At the beginning of March this year, the HEINZ-GLAS Group commissioned a new glass melting furnace at its Kleintettau location. The project involved investments of around 15 million euros - not a decision to be taken lightly in times of the global corona pandemic and a weakened world economy.
With this new special furnace, HEINZ-GLAS is able to react extremely flexibly to a wide variety of market and customer requirements. The latest generation electric furnace can produce high-quality perfumery glass, clear glass with a high PCR cullet content as well as opal glass. For more than 15 years, the opal glass in the group of companies was produced exclusively at the site in Dzialdowo, Poland. The fact that this is now also possible again at one of the German locations opens up further flexible possibilities for the globally active HEINZ-GLAS Group to serve its customers.
"Technical progress in particular helps to overcome crises and create entrepreneurial perspectives. A certain amount of courage to try something new and then the necessary bit of luck are of course also part of it." - says owner and CEO Carletta Heinz.
As early as 1971, HEINZ-GLAS Kleintettau, at that time under the leadership of Carl-August Heinz, was the first company in the glass industry to put an electrically heated melting tank into operation at its Kleintettau location. At the time, the company's competitors, who continued to fire the furnace with gas, were critical, but this investment paid off and, on paper, brought energy savings of around 50% compared to the gas furnace. Together with electricity from renewable sources and the new, highly flexible furnace technology, HEINZ-GLAS has today, almost 50 years later, become one of the most sustainable glass manufacturers in the world. With the investment in the new special furnace, this path is to be continued.
The investment secures more than 120 jobs at HEINZ-GLAS and about the same number of jobs at suppliers in the region. In these times, HEINZ is sending a strong signal for the future of its employees and the region as a business location.
