Heralding a new generation in Gostomel

At the start of 2019, Vetropack’s Gostomel plant boasted three furnaces and a glass production rate of more than 820 tonnes per day – enough for around two million bottles. Vetropack Gostomel is the largest producer of glass in Ukraine. Its history stretches back a long way, but since 2006, the plant has been part of Vetropack Group.

Melting technology updated and production facilities extended

Following extensive modernisation work, which began after the plant was taken over, one of the furnaces was due for an overhaul in 2019. The furnaces are subject to wear caused primarily by the erosion of the furnace walls under high operating temperatures. They run continuously throughout their service life – around twelve years – and are never switched off.

Renovating a furnace invariably signals a complete generational shift in terms of technology. Advances in process technology and firing systems are implemented, partly with a view to increasing capacity and improving quality assurance and partly to boost energy efficiency. The downstream production facilities are often adapted too as part of the same process.

The most powerful plant in Ukraine

The new coloured glass production set-up in Gostomel is capable of producing 390 tonnes per day, thus expanding the plant’s overall capacity. The glass mass is fed into twelve-station glass-blowing machines, which process it into its final form. All in all, Vetropack has now created the most powerful plant in the whole of Ukraine. From kicking off the project to starting production in November 2019 didn’t even take two and a half months – a tremendous achievement for the project team involved.