When the overhaul of Furnace 63 was finished, at the beginning of April, Vetropack Straža invited about one hundred guests – customers, suppliers and contractors - to the Last brick ceremony. The guest of honour at this small feast was Mirela Holy, Croatian Minister for Environmental Protection and Nature.
After the last brick ceremony, the guests entered the furnace where they were addressed by the General Manager of Vetropack Straža, Mr. Tihomir Premužak, and Minister Holy – the godmother of the furnace.This overhaul brings significant technical improvements: reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and improved quality of packaging glass and working conditions for the employees.
The Minister commended the efforts of Vetropack Straža in improving environmental protection. She was given a symbolical gift from the host, a jar filled with different coloured glass cullet, with the wish that the new Regulation on Packaging Waste Disposal (that is currently in preparation) should result in a higher glass recycling rate in Croatia. When the guests stepped outside again, the furnace was technically inspected. What follows now is its heating and filling with raw materials, and in the second half of April, its bringing into operation. After the overhaul, Furnace 63 will maintain the same nominal capacity of 320 t/day (5 lines, 50 sections). This project is to secure the necessary quantity of flint glass for our markets over the next 11 years, and the purchase of new equipment will enable the maximum flexibility and utilization of production.
Last brick event
Last brick event – placing the last brick in the glass furnace ceilingIn glassmaking it is quite usual to mark the completion of an overhaul of a glass furnace by "last brick event" – inserting the last refractory brick in the furnace ceiling.