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Operations Management Paper

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Saint-Gobain Containers

Andrew Vaccarezza
Ryan Russell
05/17/2007

INTRODUCTION 3
BACKGROUND 3
STUNNING FIGURES 4
OPERATIONS OF THE GLASS MAKING PROCESS 5
RAW MATERIALS 5
MELTING 6
CONDITIONING 6
FORMING 7
ANNEALING 8
INSPECTION 9
PACKAGING 10
CONCLUSION 10 Introduction

Saint-Gobain Containers is one of the leading glass packaging companies for the food and beverage industry. Employing over 4,000 people and having 14 locations in North America, Saint-Gobain Containers has shown to be one of the main leaders of its industry. Ranking number one in the European market and number two worldwide, Saint-Gobain Containers has shown to have a superb base of Operations Management. Having a good chain of Operations …show more content…

However, sand is not the only material needed for making glass containers. Other materials are also added to the process to help “glass with its working properties at high temperatures and to provide it with chemical resistance in use(Saint-Gobain).” In addition to new raw material, Saint-Gobain Containers is also a “Green Company” which uses as much recycled glass as possible. “Glass is one of the few packaging materials that can be recycled indefinitely (Saint-Gobain).” Melting Glass melting is a HOT process. When melting glass a continuous heat of over 2500 degrees Fahrenheit is needed in order to obtain optimal quality. This is done by Saint-Gobain Containers by using reliable energy resources such as natural gas and occasionally fuel oil. Being a “Green Company” includes using energy resources which provide low emissions. Natural gas provides a low emissions level and thus is Saint-Gobain Containers main source of heating energy. This is also less expensive overall when compared to oil fuels. Other energy comes from an electric boost which is used to operate machinery and air supplies for the heating sources. Using efficient heating sources has been one of the leading factors in lowering the operating cost of Saint-Gobain Containers in the last two years.
Conditioning
Once the heating process is completed conditioning must take place in order

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