Dr Guido Stebner, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Vetropack Group, took over the chairmanship of the International Partners in Glass Research (IPGR) at the beginning of the year, succeeding Vetropack CEO Johann Reiter in the IPGR. The research organisation has set itself the goal of increasing the competitiveness of glass in the packaging industry through research and development programmes and the individual cooperation of its members.
To achieve this goal, the IPGR promotes exchange and cooperation between industry, universities and the public sector.
„As an international research organisation, we bundle the pre-competitive research and development activities of our members and deal with the pressing issues of our industry, such as reducing CO2 emissions in the manufacture of our products. To this end, we work closely with academic institutions such as RWTH Aachen University and the Montanuniversität in Leoben, as well as with public bodies such as the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection and other globally active glass manufacturers.“
Guido Stebner, IPGR Chairwoman
The proximity to the research organisation's production facilities is an advantage when it comes to implementing results obtained in the laboratory or during computer modelling on a larger scale. For example, the melting furnaces at the Vetropack plant in Trezzano sul Naviglio (Italy) were used at the end of their service life in a test programme, the „No Soda Trial“. During the ten-day large-scale industrial trial, the raw material mix was changed so that the addition of sodium carbonate, one of the main sources of CO2 emissions, is no longer necessary was. The researchers investigated the melting behaviour of the mixture and demonstrated the mouldability of bottles made from the sodium carbonate-free melt.
At Vetropack's innovation centre in Pöchlarn (Austria), the an industrial plant for coating moulds built up. The aim of the „Dry Glass Forming“ project is to prevent the glass from sticking to the mould surface by selecting suitable coatings, thereby eliminating the need for manual or automatic lubrication of the moulds. This approach would Save on mineral oil-based lubricants, which offers advantages from both an ecological and economic point of view. The first coated moulds have already been used in the operations of IPGR members - with promising results.
Dr Guido Stebner has been Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Vetropack Group for Technology and Production since 1 January 2021. He graduated in metallurgy from Clausthal University of Technology in 1991 and obtained his doctorate from RWTH Aachen University in 1997.
Source: Vetropack
