Glass

In 1963, Hotwork developed the original glass Furnace Heatup technology, termed Forced Convective Heating, and since that time has brought on-line well over 10,000 glass furnaces worldwide.  It is now the accepted world standard for heating glass furnaces, with over 400 sets of portable heating equipment and 80 full time, highly trained technicians strategically located around the world to service the glass manufacturing industry.

Over the years, the service was expanded to include dust-free Cullet Filling, Expansion Control Supervision, Furnace Draining, Crown Rise Monitoring and Recording, Sulfate Removal, "Hold Hots" and a variety of other services to reduce downtime and enhance furnace campaign life and efficiency.

Furnace Heatup and Controlled Cooldown

A safe yet fast glass furnace heatup using the Hotwork technology will ensure the integrity of the furnace refractory to maximize campaign life.  A controlled temperature cooldown using the Hotwork method is performed when refractories are to be reused during a subsequent campaign or when a detailed inspection of the furnace is required.

Expansion Control Supervision

Hotwork's experienced technicians can supervise the binding steel adjustment throughout the heatup or cooldown to ensure that the integrity of the refractories is maintained.  Our technicians have performed this service on hundreds of glass furnaces of every size and description.

Crown Rise Monitoring and Recording

Hotwork can supply instrumentation and measuring devices to instantly record the movement of crowns, flat arches, and other critical areas.

Cullet Filling

Hotwork offers fast cullet filling systems capable of up to 60 tons per hour.  We offer the original "dry" filling equipment where air is used as the medium for conveying the cullet out into the furnace for quick melting and elimination of thermal shock to the fill pockets plus systems to filter out fines or wetting equipment to eliminate the dusting of the superstructure.

Sulfate Removal

Hotwork uses special outlet nozzles in conjunction with our unique Hotwork burners to quickly and safely remove sulfates and borates from checker settings to allow the furnace to operate at or near original design parameters.

Block Checker Work Sulfate Burning Away Air Passage Ways Re-established
Furnace Draining (Tapping) Hotwork's unique draining service allows draining rates up to 40 tons per hour per tap.  Furnaces at or below grade can be quickly drained using our high pressure water pumps which allow a 2 meter lift and pipe runs in excess of 70 meters. "Hold Hots" Hotwork equipment can be incorporated to hold melters and/or refiners at elevated temperatures while repairs are made to regenerators, recuperators, fuel supply systems, etc.