New float line

Guardian Glass completed its first ribbon pull at its second float glass facility in Częstochowa, Poland, to help meet the growing demand for high performance coated and fabricated glass products in Poland and Eastern Europe.

The first pull of glass completes the plant’s startup, which began with the groundbreaking in 2018 and led to the start of the plant’s new glass coater in July.

“The new float line is the largest in the Guardian family of float lines,” Guus Boekhoudt, Guardian Glass executive vice president, said. “We’ve implemented an innovative new furnace design with high efficiency combustion systems in order to provide products that meet the stringent quality requirements of our customers, while minimising both the energy used for production and emissions from the process.”

The plant – hosting two float lines, two coater lines and a lamination line – produces Guardian ExtraClear float glass, Guardian ClimaGuard low-e, and Guardian SunGuard solar control coated glass products, as well as laminated glass for residential and commercial applications.

“The Guardian Glass Częstochowa plant represents our biggest greenfield capital investment in Guardian’s history,” Boekhoudt said. “This facility is the company’s most efficient and operationally effective plant and houses our largest furnace and largest coater. The new float line has a nominal capacity of 1,000 metric tons of glass per day, while the new coater represents the latest in technology for Guardian and, we believe, for the industry.”