More than 140 delegates joined the first Future of Furnaces event on 14th September, which was aimed at uniting the glass, aluminium and steel sectors to discuss developments in furnace technology.

Held in association with Furnaces International, the two-day Future of Furnaces event got off to a brilliant start with speakers from across the globe attending discussions on the hopeful future of furnaces and industry 4.0 developments. The event marked the first of many, which will follow.

Opening the event was Fabrice Rivet, Environment, Health and Safety Director, FEVE who spoke on ‘Securing our Industry’s Future: Towards Climate-Neutral Container Glass’. The keynote speaker spoke of the glass industries goal towards carbon neutrality, focusing on the importance of electricity as a replacement to fossil fuels.

A focus on the importance of Industry 4.O changes was emphasised throughout the event, starting with Rene Meuleman, Director of Business Development, CelSian, who gave a presentation on ‘Tools that Reduce Energy Demanded by Furnaces While Keeping Quality and Furnace Lifetime in Tact’. His final message concluded the key message of the presentation,



"Data is very important… it is key for the development of industries”

Rene Meuleman, Director of Business Development, CelSian

This message was reiterated by Mark Allen, Sales Director, Mechatherm. The company conducted a study, which researched the possibility of ‘furnaces being intelligent enough to improve its own performance’ using data to produce AI software. The company collected

“Millions of records [so that the software could] slowly predict what the furnace will do … the system will purely learn from the furnaces behaviour, how to adapt its performance”

Mark Allen, Sales Director, Mechatherm

As well as AI intelligence and data collection, re-evaluating the format of the furnace was also a theme touched upon. David D’Aoust, Sales Manager – Drosrite™, PyroGenesis Canada Inc, introduced the audience to plasma furnaces, whilst Stuart Hakes, Chief Executive, F.I.C. (UK) Limited and Dirk Schnurpfeil , Research and Development, Nikolaus Sorg GmBh & Co. KG evaluated the benefits and realistic goals of a Hybrid horizontal furnace.

The event is returning for its second day, which is in collaboration with the British Industrial Furnace Constructors Association (BIFCA). This event hosts The Standards Seminar, which has been adapted following the current climate of COVID-19. The day’s presentations will evaluate the safety standards, the evolving EN746 series and changes following BREXIT for the furnace industry.

If you missed yesterday’s presentations, the platform provides its delegates with access to all presentations and speeches on demand. The event platform also provides networking contacts with industry specialists and additional resources to widen your understanding of the future of furnaces. If you are unable to attend both days of the event, as a delegate you will have access to the whole platform for 30 days!

Registration is still open and starts from just £65.

To register to the event follow the link below:

https://eventdata.uk/Forms/Form.aspx?FormRef=FOF91Visitor