The lack of autonomy in production and the inability to handle more orders are among the reasons that slow down the growth of small and medium-sized glassworks.
The simplest solution to be more autonomous and serve more customers is certainly to purchase a glass tempering furnace and thus manage the processing in-house, without having to submit to the time frames and prices imposed by external suppliers.
It is not true that only large companies can equip themselves with a glass tempering furnace. For a medium/small glasswork, this type of machinery can really make a difference, but a wrong purchase can even sink a craft enterprise.
That is why it is essential to choose a model that is designed precisely for the needs of a small company. What does a tempering furnace have to guarantee to support a small glasswork in its growth?
Investment Protection
The performance of the furnace is obviously essential to ensure that the glassworks can do the work it no longer wishes to outsource. But since this type of machinery is not purchased every day, it is also essential to pay attention to the economic aspect.
A small/medium-sized glassworks must therefore purchase a furnace that not only requires an initial outlay that is not excessive, but above all that can guarantee both a long service life and a good residual value after several years of use.
Opting for a product made from first-rate materials by an experienced and qualified company is certainly a great way to protect your investment and quickly turn it into profit.
Optimisation of glassworks space and equipment
Choosing a tempering furnace model that does not take up excessive floor space is very important for glassworks that do not have very large rooms.
There are plenty of models that may even offer acceptable performance, but which require brickwork for their installation and are very difficult to move: these are definitely not for a medium/small glasswork.
Attention must also be paid to the electrical installation. Many glassworks have a 200kW electrical cabinet, and the installation of a tempering furnace may require an extension, which involves extra costs and often long months of waiting. That still delays the commissioning of the furnace and therefore the time when the glass can be tempered completely independently.
But there are also exceptions, such as Mazzaroppi’s TP Compact: a super-compact, high-performance oven that can even be installed in the middle of the plant because it is the only model that does not need to be flanked by a wall. Thanks to its excellent energy performance, the TP Compact is also fully operational with a 200kW electrical cabinet.
Ease of use
Small to medium-sized glassworks generally do not have many staff. This is why it is essential that, once the investment has been made in the purchase of a new tempering furnace, there is no need to bring in new people to operate it.
The ideal furnace for SMEs in the glass industry must therefore be user-friendly, easy to manage and as automated as possible. The management software must be intelligent, so as to optimize the information available to autonomously regulate the operation of the machinery.
Unfortunately, finding specialised ‘tempering’ technicians is often not an easy task, and it may not be easy for a small glasswork to find an expert to manage the furnace. Rather, once the furnace has given an extra boost to the company’s business, it may be possible to think about expanding the workforce according to the most frequent requests received from customers.
Energy Savings
Tempering glass is an energy-intensive process, and this is certainly the first deterrent for glassworks, who fear that they will have to pay such high bills that the benefit of tempering in-house is practically non-existent.
Fortunately, there are now kilns on the market equipped with cutting-edge energy-saving technologies, such as just-in-time ignition systems that allow the kiln to be switched off when the glassworks are closed and brought to temperature again the following morning in about half an hour, thus cutting unproductive costs to zero.
And that’s not all: there is also specific software for optimizing the energy required by the kiln, which allows, for example, energy absorption peaks to be contained and ensures very low dissipation.
An example of this is the Mazzaroppi tempering furnaces, whose technological innovations allow the glassworks to save up to 70% energy compared to other furnaces.
Mazzaroppi is the only family that has been dedicated to glass tempering for over 60 years.
Throughout its history, it has registered over 20 patents with innovations that have enabled it to guarantee not only the highest performance for its furnaces but also the best energy efficiency in the industry.
Do you have a glasswork and would like to know if it is possible for you to temper glass at home? We have the solution for you, perfectly adaptable to your space and in line with the consumption you do not want to exceed.
CEO Mazzaroppi Engineering Srl
