French glass manufacturer Waltersperger is to expand production as part of a furnace investment.
The company based in Blangy-sur-Bresle, Normandy is to move to modern, expanded facilities on the outskirts of the town later this year.
Its current production facility is outdated and located in the centre of town, which was caused difficulties with truck movements.
As part of the move it has invested in a new 4 tonne furnace from Italian group Falorni Tech as well as two new production lines.
It currently operates seven 500kg furnaces working in parallel with four production lines.
Waltersperger President, Stephanie Tourres, told Glass International, that the move to the new facility will enable it to make glass continuously in an automatic process.
“The current semi-automatic process we have to load the glass to enable us to work for seven hours a day. Once we move to an automatic process we will have a continuous flow of glass which means we can work for 24 hours a day.
“This will enable us to expand the process and to touch upon new markets and allow us to propose to clients an in-between service where we can serve medium sized runs.”
The company currently serves the perfume and spirits sectors with artisan, premium bottles. The expanded facility will enable it to make larger runs but without impacting upon the mass runs larger companies such as Pochet du Courval or Verescence.
The company works with brands such as Chanel and Dior and is also the last manufacturer of large perfume bottles of 3 or 4kg size which are used in stores for promotional purposes.
The structure of the new building is already in place, with the next move to work on the interior of the building. The aim is to open the building by the end of the year.
The group took over the running of Waltersperger in April 2018 and quickly decided its current building was too old. Work began on the construction in November 2021.
The new building will meet modern regulations and expectations from its clients in terms of energy efficiency.
