass structural engineers had to literally scan the building in to create a calculation model. This has allowed them to calculate the loads and design the necessary support structures required to accommodate the new equipment.
Forglass automation specialists will also face difficulties, as all the testing and switching over to the new batch transport system will have to be completed on the run – without stopping the furnace and production.
The multi-phase project will be completed when the furnace is scheduled for renovation in summer.
