SGD Pharma‘s Zhanjiang, China, plant celebrated the renovation of its furnace with a lighting ceremony.
According to the century-old French glass maker tradition, the new furnace was lighted by its godmother. A master flame, kept from the same fire that was used to light the precedent furnace, was relayed through a human chain which included employees with high seniority, engineers, technicians, experts from the sister plants in France, the General Manager, the French Consul General for South China and a representative of Zhanjiang city. Finally, the flame went to Ms. Chunyan Zheng, Deputy General Manager Industrial Operation, who had been chosen as the Godmother of the furnace. She completed the ceremony by lighting up the brand-new furnace.
SGD Pharma’s Zhanjiang plant is the group’s centre of excellence in Asia for primary glass packaging in Type II for Pharmaceuticals and in Type III for cosmetics. The newly designed furnace will improve glass properties resulting in enhanced quality and performance, ensuring the delivery of high-quality products and services to customers worldwide.
Using the most advanced technologies, the renovated furnace will enable SGD Pharma to improve its energy performance and to run campaigns with 20 percent post-consumer recycling glass, reducing the carbon footprint in line with the group’s environmental commitments and long-term decarbonization roadmap. SGD Pharma’s new furnace will also offer a colour feeder.
The lighting ceremony was preceded by a meeting with Zhanjiang Party Secretary and Guangdong province Vice Governor. The delegation also joined a mangrove planting session to support SGD Pharma’s goal to reach 10,000 mangrove trees planted by end of 2024 to protect biodiversity and offset the carbon emitted during all SGD Pharma team travels within China.