Rajesh Khosla, president and CEO of AGI glaspac talks with our team about the impact of COVID-19 on the container glass manufacturing sector.
As a green industry, the Indian glass industry comprises container glass, float glass, solar glass, ophthalmic glass, bangles, mouth-blown glass, lightning components, beads, laboratory glassware, tableware and speciality glass, etc. Manufacturing locations are spread across the nation. There are over 500 manufacturers in the MSME segment employing (direct and indirect) more than 10 lakh persons. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the nation-wide lock-down and the closure of non-essential businesses due to COVID-19 precautions, the glass industry has faced many challenges.
Container glass manufacturing facilities use high-temperature furnaces that must run continuously, 24 hours a day. The furnace, which cannot be turned off or easily idled, takes months to restart after it is shut down, highlighting the need for the supply chain to be fully functional and operational. The furnace, which is the main heart of the process, typically operates for about 7-10 years before it is rebuilt. The rebuilding of the plant involves large capital investment and takes about 3-4 months. If operations are stopped during the campaign period, it can result in severe damage to the furnace. The furnace runs on a continuous supply of natural gas flow and a furnace, of say, 650 tonnes capacity per day, contains about 2000 tonnes of molten glass at any given point of time.
This process is critical, which requires an uninterrupted supply of gas and utility support. Further, the integrity of furnace depends on its temperature profile, and any loss of firing/wrong temperature control can irreversibly damage the furnace beyond use and can potentially cause the closure of the business. Moreover, the safety of employees in this situation would also be severely compromised.
“All container glass manufacturers are continuing to take appropriate action for their employees’ safety, closely following guidance and latest developments to ensure worker safety, as per the guidelines. As an industry, our primary concern is the health of our employees. We have therefore taken additional measures to both protect our workforce and keep production intact to maintain a sustainable supply to the food, beverage and medical sectors. Container glass manufacturing plants are submitted to rigid scrutiny from a food hygiene perspective,” said Rajesh Khosla, president and CEO of AGI glaspac.
Although all glass manufacturing units work under continuous production through the operating furnace, 24×7, only some units are termed under essential services support. Hence, the glass industry needs the government to undertake the following measures:
- Enable the units specifically producing vials/glass bottles of different sizes required by pharma, food and beverage industries to operate.
- Ensure the requisite logistics clearances for the availability of raw materials and fuels to the industry and the downstream supply of essential products to the customers.
- Issue of clear orders to enable key personnel to be able to come to work.
“In India, the impact of container glass manufacturers is much higher when compared to other countries. The Glass Packaging Institute, United States, deemed glass manufacturing units as an ‘essential’ industry for pharma, food & beverage(F&B) glass-making. Which means that, production plants can continue to manufacture glass even if the country goes into lock-down as a result of COVID-19,” said Khosla.
Similarly, FEVE (Federation of European manufacturers of glass containers and machine-made glass) has called on the relevant authorities to recognize the critical role of container glass manufacturing. In a position paper, FEVE has called for manufacturing continuity across all plants to supply people with food, beverages and pharmaceutical goods at this critical period.
“Amidst COVID-19 outbreak, consumer purchases of a variety of core grocery items have increased from 10 to 70%. The demand will only increase in the weeks or months to come. A disruption to the glass container industry and supply chain will negatively impair India’s ability to purchase pharma, food and beverage products in stores, at a time when those outlets remain critical to the food supply of our nation,” Khosla concluded.