Press Glass fully automates its Nowogard production site

03/28/2024 | Print view

Over 30 years, Press Glass has grown from a single facility into a household name among flat glass suppliers. 15 international facilities spread across Poland, Croatia, Italy, the UK and the US produce quality interior and exterior glass for the commercial and residential market.

With an export rate of 80 %, Press Glass supplies Scandinavia, the Baltics, Central and Southern Europe, the UK as well as North America.

Despite being one of the largest independent IG producers in Europe, Press Glass remains a privately owned company with a lean, agile leadership structure. This allows them to quickly adapt to a changing market. With numerous production facilities and a wide range of products, they are able and willing to meet their customers more than half-way.

The heart of the Nowogard production site

When Press Glass planned their most automated facility to date, they went with Lisec – as in many cases before. Jakub Krakowski, Technology Development Director at Press Glass and the head of a team of technicians who accompany the introduction of new solutions at Press Glass, talks about the intentions with the Nowogard project, “Our goal was to create a copy-and-paste facility, which Press Glass could reproduce in any new location. At Nowogard we looked into every process and worked out all the kinks.”

Located in northwestern Poland not far from the Baltic Sea, Press Glass Nowogard operates six cutting lines: one fully automatic laminated glass cutting line and one additional lami cutting bridge as well as five monolithic cutting tables. The six lines are fed by a gantry system on one end, and they feed into two large buffer systems on the other end. Each buffer in turn supplies two IG lines.

Intralogistics key to good workflow

Buffering and sorting play crucial roles in optimizing the material flow and machine utilization. Intralogistics ensures process stability and reliable supply during various processing steps, even with different glass types. For instance, only the uncoated side of coated glass is touched, preserving the coating. A slight tilt angle (approximately 2°) during glass transport also protects the coating. Lisec offers high-quality systems, available 24/7 with minimal maintenance, accommodating various glass sizes and shapes.

Looking back on the project, Mr Krakowski remembers the challenges, “The schedule was very tough. In 2017 the market was very strong and customer demand was high. We already had production on the lines while we were still fine-tuning the machines and while the software developments were still being tested. From the first IG element off the line, it took about 2 to 3 years until everything was working to our full satisfaction.”

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But those challenges did not come without rewards. “Right now, I can say that this is our most efficient facility in terms of production per shift per person, so we produce more glass with fewer operators. And we have the lowest losses in glass, due to the automation – we largely eliminated manual handling – but also due to better internal logistics. We have fewer quality issues, fewer claims, fewer problems.” The Nowogard site supplies 15 – 20 % of Press Glass’ total residential production volume.

What’s next for Press Glass and Lisec?

With the Nowogard site up and running, Mr Krakowski and his team are already working on new projects. The next development with Lisec is being realized in the UK, combining 3 facilities in Wales under one roof. “Due to the softer market, we have more time to develop things, which is good, but on the other hand, the pressure is required to make it faster. It's always a matter of finding the balance.”

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Automation and sustainability

Mr Krakowski's opinion about markets and industry changes is, “The biggest change we and everyone else surely observes on the Polish market is that automation and digitalization is coming. For 10, almost 20 years we have been talking about industry 4.0. It used to be unclear how it would look. Now Nowogard is our first facility with this degree of automation, and automation has factored in all our projects since. Beside better quality and higher efficiency, we also want to utilize manpower in the best way possible, which means removing heavy work such as lifting glass many times over.