Profitability of the glass tempering line

Kari Heikkilä, Glaston Singapore

Competition in glass processing businessis getting tougher all the time. In the next few years it will get even much tougher. The managers and companies who want to be successful in the future must understand the dynamics of the factory operations as well as the relationship between the profi t and costs. The key question is what are the most important factors affecting the profi tability.

This paper discusses the profi tability of the glass tempering line. Typically glass tempering line consists of several pre-processing phases, such as cutting, grinding, drilling and washing, and a tempering furnace. The production of the glass tempering line is complex to manage effectively and even more complex to optimize. Usually the production is a combination of long series, short series and individual products. There are many variables in the factory that all have effect to each others. To fi nd the most profi table solutions may be very demanding task.

The need for higher profi tability requires the following practical questions to be answered: How to increase line output? What is the role of the quality? What is the meaning of the yield? What means reliability? Where are the biggest costs? How to improve supply chain? What about work fl ow? How signifi cant is the machinery purchase price compared to factory lifetime operating costs?

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