Non-fragile potential. Chegem Glass Factory produces up to 17 million pieces of products per month

In June 2022, Chegem Glass Factory LLC, one of the largest glass production enterprises in the North Caucasus Federal District, reopened in Kabardino-Balkaria. Just six months later, the company launched a new line for the production of medical glass containers, and already in 2024, the plant set its sights on implementing a landmark project for the region and all of Russia - the production of import-substituting products - medical ampoules.

Glass casting is a fairly precise production. By the way, various kinds of glass vessels were used in Ancient Egypt, and this is more than 5 thousand years ago. With the invention of pressed glass in 1824, a new era began in the production of glass containers on an industrial scale - first bottles, and then cans.

The raw material for the production of glass containers is quartz sand and other components, which under certain conditions and temperatures are transformed into glass containers for drinks and foods. Using special equipment, a mixture is made from sand and components - a mixture that will later turn into a glass bottle or jar. It is an amazing process when simple sand turns into a familiar shape. Errors in the production of glass containers are completely excluded. Each bottle or jar has an exact volume, and this quality is successfully used by everyone - from housewives to representatives of various professions.

But still, it’s a rare lemonade lover who thinks about how and where the bottle is produced and where the drinks are poured. Meanwhile, there are few such enterprises in the country, one of them is the Chegem Glass Factory, which opened just over a year ago.

Second birth. In 2022, the company received its rebirth. Until this moment, it had been in a state of bankruptcy for more than one year, operating at only 30% of its capacity. In May 2021, the furnace, which is the heart of the plant, was shut down and employees had to be laid off. It took the new owners just over six months to restore production. First of all, a major overhaul of the production areas was made, the furnace was completely repaired and put into operation, the conveyor lines were modernized, and a new asphalt road was laid to the plant. In May 2022, the first products rolled off the assembly line, and a year later the plant reached its full design capacity. Today the enterprise produces up to 150 units of products per minute, which is about 17 million units of products per month. The company produces bottles for lemonades of all sizes - from 0.2 liters to 1 liter bottles. Cans are also produced in volumes from 0.2 liters to 3 liters.

“The first one after the launch of the reconstructed production line was a 3-liter jar,” recalls Evgeniy Kudrenko, General Director of Chegem Glass Factory LLC. — Today, the Chegem Glass Factory produces a wide range of glassware of different sizes: bottle products for lemonade and strong drinks, cans. At the end of 2023, the company launched a completely new line - the production of glass containers for medicines. We plan to actively develop this area in the near future.”

The main consumer of canned products from the Chegem plant is Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, and the Stavropol Territory. Bottled products are supplied almost throughout Russia, including the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District. Delivery of products is carried out by road transport through self-pickup. Small quantities are already being supplied to Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.

Medical glass containers. At the end of November 2023, the company launched a new line for the production of glass containers for the pharmaceutical industry. This is a new direction that the plant mastered literally in a year.

“We have launched two positions of disposable medical glass containers for isotonic sodium chloride solution (in common parlance - saline solution) with a volume of 0.25 and 0.5 liters,” explains Evgeniy Kudrenko. — This is a completely new direction for us. At this stage, our enterprise produces on average up to 6 million units of medical glass containers per month.”

In the near future, the company will produce import-substituting products and plans to seriously expand the range of medical glass containers, and work in this direction is already underway. Within six months, the plant will install new equipment from China for seven lines for the production of medical glass ampoules with a volume of 2 to 10 ml. The production site is already ready, the process of connecting to utility networks: electricity and gas supply has begun. The company hopes that the new workshop for the production of medical ampoules will be launched by August of this year. “This is quite a serious step not only for us as manufacturers, but also for the entire country,” emphasizes Evgeniy Kudrenko. — Today, the main supplier of medical ampoules for drugs to Russia is China. At the first stages, we will purchase material for the production of ampoules, the so-called drot, but in one and a half to two years we plan to build another furnace for the production of blanks for glass ampoules.”

With the launch of a new import-substituting production, Kabardino-Balkaria will become one of the leading regions supplying medical glass containers in Russia.”

Now the company is actively developing. The team employs over 250 people. With the launch of the new workshop, another 150 jobs will be added. These are mainly residents of Kabardino-Balkaria, but they actively attract specialists from other regions of Russia on a rotational basis: operators, glass makers, glass molding machine adjusters, etc.

Local authorities also played an important role in the restart of production. “I would like to say words of gratitude for the serious support in the development of the enterprise that the leadership of the republic provides us with,” emphasizes Evgeniy Kudrenko. — A working group has been created under the government of the republic to support the glass manufacturing industry in the region, headed by the Chairman of the Government of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Aliy Musukov. The Ministry of Industry, Energy and Trade of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, represented by the head of the department, Shamil Akhubekov, as well as representatives of the Gazprom and Rosseti corporations, provide us with all possible assistance. District authorities also provide support to us. We are quite optimistic about the future and at this stage our task is to continue the process of implementing the investment project, setting up all mechanisms, including product supplies, as well as modernizing the material and technical base and equipment. For example, we recently replaced the equipment for shrinking pallets with new ones. Moreover, we have launched a site for the production of our own pallets, and in the future we plan to produce cast iron molds on our own. The company plans to create a large production cluster on the basis of the plant - a kind of technology park. This is a key element of the plant’s development, and we are moving towards it.”

Source: https://severniykavkaz.ru/