AMETEK Land, the world’s leading manufacturer of monitors and analysers for industrial non-contact temperature measurement, has supported a major glass products manufacturer with solutions to enhance its facility’s safety, efficiency and sustainability.
Owens-Illinois (O-I) is one of the world’s largest glass container manufacturers. Its plant in Seville, Spain, is a leading glass manufacturing facility committed to sustainability and innovation, producing high-quality glass packaging products for customers worldwide.
Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the O-I Seville plant has received several awards for its sustainability efforts, including the European Glass Packaging Award for Sustainability, and has a research and development centre focused on developing new glass products and manufacturing technologies.
The site was experiencing issues with glass leaks in its furnaces, which were causing downtime and reducing production efficiency. The company was also looking for ways to optimise its furnace operations to reduce energy consumption and improve product quality.
AMETEK Land supplied two technologies to support O-I Seville in achieving these goals. LWIR-640 long-wavelength thermal imagers were used to detect glass leaks underneath the furnace, including the side wall, while the NIR-B-2K-Glass short-wavelength radiometric infrared borescope imaging camera was utilised for furnace optimisation measurements.
By detecting and addressing hot spots at an early stage, the company was able to reduce downtime and increase its production efficiency. Additionally, optimising furnace operations has helped to reduce energy consumption and operating costs and assist in ensuring consistent product quality and reducing defects.
Real-time monitoring of furnace operations helped to identify potential hazards and improve safety in the manufacturing process, reducing maintenance costs and helping to prevent costly repairs.
The O-I Seville plant has also implemented automation systems to improve production efficiency and reduce the risk of errors.