The Bottero line at Cowley Hill is now in full production, cutting and dispatching the coated glass from Greengate's UK5 line. The line, last used to cut automotive glass in late 2009, has been extensively refurbished and upgraded to handle the UK5 output, which will be used for the solar energy industry. New conveyor sections have been installed and the old vacuum glass transfer mechanism, which was designed to attach to the upper surface of the glass, has been replaced with a wheeled lifting system. "Both these changes have been necessary in order to avoid any contact with the coated surface of the glass," said plant manager Karl Brogan. "The quality demands for the solar energy industry are extremely high and we cannot risk any residue or marks of any kind on the glass surface." New statistical controls have been put in place to monitor the consistency and reliability of the processes in use on the line. Electronic measuring equipment has been installed to ensure the accuracy of the dimensions of the glass plates and a new SAP interface has been developed to maintain glass traceability and generate the required label formats. All the commissioning work was completed on time and the final launch went very smoothly."
