Vetrotex, part of the Saint-Gobain family and producer of glass fibre, has extended the capacity in one of its three furnaces in the Czech Republic.
The furnace was repaired after having reached the end of its lifetime.
Due to a timely scheduling of the repair, as well as a solid preventive maintenance plan, the furnace operated well until its last day.
This allowed Vetrotex to produce the necessary inventories prior to the repair, to ensure that customers could be served with the usual volumes during the longer than usual furnace downtime.
In order to keep up with increased customer demand, Vetrotex extended the capacity during this repair by 10,000 t/year.
The new furnace has been equiped with the latest Vetrotex fiberglass yarn technology.
Vetrotex took the opportunity during the furnace repair to further harmonise technologies between the three furnaces (Czech Republic & Mexico).
Each one is able to produce products of the same quality, which improves the supply flexibility for customers.
In addition, a more efficient energy recuperation system has been installed to reduce the furnace’s energy consumption and improve its environmental footprint.
This is the second significant furnace extension in the Czech Republic within two years.
A total of 37M€ has been invested in furnace repairs and capacity extensions in our Czech plant during the past two years.
This shows the strong committement from the Saint-Gobain Group in the Vetrotex fiberglass yarn business.
The latest Vetrotex furnace extension had already been a great success.
As part of the World Class Manufacturing programme, Vetrotex follows the Early Equipment Manufacturing Process.
The new furnace reached full efficiency only a couple of days after the start-up.
