The Glass Futures research and development project in the UK has a new website.
The website was revealed at last week’s Furnace Solutions conference in Stoke-on-Trent, UK.
The website, www.glass-futures.org, provides more details abut the £20 million project which will be based in the Magna building in Rotherham, UK when it opens in 2018.
Glass Futures is a not for profit company which will provide a centre of excellence in glass comprising of R&D, innovation and training and up-skilling.
Central to its proposition is a demonstration-scale glassmaking furnace of 30 tonnes per day capacity.
This will provide a realistic intermediate scale glass facility with a flexible configuration to accommodate the needs of float and container making from batch to product.
A split forehearth design will provide for both IS equipment to fashion containers and scope for a tin-bath to float a continuous ribbon.
The project will be constructed over 2017 and is due to open late next year.
The ultimate aim is for Glass Futures to be owned by, and developed for the future benefit of the glass community.
The Furnace Solutions conference, organised by the UK’s Society of Glass Technology, had started with a joint-presentation from Dr Richard Hulme of Guardian Glass and Dr Nick Kirk of Glass Technology Services (GTS), who had spoken about the project.
“It is a global platform for growth, innovation and training for the whole glass community,” said Dr Kirk. “It is an ambitious project that is making progress.”
Dr Hulme said the site would provide the glass industry with an opportunity to try out new ideas without risk to production.
He said: “In many ways Glass Futures is an extension of the Society of Glass Technology itself. We want people to talk together and discuss common problems and find common solutions. They can compete in the marketplace on service and price, but can sort out the technology and the science together.”
