Obeikan Glass Co set to build float glass plant in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia

The state-of-the-art manufacturing complex will be set up by Obëikan Glass Co; the plant design and the supply of the main process equipment entrusted to the specialized engineering company Fives Stein.

Obëikan Glass Co is setting up a fully integrated state-of-the-art float glass plant in a region which is experiencing an unprecedented boom in the construction industry.

Growth in construction means growth in building products (which account for 80-85% of the float glass market) magnified by an architectural and engineering trend towards greater use of glass in building façades, for reasons involving not only design trends but also environmental protection.

The glass plant will be erected at Yanbu el Bahr, industrial and port city in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea coast in Medina Province, about 350 km north of Jeddah. Yanbu harbour, close to the Suez Canal and on the major East-West shipping route provides easy access to the European and far-east markets for its products. The city is connected to the oil and gas pipelines conveying crude oil and liquid natural gas to support the development of a large industrial base.

The plant is to produce 800 tons per day of clear and tinted glass feature which will let it be the largest in the region. With provisions for on-line coatings, it will be the most modern of its kind in the Gulf countries thanks to Fives Stein technology.

The French specialized company was approached by Obëikan Glass Co. to be part of the project and is responsible for the plant design and supply of the glass manufacturing line comprising the float furnace, the tin bath, the annealing lehr and the air pollution control system.

Fives Stein will also provide the start-up and plant operation assistance services insuring a smooth and efficient support until the production teams become fully self-sufficient.

With its international export-oriented base, Obëikan Glass Co. float plant is destined to be a world class facility in terms of performance of the equipment and quality of the glass products.

High regard for environmental issue is a distinctive feature of the project: the plant will have a reduced ecological footprint, in accordance with the most stringent international emission standards. It will operate with natural gas and incorporate a complete air pollution control system consisting of a de-dusting filter, an acid gas reduction reactor and a selective catalytic system for the abatement of nitrous oxides.

The start-up of the facility is scheduled for the beginning of April 2010.