On 5 July this year, the Germersheim plant of Heye-Glas of Germany celebrated its 25th anniversary in the presence of Rhineland Palatinate“s regional minister Rainer Brderle, who emphasised the contr…
On 5 July this year, the Germersheim plant of Heye-Glas of Germany celebrated its 25th anniversary in the presence of Rhineland Palatinate“s regional minister Rainer Brderle, who emphasised the contribution made by the company to the economy of the region. The plant at Germersheim has a workforce of 352 and produces 800 million glass containers a year using two furnaces. According to the company, investments in recent years (DM 140 million in the last decade) have not only been made to increase output capacity (1991) and to repair furnaces. Heye-Glas points out that there have also been substantial investments in the reduction of emissions, the decrease in waste gas losses and the preparation of recycled glass. A waste heat recovery system was installed at the Germersheim plant in 1990, and Heye-Glas claims it can now generate 40% of its total required electricity by using the waste gases for steam generation. Heye-Glas is also building a glass factory in Moerdijk, the greater Rotterdam region of the Netherlands, which will have an output capacity of 500 million beer bottles per year. The decision is said to have been sparked by the desire of the Heineken Group, the world“s second largest brewer, to have a new, state-of-the-art factory built directly adjacent to their brewery in Zoeterwoude. Heye-Glas, the Heineken Group“s main supplier for over 20 years, expects that the steadily growing requirements of Heineken for green beer bottles for export will be met through this new facility. Contracts were signed in Moerdijk on 19 July 1996 by Ulrich Buschmeier, managing partner of Heye-Glas and Franz Schermers, managing director of Heineken. The new plant will start up production in the first quarter of 1998 and will be managed by Heye-Glas Nederland, a company currently being established. Heineken has a 33.5% interest in this company in which approximately 130 million guilders is being invested, and which will create about 115 new jobs. According to a statement by Heye-Glas, the foundation of Heye-Glas Nederland – linked to the construction of the glass factory in Moerdijk – is a reflection of the high degree of customer orientation which ranks as one of the company“s essential objectives. Moreover, Heye-Glas signed a Technical Assistance Agreement with Belgian container glass manufacturer Verlipack which became effective on 1 September 1996. Verlipack, part of the worldwide Beaulieu Group, whose main activities are in the textile and chemical industries, operates three plants and has its own mould factory. According to the agreement, the Belgian firm will gain access to the very latest technologies from Heye-Glas, including Heye Advanced Process technology, low-emission Heye Oxyfuel Melter technology, quality-enhancing cullet preparation technologies, and future-oriented cold end system solutions, such as the new Heye Slide-matic Palletizer technology. In addition, the Technical Assistance Agreement enables Verlipack to work with Heye-Glas in modernising its production plants in Mol, Jumet and Ghlim (Belgium).