Lahti Glass Technology has modernised a batch house for a Corning pharmaceutical glass production facility in Pisa, Italy.
The challenge was to renew and modernize the batch plant control system and electronic components with minimal interrupt to the production lines.
The solution was found in skillful engineering and extensive experience, mixed up with Nordic know-how, and it was divided into three steps.
Corning’s Pisa plant has decades of history in producing glass for the pharmaceutical industry’s needs and been owned by Corning since 2015.
The plant consists of three furnaces. One of the furnaces is for production of amber glass and two of them are for clear glass.
Because the furnaces of the plant were continuously operating, the solution was to split the control system in two PLC’s. One PLC for the amber glass furnace and one PLC for the two clear glass furnaces.
The whole renewing project was divided into three main steps.
So once the control system and the electronic parts of one furnace were replaced, the others were in operation, and the renewing project could go through with minimum harm caused to the production.
Dividing also helped the client to operate within the budget.
Plant Engineering Manager Stefano Caponi, said: “The project went very smoothly because it was well prepared and engineered. There were a strong co-operation and understanding between our engineers and Lahti Glass Technology’s engineers, and Lahti really put themselves into our service.
“We established engineering review meeting every week, to keep up the to do -list and timing of the project.
"It was perfect way to lead the project into the right direction and it helped to grow our understanding of each other”, he said.
