French medical and industrial gases supplier Air Liquide has entered a 15-year, EUR 10 million (USD 13 million) contract with building materials group Saint-Gobain for a new float-glass plant in Roman…
French medical and industrial gases supplier Air Liquide has entered a 15-year, EUR 10 million (USD 13 million) contract with building materials group Saint-Gobain for a new float-glass plant in Romania, the chemical group said on 27 April 2005. Under the contract, Air Liquide will design, install and operate a new air separation unit at the Saint-Gobain Vitrage float-glass plant in Calarasi, 100 km south-west of Bucharest. The unit, set to start up in September 2006, will supply Saint-Gobain with up to 2,000 cu m of nitrogen per hour. It will also produce liquid nitrogen and oxygen and serve other industrial customers in both Romania and Bulgaria, Air Liquide said. Air Liquide will also set up HYOS-type on-site electrolysers, in order to provide Saint-Gobain with about 100 cu m/h of hydrogen. The hydrogen and nitrogen will ensure a protective atmosphere for the tin bath phase of glass manufacturing. Saint-Gobain“s flat glass division (Saint-Gobain Vitrage), present in 39 countries and employing close to 37,000, ended 2004 with sales of nearly EUR 4.4 billion (USD 5.707 billion).