Container Glass, Wine Bottle, Beer Bottle, Spirits Bottle & Food Jar Manufacturing HVAC Duct Guide — Orora, Visy, O-I, Treasury Wine, CUB, Lion, Bundaberg

Why container glass HVAC is its own engineering discipline

A container glass bottle and jar manufacturing plant is a single-line factory built around one piece of equipment that runs continuously for 8 to 12 years between major shutdowns — the regenerative tank furnace, melting silica and soda ash and limestone at 1500 to 1600 degrees Celsius around the clock, swallowing approximately 200 to 400 tonnes of glass per day per line. From the furnace exit, a stream of molten glass at 1100 degrees Celsius walks down a refractory-lined forehearth, gets cut into precisely measured gobs by a shearing mechanism, and falls into the blank mould cavity of an IS (Individual Section) forming machine. Six to twelve seconds later, a finished glass container at 500 to 600 degrees Celsius rolls off the machine onto the conveyor — a wine bottle, a beer bottle, a spirits bottle, a food jar, depending on the mould set in use that shift.

The thermal density of a container glass plant is extreme. A 200-tonne-per-day line consumes 6 to 9 megawatts of natural gas at the furnace, another 1 to 2 megawatts of electric boost through the molybdenum electrodes, and discharges 40 to 60 thousand normal cubic metres per hour of 350 to 450 degree Celsius flue gas up the AS 1318 industrial chimney after SNCR or SCR for NOx, lime-sorbent injection for SO2, activated carbon for mercury, and a bag filter for particulate. The IS forming machine hall holds 12 to 18 sections, each producing 12 to 18 bottles per minute, each blowing hot moulds with compressed air and being lubricated every 30 to 60 seconds by an operator swabbing graphite oil onto the mould face. The hall ambient reaches 45 degrees Celsius without active overhead heat extract and 35 degrees with it. Two hundred metres downstream the bottles are still hot enough to flash a finger.

Layered on top of that thermal load is a precision chemistry layer. The hot end coating station sprays tin tetrachloride or titanium tetrachloride vapour onto 500 degree bottles, where it pyrolyses into a tin oxide or titanium oxide micro-layer that hardens the bottle surface against scuffing during downstream handling — and releases hydrogen chloride into the extract airstream. The cold end coating station, just past the lehr, sprays a polyethylene wax or silicone oil onto the cooled bottle for lubricity. The bottle wash plant on food jar and returnable wine bottle lines uses 80 degree caustic soda for sanitation. The labelling area uses pressure-sensitive, wet-glue or heat-shrink sleeve methods that each carry their own minor extract requirement. The cullet receival yard handles 50 to 80 percent of the batch in the form of recycled bottles arriving from the post-consumer container deposit return scheme in NSW, Victoria, ACT and other states, contaminated with label paper, plastic closures, food residue and the occasional lithium-ion vape battery that will burn a baghouse to the ground if it makes it through the magnetic separator.

This guide is the complete engineering walk-through SBKJ runs with the mechanical services contractors building duct fabrication capacity for Australian container glass plant retrofits and the much larger downstream sector of bottle wash, labelling, palletisation and warehousing at the wine, beer, spirits and food packaging buyers. It covers the master process families — primary container glass manufacturing, returnable wine and food jar wash and refill, bottle-to-bottle recycled cullet preparation, labelling and decoration of finished bottles for branded product release — and the cross-cutting topics that touch every one of them: hazardous-area zoning under AS/NZS 60079 with a particular focus on oxygen-enriched combustion, materials selection from galvanised through 316L stainless, the Safe Work Australia workplace exposure standard stack including the controlling respirable crystalline silica limit at 0.05 mg per cubic metre, NFPA 660 combustible-dust review on silica and cullet streams, NFPA 86 industrial furnace combustion safety, AS 1318 industrial chimney design, FSANZ 1.2 food packaging compliance for jar production, Wine Australia Act 2013 specifications for wine bottle production, and where SBKJ standard sheet metal duct machinery scope ends and welded heavy-gauge fabrication begins.

The five production families across the Australian container glass value chain

Australian container glass production splits into five process families that share equipment and staff in different combinations but each present a distinct HVAC duct loading profile. A single site may run one family or several — Orora Gawler SA runs primary manufacturing plus inspection, palletisation and despatch on the same site, Visy Glass Tumut NSW similar, and the much larger downstream sector at the wine and beer and food buyers runs only the bottling and labelling end with no primary manufacturing. The HVAC scope depends on which families are present at any given site.

Family 1 — Primary container glass manufacturing

Australia operates a small number of primary container glass furnaces serving the entire domestic market with selective import top-up. Orora Limited (ASX:ORA, head office at Box Hill VIC — the SBKJ neighbour) runs the Gawler SA bottle plant plus the Penrose North VIC operation. Visy Industries (privately held by the Pratt family) runs Visy Glass at Tumut NSW, Coolaroo VIC and Yatala QLD, the largest Australian-owned operation with the deepest commitment to recycled cullet utilisation. O-I Australia (Owens-Illinois Australia, the Australian arm of the global O-I container glass leader) historically ran multiple plants and continues to operate selected sites. Plasdene Glass-Pak (Sydney) operates as a supplier and bottle distributor without primary manufacturing. International partners such as Vetropack Group (Switzerland) and Wiegand-Glas (Germany) have supplied into the Australian market without local primary manufacturing.

The HVAC profile of a primary container glass line is dominated by the regenerative tank furnace deck heat load, the IS forming machine hall radiant heat, the annealing lehr corridor, the cullet handling silica dust collection, and the hot end coating chlorine scrubber. Total HVAC duct length for a complete primary line including all personnel zones, dust collection, process extract and amenity HVAC typically runs 1200 to 2200 lineal metres of mixed rectangular and round construction across galvanised, 304L and 316L stainless and selected welded fabrication.

Family 2 — Returnable bottle wash and refill

The Australian returnable wine bottle scheme operates at modest volume (the country is overwhelmingly a single-use bottle market for wine) and the food jar return scheme operates at small volume through selected community recovery operations and some private-label fillers. Larger returnable scope exists in the beer kegging operations at every major Australian brewery (CUB, Lion, Coopers, Stone & Wood) where stainless kegs are washed and refilled, but glass returnable bottle wash is concentrated at a few specialist operators. The bottle wash facility shares the architecture of a CIP (clean-in-place) chemistry plant — cascaded caustic soda wash at 70 to 85 degrees Celsius, fresh water rinse, sanitiser rinse, label removal, optical inspection before refilling.

The HVAC profile of a bottle wash facility is dominated by caustic mist extract (304L stainless mandatory throughout the wash hood and trunk duct, 316L on any chloride loading proximity), warm humid ambient HVAC around the wash plant, and process exhaust through a mist eliminator and demister to atmosphere. Total HVAC duct length per wash line typically 150 to 350 lineal metres of mostly 304L stainless plus galvanised on personnel zones.

Family 3 — Bottle filling, labelling and palletisation (the buyer side)

The much larger downstream HVAC scope sits at the wine, beer, spirits and food packaging buyers — Treasury Wine Estates and Penfolds at Magill SA and elsewhere, Carlton United Breweries Abbotsford VIC and around Australia, Lion (Kirin Group) at multiple sites, Coopers Brewery Adelaide, the spirits distilleries from Bundaberg Distilling (Queensland) to Lark Distillery (Tasmania) and Four Pillars (Healesville VIC), and the food packaging operations at Heinz Beerwah QLD, SPC Ardmona Shepparton VIC, Bega Cheese, Masterfoods, Nestlé and the supermarket private-label fillers. Each operates a filling line that takes finished glass containers from the bottle plant via pallet delivery, depalletises onto an inspection conveyor, fills with wine or beer or spirits or food product, applies the closure (cork, screw cap, crown seal, twist-off lug), labels, palletises and despatches.

The HVAC profile at the buyer side is general industrial HVAC for the filling hall (cool and clean for product quality, particularly on light-sensitive product), CIP system extract for the filling-line clean-in-place process (caustic and acid alternation), labelling area extract, and amenity HVAC. Where the buyer runs craft beer pasteurisation or product cooking (food preservation jar processing), additional thermal load applies. Total HVAC duct length per buyer-side bottling line typically 200 to 500 lineal metres of mostly galvanised with selective 304L on CIP and warm-humid zones.

Family 4 — Cullet preparation and recycled glass acceptance

Visy Glass operates the largest Australian recycled cullet preparation operation through the Pratt family's vertical integration with VisyRecycling kerbside collection. Australian Glass Recycling (AGR) operates specialist cullet processing for the smaller-scale market. Cleanaway, Veolia and Suez operate kerbside collection feeding Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) where bottle glass is colour-sorted optically from the kerbside stream before going to the container plant. The NSW, Victoria and ACT 10-cent container deposit schemes (Return-and-Earn in NSW, the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme launched 2023, ACT scheme since 2018) generate clean source-separated bottle return streams that go through dedicated processing lines.

The HVAC profile of a cullet preparation operation is dominated by source-capture LEV at every glass crusher, screen, magnetic separator, air classifier and colour sorter, conveying to a baghouse with NFPA 660 explosion venting. Total HVAC duct length per cullet preparation line typically 200 to 400 lineal metres of mostly galvanised with 304L on selected returns. The full recycling MRF scope sits in the parallel recycling MRF waste sortation HVAC duct guide.

Family 5 — Decorative finish, ACL printing and specialty closures

A small but commercially important segment of container glass production handles decorative finish — applied colour labels (ACL ceramic-fired labels for premium spirits and wine), screen printing on the bottle exterior, sandblast etching for frosted finish, and acid etching for premium spirits and limited-edition wine bottle decoration. These operations sit at specialist sites and at the premium-product end of the container plants themselves. Bundaberg Distilling and Lark Distillery, for example, source decorative bottles from specialist screen-printing operations on top of bottles supplied by Orora or Visy.

The HVAC profile of decorative finish operations overlaps with the flat-glass decorative scope covered in the float glass, mirror, laminate, tempered and IGU manufacturing HVAC duct guide — sandblast booth, screen-print ink VOC extract, ACL ceramic-frit decoration firing. Total HVAC duct length per decoration line typically 80 to 200 lineal metres.

The regulatory stack — what each Australian Standard governs

Container glass HVAC sits at the intersection of more Australian Standards and international references than almost any other industrial sector, because it spans general mechanical ventilation, hazardous area classification with a unique oxygen-enriched combustion overlay, ductwork construction, fire-rated penetrations, industrial chimney design, food packaging compliance, wine production compliance, abrasive blasting safety, and a stack of workplace exposure standards on silica, sulphur dioxide, NOx, iron oxide fume, fluoride and chromium VI.

AS 1668.2-2024 — mechanical ventilation in buildings

AS 1668.2 The use of mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning in buildings is the master Australian standard for personnel-occupied building HVAC. Section 5 covers general exhaust ventilation, Section 6 covers specific exhaust applications (manufacturing processes, paint spray booths, semiconductor fabrication, laboratory fume cupboards, kitchen exhaust). Most HVAC ductwork in an Australian container glass plant is governed by Section 5 (personnel zones, IS machine hall, lehr corridor, control rooms, packaging hall, QC lab, office) and Section 6 (hot end coating chlorine scrubber extract, cold end coating extract, bottle wash caustic mist, batch house silica capture, cullet processing dust). Pressure classes and air-tightness leakage requirements cross-reference AS 4254.

AS 4254 — ductwork construction

AS 4254 Ductwork for air-handling systems in buildings sets the construction requirements for sheet metal ductwork: pressure class A through E (up to 2500 Pa positive, lower negative limits), air-tightness leakage classes, reinforcement schedules, gauge selection, seam types. Part 1 covers flexible duct; Part 2 covers rigid duct. Pittsburgh seam construction satisfies pressure class A through C; longitudinal seam welding via the SBKJ SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder or SBLR-600 laser welder is required for class D-E and for any leak-class A air-tightness on stainless service. SBAL-V auto duct line output meets AS 4254.2 pressure class C up to 2500 Pa as standard on Pittsburgh seam.

AS 1530.4 — fire-rated penetrations

AS 1530.4 Methods for fire tests on building materials, components and structures Part 4 covers fire-resistance test methods for elements of construction. Duct penetrations through fire-rated walls and floors in a container glass plant — separating the IS forming machine hall from the office block, separating the cullet processing yard from the production floor, separating the natural gas pressure-reduction station from occupied areas, separating the oxygen VSA plant or oxygen tank yard from the production hall — require fire-rated dampers or fire-rated duct construction tested to AS 1530.4.

AS/NZS 60079 — hazardous areas including oxygen-enriched combustion

AS/NZS 60079 series Explosive atmospheres applies to several container glass plant locations: the regenerative tank furnace burner train and surrounding natural gas distribution, the LPG cylinder store where LPG is the back-up fuel, the oxygen storage and oxy-fuel piping where the furnace fires on oxygen enrichment under Zone 2 oxygen-enrichment classification with 23.5 percent oxygen as the engineering control upper limit, the labelling area solvent storage where wet-glue with solvent is in use, the combustible dust zones under AS/NZS 60079.10.2 plus NFPA 660 cross-reference for cullet contaminated with paper labels and plastic closures, the natural gas pressure-reduction station, the diesel generator room, and the propane forklift cylinder exchange area. Each Zone 0, 1, 2, 20, 21 or 22 classification dictates duct bonding, spark-resistant fan selection (AMCA Type A or B), IECEx-rated motor selection for oxygen-enriched combustion proximity, light fitting Ex rating, instrument intrinsic safety, and isolation valve placement.

The oxygen-enriched combustion zoning is the distinguishing hazardous-area feature of modern container glass plants. Where the furnace runs on oxy-fuel (substituting pure oxygen for combustion air to reduce fuel consumption and NOx), the burner deck is classified Zone 2 oxygen enrichment. Continuous oxygen monitoring at floor and breathing-zone level alarms at 22.5 percent and trips the oxygen supply at 23.5 percent. Burner deck ventilation runs at 12 to 18 air changes per hour to dilute any oxygen leakage rapidly. All electrical fittings within the Zone 2 envelope are IECEx-rated. Oxygen-clean piping (degreased to ASTM G93 Level 200) on every oxygen line. Clear physical segregation between oxygen service and oil-bearing equipment — no oil-lubricated bearings, hydraulic fittings or grease points within 3 metres of an oxygen interface.

AS 1940 — flammable and combustible liquids

AS 1940 The storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids governs the small solvent and lubricant storage at the container glass plant: graphite-oil mould face lubricant (mineral-oil based, low volatility, classified C2 combustible liquid), printing inks at any in-house decoration operation, wet-glue solvents at the labelling area where solvent-borne glue is in use, diesel fuel for the standby generator, and oils for the compressed air receivers and forklift hydraulic systems. Storage rooms require dedicated ventilation, bunded floors, fire-rated separation and segregation by dangerous-goods class.

AS 4332 and AS 1604 — gases

AS 4332 The storage and handling of gases in cylinders and AS 1604 specification for preservative treatment apply to the compressed gas cylinders used across the container glass plant: oxygen cylinders or oxygen bulk tank for oxy-fuel combustion (the dominant gas across modern container plants), nitrogen for inerting the labelling-area mixed-glue tanks and for any cullet bag-filter cleaning, compressed air for the IS machine pneumatic blow function and for the conveying system, calibration gases for the continuous emissions monitor at the AS 1318 chimney.

AS 3957 and NFPA 660 — combustible dust including silica and cullet

AS 3957 Industrial radiography facilities is occasionally cited at glass plants where radiographic inspection of the furnace refractory is in scope during shutdown rebuilds; the more directly relevant standard is the AS 3957 abrasive blasting requirement for any sandblast decoration operation. NFPA 660 (the 2025 consolidated standard that replaced and merged NFPA 484 metals, NFPA 654 particulate solids, NFPA 655 sulphur, NFPA 664 wood and NFPA 61 agricultural) governs combustible-dust deflagration risk. Pure silica sand, soda ash and limestone batch materials are non-combustible and exempt. Cullet processing zones with organic contamination from labels, plastic closures or food residue fall within scope at dust layer thickness above 0.4 mm. Required engineering controls include explosion vents on baghouse hoppers (sized per NFPA 68), isolation valves between dust collectors and process equipment, electrostatic grounding on all duct and equipment, and dust-tight construction on duct seams.

The lithium-ion battery contamination concern in mixed cullet (small consumer batteries, vape devices, hearing aids, button cells inadvertently entering the recycling stream alongside bottle glass) has caused multiple plant fires globally since 2022. Cullet processing zones now require infrared spot fire detection, continuous CO monitoring, automatic dampering to isolate the baghouse on fire signal, and explosion venting on the baghouse hopper.

NFPA 86 — industrial furnaces

NFPA 86 Standard for Ovens and Furnaces governs combustion safety and exhaust design for fuel-fired industrial furnaces. The regenerative tank furnace at 1500 to 1600 degrees Celsius is the largest piece of NFPA 86 equipment on any Australian container glass site — burner train, flame supervision, purge sequence, interlocks, exhaust stack, regenerator chamber alternation cycle, electric boost interaction. The annealing lehr falls under NFPA 86 where natural-gas-fired. The shrink-tunnel at the packaging area, if heat-shrunk LDPE pallet wrap is in use, falls under NFPA 86 for the gas burner train. Australian operators typically follow AS 4041 piping code and AS 1228 boiler code in parallel for combustion-related piping. NFPA 86 Chapter 8 governs furnace exhaust design and is the controlling standard for the heavy-gauge flue gas duct downstream of the regenerator.

AS 1318 — industrial chimneys

AS 1318 Industrial chimneys governs the structural and emissions performance of the chimney serving the regenerative tank furnace. Container glass chimneys at primary manufacturing sites are typically 60 to 80 metres tall to provide adequate dispersion of the residual NOx, SO2 and particulate after the upstream control train. AS 1318 covers structural design (wind loading, seismic, foundation), thermal insulation, flue liner material selection (typically 304L or 316L stainless plate at 1.5 to 3.0 mm or refractory-lined plate for higher temperature service), platform and ladder access per AS 1657, lightning protection, and aviation warning lighting where height triggers the CASA requirement. The AS 1318 chimney itself is welded heavy-gauge fabrication outside SBKJ standard machinery scope.

AS 4036 and AS 4037 — boiler and pressure vessel

AS 4036 Boilers (combination of AS 1228 series) and AS 4037 Pressure equipment — examination and testing apply to any steam-raising boiler at the container glass site (typically a hot-water boiler for amenity hot water and selected process pre-heat), the compressed air receivers serving the IS machine pneumatic blow function, any high-pressure oxygen storage vessel, and the autoclave (if specialty post-firing autoclave processing is in scope, rare at container plants). Pressure vessel design and inspection regimes are outside HVAC ductwork scope but their housing rooms require ventilation under AS 1668.2 with consideration for relief-valve discharge pathways.

AS 1851 — fire systems inspection

AS 1851 Routine service of fire protection systems and equipment sets the inspection schedule for fire dampers, fire-rated duct, sprinkler system pipework and the fire detection system at the plant. Container glass plants typically run a high inspection frequency given the combination of NFPA 660 combustible-dust risk on cullet, NFPA 86 industrial furnace combustion safety, AS/NZS 60079 oxygen-enriched combustion at oxy-fuel sites, and AS 1940 flammable liquid storage.

AS 1657 — platforms and walkways

AS 1657 Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders applies across the container glass plant — the furnace deck access, the AS 1318 chimney platform, the cullet receival hopper access, the AS 4332 gas cylinder store access, and any high-level HVAC duct inspection access. Working at height around the furnace and forming machine hall is a major occupational hazard and the AS 1657 platforms are part of every plant safety case.

AS 1746 — confined space entry

AS 1746 Confined spaces applies to furnace maintenance entry during shutdown rebuilds (the cooled tank furnace interior is a classic confined space), the AS 1318 chimney flue interior during inspection or refractory repair, the regenerator chamber during refractory rebuild, the bag filter housings during media change-out, and the cullet receival hopper interior during cleaning. Each entry requires a permit, atmospheric monitoring, controlled isolation of upstream equipment, and stand-by personnel.

ASHRAE Applications Chapter 35 and Chapter 27

ASHRAE Applications Handbook Chapter 35 Industrial Drying and Heating provides design intent for industrial heat-load HVAC: annealing lehr corridor design, IS machine hall heat extract, forehearth zone heat extract, decorative finish ceramic firing oven. Chapter 27 Process Heat Recovery covers the regenerator chamber alternation cycle (combustion air pre-heat at 1300 degrees Celsius alternating direction every 20 to 30 minutes), the lehr exhaust waste-heat recovery to the batch pre-heater where in use, and the flue gas economiser where deployed. ASHRAE is a reference rather than a binding standard in the Australian regulatory environment, but it is the practical design source most Australian consultants use alongside AS 1668.2.

AS/NZS 5377 — e-waste cross-contamination in cullet

AS/NZS 5377 Collection, storage, transport and treatment of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment applies indirectly to container glass plants through the cullet stream. Mixed kerbside recycling streams in NSW, Victoria and elsewhere occasionally include consumer electronic items — small batteries from vape devices, hearing aids, button cells — that pass through MRF colour-sort and reach the container plant cullet receival yard. AS/NZS 5377 cross-references with NFPA 660 in the lithium-ion battery contamination risk discussion and drives the infrared spot fire detection and CO continuous monitoring requirements on cullet processing dust collectors.

FSANZ Food Standards Code 1.2 — food packaging including jars

FSANZ Food Standards Code 1.2 (Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the food regulator covering both countries) governs the safety and quality of food packaging. Container glass jars used for jam, honey, sauces, pickles, preserved fruit, baby food and other food packaging applications must comply with FSANZ 1.2.3 (Processing requirements), Standard 1.2.4 (Information requirements — labelling and other information) and selected sections of 1.4.1 (Contaminants and natural toxicants). The HVAC implication is that the jar production environment downstream of the annealing lehr — inspection, hot end coating, cold end coating, packaging — must avoid contaminating the jar interior with airborne particulate, oils or chemical residue that could migrate to the food product. Class III filtered air supply at the inspection and packaging zones is standard.

Wine Australia Act 2013 — wine bottle specifications

The Wine Australia Act 2013 (Commonwealth legislation administered by Wine Australia, the wine industry regulator and promotional body) governs the regulation of Australian wine production and export — including the bottle and closure specifications for wine intended for the Australian and international market. Compliance requirements drive bottle weight, geometry, neck finish, closure compatibility and capping torque specifications back to the container glass manufacturer. The HVAC implication is again that the wine bottle production environment must avoid contamination and must support consistent dimensional control through climate stability in the IS machine hall and at the QC laboratory.

Glass Packaging Institute GPI — international reference

The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI, US-based) publishes industry best-practice references for container glass production widely cited in Australian practice. Domestic equivalent industry bodies include the Industry Sustainability Group (IS-G) covering the Australian glass industry sustainability agenda, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) covering packaging environmental compliance, the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) covering the beverage industry environmental coordination, and the Australian Beverages Council representing the beverage manufacturing sector.

Safe Work Australia workplace exposure standards — the WES stack

Safe Work Australia publishes workplace exposure standards (WES) for airborne chemical and physical agents under the model Work Health and Safety regulations. The container glass plant WES stack is one of the densest in any manufacturing sector. HVAC duct sizing, hood capture velocity and extract treatment train selection all derive from holding personal exposure below these limits. Respirable crystalline silica is the killer.

Respirable crystalline silica (RCS): 0.05 mg per cubic metre 8-hour TWA under the 2024 Safe Work Australia regulatory update, the controlling limit for the batch house, the cullet receival yard, the cullet crushing and grinding operation, and any source-capture LEV station in the silica and cullet handling chain. RCS exposure causes silicosis, lung cancer and accelerated cardiovascular disease — the occupational killer for glass workers historically and the single most important reason why Australian container glass plants invest heavily in source-capture LEV, dust collection and personal monitoring. Personal monitoring at the operator breathing zone with cyclone-equipped pumps drawing at calibrated flow rate verifies engineering control performance every quarter.

Respirable inhalable dust: 10 mg per cubic metre 8-hour TWA, the general particulate limit applicable to glass cullet and raw material handling. Soda ash (sodium carbonate, Na2CO3): irritant with no formal Safe Work Australia WES but engineered to general particulate limits. Limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) and dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate, CaMg(CO3)2): 10 mg per cubic metre 8-hour TWA. Feldspar (potassium aluminium silicate): general particulate limits.

Sulphur dioxide: 2 ppm 8-hour TWA, the controlling limit for the regenerative tank furnace flue gas exposure at the burner deck, the regenerator chamber proximity and the AS 1318 chimney monitoring stand. SO2 forms from sulphur impurity in the natural gas, sulphur addition in the batch as a fining agent (sodium sulphate), and any heavy fuel oil combustion. Carbon monoxide: 30 ppm 8-hour TWA, relevant near the regenerator chamber alternation cycle and any combustion incomplete-burn condition particularly during light-off and shutdown. Nitrogen dioxide STEL: 3 ppm short-term exposure limit, relevant near the high-temperature flame oxidation in the furnace combustion zone and at the SCR or SNCR NOx control reactor.

Iron oxide fume: 5 mg per cubic metre 8-hour TWA, relevant at the IS machine forming station where iron oxide colourant (where amber bottle colour is in production) generates fume at the gob delivery and mould interface. Fluoride: 2.5 mg per cubic metre 8-hour TWA, relevant where fluoride is used as a fining agent or flux in specialty glass (rare in container glass but present in some clear-glass refining systems) and at the hot end coating extract if titanium tetrachloride is the coating precursor and trace HF is in the pyrolysis off-gas.

Chromium (VI): 0.005 mg per cubic metre 8-hour TWA, relevant where chromium colourant is in use for emerald-green wine bottle production. Cr(VI) is a confirmed carcinogen and the controlling limit drives source-capture LEV at the batch house weighing station where chromium oxide is dosed and at the IS machine hot end where any chromium-containing glass forms. Arsenic and antimony: rare but occasionally present as refining agents in specialty glass — arsenic trioxide WES 0.05 mg per cubic metre, antimony WES 0.5 mg per cubic metre, both confirmed or suspected carcinogens with strict engineering control where in use. Lead: 0.05 mg per cubic metre, relevant only in crystal glass production (rare in container glass) and in any legacy refractory containing lead. Oxygen-enriched combustion atmosphere: 23.5 percent upper limit before fire risk escalates, engineering control alarm at 22.5 percent.

Cullet handling and batch house — the silica and combustible-dust problem

The cullet receival yard and batch house are the highest-RCS-exposure zones in any container glass plant and the dominant NFPA 660 combustible-dust review area. Engineering control hierarchy applied to the cullet and batch house translates directly into duct design and is the same approach used by Australian flat-glass primary manufacturers — see the parallel flat glass, mirror, laminate, tempered and IGU manufacturing HVAC duct guide for the float-glass batch house scope.

Raw materials and silica RCS

The container glass batch is approximately 70 to 75 percent silica sand, 13 to 15 percent soda ash, 8 to 10 percent limestone and dolomite, plus minor ingredients (feldspar at 1 to 3 percent for alumina addition, salt cake or sodium sulphate as fining agent at 0.5 to 1 percent, iron oxide colourants at 0.1 to 1 percent for amber bottle colour, chromium oxide at trace level for emerald-green wine bottle colour, selenium or cobalt for blue-flint decolourisation). Cullet is reintroduced at 50 to 80 percent of the total batch depending on furnace capability and cullet quality. Every transfer point — bag dump, hopper inlet and outlet, mixer charging port, mixer discharge chute, conveyor head and tail pulley transfer, pneumatic conveying receiver, batch bin vent, cullet crusher discharge, cullet screen oversize and undersize chutes, magnetic separator transfer — generates a dust plume. Silica sand is the dominant respirable crystalline silica source.

Source-capture LEV design

Local exhaust hoods at every transfer point capture dust at the source. Capture velocity 1.5 to 2.5 metres per second per ACGIH Industrial Ventilation Manual, with hood design (lateral exhaust on bag dump, downdraft on weigh hopper, full enclosure on mixer) selected by the dust loading and operator access requirement. Trunk duct sized for 18 to 22 metres per second transport velocity to prevent silica drop-out. Hood transitions in 1.0 to 1.2 mm galvanised — heavier than standard HVAC galvanised because of abrasion from silica-loaded airstreams. Trunk duct standard 0.8 to 1.0 mm galvanised on Pittsburgh seam, with all flanges electrostatically bonded.

The SBKJ SBAL-V auto duct line handles 0.5 to 1.5 mm galvanised at coil width 1250 or 1500 mm at forming speed 16 metres per minute, covering the entire batch house source-capture range on a single line with no tooling change between gauges.

Baghouse and discharge

Pulse-jet baghouse with PTFE membrane media (W.L. Gore Gore-Tex bonded to a polyester substrate is the industry default) at 1.0 to 1.5 metres per minute air-to-cloth ratio is standard for silica service. PTFE membrane provides surface filtration and resists blinding by fine silica. Baghouse efficiency at the membrane is typically 99.99 percent removal at 0.5 micron, satisfying the 0.05 mg per cubic metre RCS WES on the discharge stack with substantial margin.

Baghouse inlet duct 1.0 to 1.2 mm galvanised. Hopper isolation valve isolates the baghouse from upstream process during filter changeout. Explosion vent on the hopper roof per NFPA 660 (formerly NFPA 654) where cullet loading creates a deflagration risk. Bonded electrostatic earthing on every duct flange.

Cullet processing — NFPA 660, lithium-ion contamination and the container deposit scheme

Recycled cullet enters the container plant from multiple streams. The largest single source for Visy Glass is the Pratt family's own VisyRecycling kerbside collection, processed through MRF colour-sort before delivery to the container plant. Orora and O-I source cullet from Australian Glass Recycling, Cleanaway, Veolia, Suez and selected smaller MRF operators. The NSW Return-and-Earn container deposit scheme (launched December 2017), the ACT scheme (since 2018), the Victorian scheme (launched November 2023), and equivalents in WA, SA and QLD generate clean source-separated bottle return streams that arrive at the plant in much cleaner condition than mixed kerbside cullet.

Cullet contaminated with organic residue (label paper, plastic closures, food residue in container cullet) falls within NFPA 660 combustible-dust scope above 0.4 mm dust layer thickness. The cullet processing baghouse requires the full NFPA 660 engineering control package: explosion venting on the hopper roof per NFPA 68 sizing, isolation valves between the baghouse and upstream process equipment, infrared spot fire detection inside the baghouse housing, continuous CO monitoring at the baghouse outlet, electrostatic earthing on every flange and on the baghouse housing, automatic dampering on fire signal to isolate the baghouse from the rest of the plant.

Lithium-ion battery contamination has emerged as a major fire hazard since 2022 when multiple international container glass plants experienced cullet baghouse fires from button cells, vape devices and hearing aid batteries inadvertently entering recycling streams. Small batteries pass through magnetic separators (lithium-ion batteries contain steel casings but the steel content is below the magnetic separator pickup threshold) and reach the crusher where they fail, ignite and start a fire in the dust collector. Australian plants since 2023 specify the full infrared spot detection plus CO monitoring plus automatic isolation package at the cullet baghouse as standard.

The regenerative tank furnace — the centrepiece

The regenerative tank furnace is the largest single piece of equipment at any Australian container glass plant and the largest single source of NOx, SO2, mercury and particulate emissions at the site. The HVAC duct scope around the furnace splits cleanly into two categories.

Furnace process exhaust — outside SBKJ machinery scope

The regenerative tank furnace runs at 1500 to 1600 degrees Celsius melting temperature with combustion typically natural gas or, increasingly, oxy-fuel with Air Liquide, BOC or Coregas oxygen supply. Heavy fuel oil firing is rare in Australian container glass and is being phased out where present. Electric boost through molybdenum electrodes at the tank bottom adds 0.5 to 2 megawatts of melting energy and improves glass quality. The flue gas exits the regenerator at 350 to 450 degrees Celsius after heat recovery — the regenerator chamber alternates direction every 20 to 30 minutes, with one side absorbing heat from the outgoing flue gas while the other side pre-heats incoming combustion air through the 1300 degree Celsius brick checkerwork.

Downstream of the regenerator, the flue gas passes through a selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) reactor where urea or ammonia is injected at the flue temperature window for NOx reduction, or alternatively through a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) reactor where ammonia is injected upstream of a vanadium-titania catalyst — SCR achieves higher NOx removal at a higher capital cost and is the modern preference. Lime sorbent injection captures SO2. Activated carbon injection captures mercury (mercury in glass batch comes from selenium colourant and some recycled cullet streams). The treated flue gas passes through a bag filter for particulate, then up the AS 1318 industrial chimney at 60 to 80 metres above grade.

The entire flue gas train and the AS 1318 chimney are 1.5 to 3.0 mm welded mild steel or refractory-lined plate fabricated by submerged-arc welding shops with ASME Section IX qualified procedures and heat-stress relief on completed assemblies. Lifecycle is 8 to 12 years between major shutdowns matched to the furnace rebuild cycle.

This sits outside SBKJ machinery scope for three reasons. Material thickness: SBAL-V handles up to 1.5 mm and the SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder handles up to 1.6 mm; heavy-gauge furnace exhaust at 1.5 to 3.0 mm needs plate rolling and submerged-arc welding capability that sits in a different equipment class. Temperature: standard duct construction is rated to 80 degrees Celsius continuous, furnace exhaust at 350 to 450 degrees Celsius requires bellows expansion joints, refractory lining and fully welded construction. Qualification: pressure-bearing assemblies at high temperature need ASME Section IX qualified welders and weld procedure specifications, not the standard Pittsburgh-seam fabrication that sheet metal duct machines support.

Furnace personnel zone HVAC — within SBKJ machinery scope

The ambient HVAC around the furnace is full SBKJ machinery scope. The furnace deck operator pulpit (a control booth at the burner deck level) needs filtered refrigerated supply air at 26 to 28 degrees Celsius through insulated galvanised SBAL-V supply duct. The electrical room serving the furnace combustion controls needs positive pressure HVAC at 22 to 24 degrees Celsius with Class III filtration. The maintenance corridor between the furnace wall and the IS forming machine hall needs general ventilation at 10 to 12 air changes per hour for personnel access during shift handover. The continuous emissions monitoring (CEMS) cabinet at the chimney base needs filtered supply air at 22 to 24 degrees Celsius for instrument stability.

All of those runs are SBAL-V scope in galvanised with selective 304L stainless on returns within 3 metres of furnace wall radiant exposure due to heat ageing of zinc galvanising at sustained surface temperature above 80 degrees Celsius. Typical lengths 150 to 300 lineal metres of mixed rectangular and spiral construction per furnace serving zone.

Oxygen-enriched combustion — the Zone 2 envelope

The shift from air-fuel to oxy-fuel combustion is the defining transition in Australian container glass plants since 2020. Air Liquide, BOC (BHP Welding Industrial Gases) and Coregas have established on-site oxygen supply at multiple Australian sites, either through dedicated VSA (Vacuum Swing Adsorption) plants generating gaseous oxygen on site or through liquid oxygen bulk supply with cryogenic storage tanks. The benefit is significant: 20 to 30 percent fuel saving, 80 to 90 percent NOx reduction (because the nitrogen is removed from the combustion atmosphere), and 60 to 70 percent flue gas volume reduction allowing chimney and downstream pollution control equipment to be smaller. The cost is significant: capital expenditure on the oxygen plant or storage tank, ongoing oxygen supply cost, and the new hazardous-area zoning around the burner deck.

Zone 2 oxygen enrichment classification

Around the burner block, where oxygen and natural gas mix immediately before combustion, oxygen leakage from any fitting failure can locally enrich the ambient atmosphere above the normal 20.9 percent oxygen baseline. AS/NZS 60079 classifies the burner deck as Zone 2 oxygen enrichment with 23.5 percent oxygen as the engineering control upper limit. Above 23.5 percent, ordinary combustible materials (clothing, oil films on metal surfaces, hydraulic fluid leaks, common construction materials) become significantly more flammable — the autoignition temperature drops and the burning rate accelerates dramatically.

Engineering controls

Continuous oxygen monitors are placed at the burner block (the highest leak risk), at floor level (oxygen at the temperature gradient is approximately neutral buoyancy and tends to distribute uniformly), and at the operator station. Alarm at 22.5 percent oxygen alerts the operator and starts a forced-ventilation sequence; trip at 23.5 percent oxygen shuts the oxygen supply and forces the furnace to revert to air-fuel firing on the back-up combustion air train. Burner deck ventilation runs at 12 to 18 air changes per hour through SBAL-V galvanised supply duct delivering at 4-metre spacing along the burner block aisle. Return through 304L stainless main on horizontal runs within 5 metres of the burner block due to potential radiant heat exposure.

All electrical fittings within the Zone 2 envelope are IECEx-rated to Class T1 (T1 = autoignition temperature 450 degrees Celsius or above, conservative spec). Motors are TEFC IECEx or Ex e. Light fittings are Ex e or Ex n. Junction boxes are Ex e or Ex d. Instrumentation is intrinsically safe Ex ia/ib. The duct work itself is bonded for electrostatic dissipation, with bonding resistance measured at less than 10 ohms during commissioning and re-verified annually.

Oxygen-clean piping segregation

Oxygen piping is degreased to ASTM G93 Level 200 cleanliness specification — oil films and hydrocarbon residue inside oxygen piping create a fire risk because the oil ignites at relatively low temperature in oxygen-enriched atmosphere. Pipe joints are typically welded or use specific oxygen-clean fittings. Clear physical segregation between oxygen service and any oil-bearing equipment: no oil-lubricated bearings, no hydraulic fittings, no grease points within 3 metres of any oxygen interface. The oxygen piping itself sits outside SBKJ machinery scope and is supplied, installed and commissioned by the industrial gas supplier (Air Liquide, BOC or Coregas).

Practical scope at the burner deck

SBAL-V duct for the burner deck personnel ventilation runs in galvanised with 304L on returns within 3 metres of any oxygen interface (the chloride content in zinc galvanising can react with high-purity oxygen at elevated temperature, creating a long-term durability concern that 304L avoids). Total SBAL-V scope at the burner deck and surrounding aisle is typically 100 to 200 lineal metres of rectangular supply and round return duct per furnace.

Forehearth, refiner and gob delivery

The refiner is the second tank section downstream of the melting end where the molten glass is held, fined (degassed and homogenised), and conditioned to forming temperature. The forehearth is the long refractory-lined channel that walks the glass from the refiner to the IS forming machine, with top-firing burners along the channel length maintaining glass temperature stability to plus or minus 1 degree Celsius. Glass temperature drops from 1300 degrees Celsius at the refiner exit to 1100 to 1200 degrees Celsius at the forehearth exit, where a shearing mechanism cuts the glass stream into precisely measured gobs that drop into the IS machine gob distributor.

Heat extract above forehearth

The forehearth roof radiates intense heat upward. Overhead extract at 12 to 15 air changes per hour through 304L stainless duct (SBAL-V scope at 1.0 to 1.5 mm) maintains 32 to 35 degrees Celsius personnel zone target. 304L is preferred over galvanised because of sustained surface temperature near the 80 degree Celsius galvanising limit. Operator access along the forehearth uses general ventilation 6 to 8 ACH with localised refrigerated spot cooling at each operator station.

Forehearth burner combustion control

The forehearth burners typically fire on natural gas at modest heat input per burner (10 to 50 kilowatts each, with 8 to 20 burners along the forehearth length). The combustion control room serving the forehearth burner sequencing is part of the furnace combustion controls and shares the positive-pressure HVAC at 22 to 24 degrees Celsius. Burner exhaust is captured into the forehearth roof exhaust manifold which connects to the main furnace flue gas train — outside SBKJ scope.

IS forming machine hall — the high-throughput hot end

The IS (Individual Section) forming machine is the centrepiece of the container glass production line and the single most distinctive process feature separating container glass from flat glass. Hartford Empire (the original American designer from 1925), Heye International (Germany, the largest current supplier), Bottero (Italy), Emhart Glass (Switzerland, owned by Bucher Industries) and Owens-Illinois machine division historically supplied the dominant Australian machines.

How the IS machine works

A typical IS machine has 10 to 20 sections arranged in parallel, each section operating independently on the same gob feed and producing a stream of finished bottles to the conveyor. Each section runs a six-step cycle: gob receipt (a measured gob of 1100 degree Celsius glass drops from the forehearth shear into the blank mould), parison forming (compressed air presses or vacuum suction shapes the gob to a rough preform inside the blank mould), reheating (a brief pause allows the parison surface to reheat from the cooler mould surface), invert (the parison is rotated through 180 degrees and transferred to the blow mould), final blowing (compressed air at 3 to 7 bar inflates the parison to fill the blow mould cavity), and ejection (the finished container drops onto the take-out conveyor at 500 to 600 degree Celsius surface temperature).

A 12-section IS machine producing 12 bottles per minute per section yields 144 bottles per minute. The Australian container plants typically run 10 to 16 section machines producing 120 to 240 bottles per minute on standard wine bottle production, slowing to 60 to 100 bottles per minute on heavier spirits bottle work and accelerating to 250 to 350 bottles per minute on lightweight beer bottle production.

Mould face lubricant fume

The blank and blow mould interior surfaces are coated with a graphite-oil lubricant (typically a high-temperature graphite suspension in mineral oil base) every 30 to 60 seconds by an operator swabbing or by an automatic swabbing mechanism. The hot mould vaporises trace oil components on contact, generating a fine fume that requires source-capture LEV at the swab station. Capture face velocity 1.0 to 1.5 metres per second through 304L stainless hood feeding into the main hot end heat extract manifold. Galvanised would be challenged by the warm humid extract air; 304L resists the trace oil and humidity reliably.

Hall overhead heat extract

The IS machine hall is the second-largest heat load in the container glass plant after the furnace deck. Radiant heat from the hot moulds (typically 250 to 350 degree Celsius mould surface temperature during normal operation), conductive heat from the take-out conveyor carrying 500 to 600 degree Celsius bottles, and convective heat from the parison transfer mechanism combine to push hall ambient to 45 to 50 degrees Celsius without active overhead extract.

Overhead heat extract at 18 to 24 air changes per hour through 304L stainless duct above the IS machine line (SBAL-V scope at 1.0 to 1.5 mm) maintains 35 to 38 degrees Celsius maximum at occupied workstations. Operator pulpit refrigerated supply air at 26 to 28 degrees Celsius through insulated galvanised SBAL-V supply duct keeps the operator control station at acceptable temperature. The hall return air discharges to atmosphere through a roof stack with no further treatment (the hall extract is essentially warm air from a non-corrosive process and is regulated under the boundary noise and dispersion modelling rather than emissions licence).

Compressed air supply

The IS machine consumes substantial volumes of compressed air for the parison forming, the invert mechanism and the final blowing — typically 30 to 60 cubic metres per minute at 7 to 10 bar gauge pressure per IS machine. The compressed air system is served by a separate compressor house with its own HVAC (general industrial 22 to 26 degrees Celsius, 6 to 8 air changes per hour, galvanised SBAL-V) and pipes the air through carbon steel or stainless distribution mains to the IS machine. Pressure-vessel certification under AS 4036 and AS 4037 applies to the receivers.

Hot end coating — the chlorine scrubber

The hot end coating station is the unique chemical hazard distinguishing container glass HVAC from flat glass HVAC. Bottles leaving the IS forming machine at 500 to 600 degrees Celsius pass under a coating spray station where tin tetrachloride (SnCl4) or titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) is sprayed in vapour form onto the bottle surface. The chloride pyrolyses immediately to a tin oxide (SnO2) or titanium oxide (TiO2) micro-layer (10 to 50 nanometres thick) on the bottle surface, hardening the surface against abrasion during subsequent handling and filling. The hot end coating is what makes a bottle resist scuffing during palletisation, filling-line jostling and shipping.

HCl release and duct material

The pyrolysis reaction at 500 degrees Celsius proceeds via the equation SnCl4 + 2 H2O → SnO2 + 4 HCl, releasing four moles of hydrogen chloride for every mole of tin tetrachloride. The same stoichiometry applies for titanium tetrachloride. The extract airstream carries the released HCl plus any unreacted chloride vapour, residual tin oxide aerosol and water vapour.

Galvanised duct fails in weeks to months in this service — zinc dissolves rapidly in HCl. 304L stainless is challenged within 12 to 18 months because the chloride attacks austenitic stainless at flange welds and crevice corrosion sites. 316L stainless with molybdenum content of 2 to 3 percent resists the chloride attack reliably for 10 to 15 years in this service. The Australian default is 316L stainless throughout the hot end coating extract duct from the hood through the trunk to the scrubber inlet, on the scrubber housing itself, and on the demister and stack downstream.

Scrubber design and operation

The hot end coating scrubber is a packed-bed wet scrubber with caustic soda (NaOH) solution recirculation. Packing material is typically polypropylene or PVDF Pall rings or saddles, sized to provide the contact time required for HCl absorption. The caustic recirculation is dosed continuously to maintain pH 9 to 11; spent caustic carrying dissolved chloride is bled off to the plant wastewater treatment for neutralisation and discharge under the plant trade waste agreement.

Scrubber housing 316L stainless fabricated on the SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder with TIG-welded longitudinal seams for leak-class A air-tightness. The scrubber must contain the corrosive mist completely without seepage to the surrounding workspace. Demister downstream of the scrubber removes entrained scrubber liquid. Stack discharge tested quarterly per the state EPA licence for HCl, residual tin oxide and any chloride speciation.

Hood capture and trunk duct

The local exhaust hood over the coating chamber captures at 1.5 to 2.0 metres per second face velocity to ensure complete capture of the pyrolysis off-gas. Hood material 316L stainless SBAL-V scope at 1.0 to 1.5 mm. Trunk duct sized for 12 to 16 metres per second transport velocity (lower than dust service because the airstream is gaseous with no particulate transport requirement). Pressure class C (up to 2500 Pa) covers the trunk run on horizontal lengths.

SBKJ machinery scope and the SBAL-V advantage

The 316L primary extract duct, hood, trunk, transitions and ducted connections to the scrubber are full SBAL-V scope. The dual-mode galvanised plus stainless capability on the SBAL-V is critical here — a single line can switch between galvanised work for the general HVAC and 316L mode for the hot end coating scope with a 30-minute changeover. The scrubber housing itself is fabricated on the SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder for the leak-class A longitudinal seam closure, with the SBLR-600 laser welder handling transitions and custom details. The SBSF-1525 round-duct flanging machine forms 316L round flanges for any spiral pipe transitions between rectangular hoods and round trunk mains.

Annealing lehr — the controlled cool

The annealing lehr is the long tunnel oven that walks bottles from 550 degrees Celsius inlet down to 150 degrees Celsius outlet over 30 to 60 minutes residence time, relieving the thermal stress from the forming process. Without annealing, the rapid temperature gradients from the IS machine quench would leave the bottle in a high residual-stress state, prone to spontaneous fracture in service. A typical container annealing lehr is 30 to 60 metres long depending on bottle size and throughput, with controlled cooling rates programmed by zone — typically 1 to 5 degrees Celsius per minute through the strain point (around 480 degrees Celsius for soda-lime container glass) to ensure full stress relief.

Lehr exhaust — outside SBKJ scope

Lehr exhaust gas at 200 to 300 degrees Celsius exits through a roof stack. Lehr stack construction is welded mild steel or 304L stainless at 1.5 to 2.0 mm thickness, fabricated by welded-fabrication shops with ASME Section IX qualified procedures. Stack height and discharge velocity are sized to satisfy state EPA dispersion modelling. Lehr exhaust is mid-temperature work, but the welded construction sits outside SBKJ standard machinery scope.

Lehr corridor personnel HVAC — within SBKJ scope

The lehr corridor — the walkway running parallel to the lehr exterior — needs personnel HVAC at 30 degrees Celsius maximum ambient through 6 to 8 air changes per hour. Lehr exterior wall surface temperature drops from approximately 80 degrees Celsius at the inlet end to 30 degrees Celsius at the outlet end. Supply air through galvanised SBAL-V insulated supply duct at 4-metre spacing along the corridor. Return air at the lehr-outlet end (cold end) into the SBSF-1525-flanged round spiral return main.

Total corridor HVAC duct length 60 to 200 lineal metres for a 30 to 60 metre lehr. All within SBAL-V machinery scope. The SBSF-1525 round-duct flanging machine forms the round flange transitions for the spiral return main, supplying galvanised and 304L round duct at diameters from 100 to 1525 mm.

Cold end coating — the minor extract

After annealing, bottles pass under the cold end coating spray, where polyethylene wax, silicone oil or oleic acid is applied to the cooled bottle surface to provide lubricity during the subsequent inspection, labelling, filling and palletisation handling. The cold end coating is what makes the bottle slide smoothly along the conveyor without scratching or jamming.

Application chemistry

The cold end coating is typically applied as an aqueous emulsion at low concentration (0.1 to 0.5 percent active ingredient in water), sprayed through fan or air-atomising nozzles onto the bottle as it passes through a hooded chamber. The aqueous carrier evaporates immediately on the warm bottle (the bottle is still at 100 to 120 degree Celsius at the cold end coating station), leaving the polyethylene or silicone film on the surface.

Minor source-capture LEV

Source-capture LEV at the cold end coating chamber captures at 0.5 to 0.8 metres per second face velocity through galvanised SBAL-V hood and trunk duct. The extract air is mildly humid but not corrosive. 304L on horizontal returns within 3 metres of the spray station to resist condensate, galvanised acceptable elsewhere. Extract air discharges to atmosphere through a roof vent — no scrubber or treatment required.

Inspection — machine-vision quality control

Modern container glass inspection runs on machine-vision systems from Heuft (Germany, the dominant supplier), Krones (Germany, primarily for the buyer-side filling lines but with container-line capability) and Filtec (US). Multiple high-resolution cameras capture images of every bottle as it passes through the inspection conveyor, identifying defects in geometry (height, diameter, ovality, wall thickness), finish (sealing surface profile, neck thread integrity), transparency (inclusions, bubbles, stones, knots, cords), sidewall (dimensional deviation, glass distribution), embedded inclusions (refractory chips from furnace wear, undissolved batch material), and the printed mould-cavity identification code that traces every bottle to the section that made it.

Inspection line HVAC

Inspection line ambient is clean general industrial HVAC at 22 to 24 degrees Celsius through 6 to 8 air changes per hour with Class III filtered supply air, delivered via galvanised SBAL-V supply duct. The vision system cameras and the LED illumination panels are sensitive to dust accumulation; the Class III filtered air keeps the inspection conveyor zone clean enough to maintain measurement accuracy. Return air through galvanised SBAL-V to a roof discharge.

Bottle wash facility — the caustic mist department

Returnable wine bottle wash plants and food jar wash lines run cascaded caustic soda (NaOH) wash baths at 70 to 85 degrees Celsius. The Australian returnable wine bottle scheme operates at modest volume; food jar wash for some private-label fillers operates at small scale; the larger returnable bottle scope is in beer bottle reuse where the largest brewers have historically operated returnable longneck schemes although these are largely phased out in favour of single-use bottles plus container deposit return for recycling.

Wash plant architecture

A typical bottle wash plant runs the bottle through a cascaded sequence: warm pre-rinse, caustic soak at 80 to 85 degrees Celsius for 5 to 10 minutes, caustic spray at the same temperature for label removal, hot water rinse, sanitiser rinse (typically peracetic acid or chlorine dioxide at low concentration), final fresh water rinse, drainage, and optical inspection before refilling. The caustic chemistry strips paper labels, plastic shrink-sleeve labels and surface soil; the sanitiser rinse provides microbiological control.

Caustic mist extract

The caustic wash zones generate a fine alkaline mist plus warm humid extract air. Local exhaust hoods over each wash zone at 0.8 to 1.2 metres per second capture velocity through 304L stainless duct (SBAL-V scope) — galvanised corrodes rapidly in caustic mist service. 316L preferred on the rinse-water acid neutralisation zone where any chloride loading from incoming bottle soil is anticipated. Trunk duct conveys to a mist eliminator and demister, then to atmosphere through a roof stack.

Wash hall ambient HVAC

The bottle wash hall ambient handles the 35 to 40 degree Celsius humid environment around the wash plant through 12 to 16 air changes per hour, with operator pulpit refrigerated supply through galvanised SBAL-V. Return air mostly through 304L stainless main given the consistent humidity loading. The wash hall is held at slight negative pressure (minus 10 Pa) relative to corridors to contain the caustic mist within the wash hall envelope.

Packaging, palletisation and despatch

Finished bottles pass from inspection through the bottle case packer (typically a top-load case packer from Krones, KHS or Sidel) into cardboard cases or plastic shrink-wrapped bundles, which then pile onto pallets via a pallet stacker robot. The packed pallets pass through a stretch-wrap machine that spirals stretch film around the pallet to stabilise the load. Shrink-wrap (heat-shrunk LDPE film) is used for some pallet specifications and requires minor heat extract above the shrink tunnel.

Packaging hall ambient

Packaging hall ambient HVAC is standard general industrial at 22 to 26 degrees Celsius through 6 to 8 air changes per hour, galvanised SBAL-V throughout. Class III filtered supply air maintains a low-particulate environment for the case-packing operation. Pallet stacker robot zone, stretch-wrap zone and despatch loading bay all run on the same general HVAC.

Shrink tunnel heat extract

Where heat-shrink LDPE pallet wrap is in use, the shrink tunnel runs a gas burner train heating the air inside the tunnel to 180 to 220 degrees Celsius. The tunnel exhaust is captured through galvanised SBAL-V duct (minor LDPE off-gas, no significant chemistry) feeding into a roof vent. NFPA 86 applies to the gas burner safety. The shrink tunnel itself is bought-in equipment outside SBKJ machinery scope; the surrounding HVAC duct is SBAL-V scope.

Labelling area — pressure-sensitive, wet-glue and heat-shrink sleeve

Labelling is typically pressure-sensitive (self-adhesive labels on a release liner, applied by a Krones or Sidel label applicator at the buyer's filling line), wet-glue (cold glue applied between label backing and bottle, traditional for cost-sensitive product and still dominant in some beer and wine segments), or heat-shrink sleeve (PET or PVC pre-printed sleeve shrunk over the bottle by a steam tunnel, dominant in premium beverage product and the global growth segment).

Pressure-sensitive labelling

Pressure-sensitive labelling generates negligible extract requirement. The label applicator handles pre-printed labels on a silicone release liner; the silicone is non-volatile and the adhesive cures by mechanical contact rather than chemical reaction or solvent evaporation. Standard general industrial HVAC suffices through galvanised SBAL-V.

Wet-glue labelling

Wet-glue uses a small open glue pot that may release minor VOC if solvent-based glue is in use. Modern wet-glue chemistry is predominantly water-based casein or starch adhesive with minimal VOC; legacy solvent-based glue is being phased out. Where solvent-borne glue remains in use, source-capture LEV at the glue pot is mandatory through 304L stainless hood conveying to a carbon polishing filter.

Heat-shrink sleeve

Heat-shrink sleeve uses a steam tunnel that generates significant humidity at 80 to 90 percent relative humidity in a localised zone. The PET or PVC sleeve is pre-printed and slipped over the bottle, then passed through a steam shrink tunnel that contracts the sleeve to the bottle profile. Labelling area HVAC handles the steam humidity through 8 to 10 air changes per hour with 304L stainless on horizontal returns within 3 metres of any steam-shrink tunnel. Galvanised SBAL-V acceptable elsewhere.

Mould repair workshop

IS machine moulds are precision-machined cast iron, steel or bronze blank and blow moulds requiring regular regrinding, polishing and surface treatment to maintain bottle dimensional tolerance. A modern container plant runs 100 to 300 mould sets in active rotation, with approximately 10 to 20 percent of the inventory in the mould repair shop at any given time for maintenance.

Workshop scope

The mould repair workshop runs the same general industrial HVAC profile as a steel fabrication workshop. Mould polishing on diamond-impregnated wheels generates minor metal dust requiring source-capture LEV at each grinder. Mould heat treatment in small electric furnaces (nitriding, carbon enrichment) generates minor process exhaust through 304L stainless SBAL-V duct. Welding repair on cast iron and steel moulds is occasional but requires localised welding fume extract per the typical fabrication workshop specification.

Cross-reference to steel fabrication

The mould repair workshop HVAC profile aligns with the parallel welding methods HVAC duct fabrication guide and the foundry casting scope. Total HVAC duct length for the mould repair workshop typically 80 to 150 lineal metres of galvanised with selective 304L on welding fume extract returns.

Refractory shop and furnace shutdown HVAC

Major container glass furnace shutdowns recur every 8 to 12 years for refractory rebuild. The furnace interior — the tank walls, the regenerator chamber checkerwork, the burner block, the throat — is rebuilt with new refractory brick (silica brick at the crown, alumina brick at the side walls, chromite or chrome-alumina at the throat where slag attack is most aggressive). The refractory shop on the plant site stores refractory inventory and pre-fabricates the larger refractory assemblies for installation during shutdown.

Refractory shop HVAC

Refractory handling generates dust from cutting, dressing and dry-grinding the brick. Source-capture LEV at each cutting and grinding station through galvanised SBAL-V duct conveying to a baghouse. Refractory dust is high-temperature mineral and is not combustible (exempt from NFPA 660), but the silica content drives the RCS WES requirement of 0.05 mg per cubic metre. The refractory shop runs as a closed building with negative-pressure ventilation to contain the dust. Cross-reference to the parallel steel mill and smelter HVAC duct guide for the refractory shop scope at related heavy industries.

Confined space entry during shutdown

Furnace shutdown rebuild involves multiple confined space entries under AS 1746 — the cooled tank furnace interior, the regenerator chamber, the AS 1318 chimney flue interior, the bag filter housing during media change-out. Each entry requires permit, atmospheric monitoring, controlled isolation, and stand-by personnel. The HVAC implication is that portable supply-air ventilation systems must be deployed during entry to maintain breathable atmosphere — typically dual-positive-pressure supply with redundant fans drawing fresh outside air through SBAL-V galvanised flexible duct from a positive-pressure source outside the confined space.

Quality control laboratory

The plant QC laboratory runs the testing regime that demonstrates compliance with AS 2080 (container glass for foods and beverages), FSANZ 1.2 for food jars, the Wine Australia Act 2013 for wine bottles, and the customer-specific bottle weight, dimensional and pressure-resistance specifications. Tests include gauge measurement (bottle height, diameter, weight, wall thickness using calibrated mechanical gauges and dimensional scanning), visual inspection under controlled lighting, pressure test (internal pressure resistance for carbonated beverage bottles), thermal shock test (resistance to sudden temperature change for hot-fill product), drop test (mechanical impact resistance), and impact test.

Climate control

QC lab ambient targets 22 to 24 degrees Celsius, 45 to 55 percent relative humidity, plus or minus 1 degree Celsius and plus or minus 5 percent RH stability throughout the test cycle. Class III filtered supply air at 8 to 12 ACH through insulated galvanised SBAL-V supply duct, return through 304L stainless main, dedicated air handling unit with redundant N+1 chillers and humidifier. Climate stability matters because mechanical gauge accuracy, glass dimensional measurement and the precise calibration of pressure-test equipment all depend on stable ambient temperature.

Australian operators — what they specify

Knowing which operators specify what informs how an HVAC duct fabrication shop sizes its capacity. The Australian container glass landscape is concentrated and the major operators each have a distinct HVAC procurement pattern. The downstream buyer sector is much larger and more dispersed, with hundreds of wine, beer, spirits and food producers operating bottling lines on bottles sourced from the primary manufacturers.

Orora Limited (ASX:ORA) — the SBKJ Box Hill neighbour

Orora Limited is the largest Australian container glass manufacturer by revenue after the 2014 spin-off from Amcor, with the corporate head office at Box Hill VIC — a few minutes from SBKJ Group's Box Hill North VIC operations. Orora runs the Gawler SA bottle plant (the flagship Australian site with the largest furnace capacity) and the Penrose North VIC operation. Orora's HVAC retrofit demand is steady, with capital planning coordinated through the corporate engineering team at Box Hill VIC, and mechanical services contractors tendering on planned shutdown windows. The Gawler SA site historically runs a major shutdown every 10 to 12 years for furnace and lehr rebuild.

Orora's procurement pattern favours Australian-fabricated HVAC duct where compliance with Australian standards is demonstrable, and the SBKJ Box Hill North VIC neighbour relationship has supported steady machinery supply into the mechanical services contractor base serving Orora and the broader Box Hill VIC industrial corridor.

Visy Industries — the Pratt family operation

Visy Industries is the largest privately held Australian glass manufacturer through Visy Glass at Tumut NSW, Coolaroo VIC and Yatala QLD. The Pratt family vertical integration with VisyRecycling kerbside collection makes Visy Glass the largest Australian user of recycled cullet — the Visy plants run at 50 to 80 percent cullet ratio, the highest in the Australian sector. Visy's HVAC procurement is coordinated through the corporate engineering team with mechanical services contractors tendering on the standard 8 to 12 year furnace rebuild cycle.

The high cullet ratio at Visy plants drives a particular focus on cullet processing HVAC scope — additional source-capture LEV at the cullet conveyor system, NFPA 660 explosion venting on every cullet baghouse, and infrared spot fire detection in the cullet processing zones. The Pratt family ownership and the deep commitment to circular economy in Visy positions Visy Glass as an early adopter of best-practice cullet handling engineering.

O-I Australia (Owens-Illinois)

O-I Australia is the Australian arm of the global Owens-Illinois container glass leader (US-headquartered, the world's largest container glass manufacturer historically). O-I has operated multiple Australian plants over decades and continues to run selected operations on the standard 8 to 12 year furnace rebuild cycle. O-I procurement standards are international and reference Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) US best-practice; Australian-fabricated HVAC duct is acceptable where AS 1668.2, AS 4254, AS 1318 and AS/NZS 60079 compliance is demonstrable.

Plasdene Glass-Pak (Sydney bottle distributor)

Plasdene Glass-Pak operates from Sydney as a bottle supplier and distributor without primary manufacturing. Their HVAC scope is dominated by warehousing, palletisation, despatch and selected light decoration — standard commercial HVAC profile rather than primary manufacturing.

Wine industry buyers — Treasury Wine Estates and beyond

Treasury Wine Estates ASX:TWE (TWE) operates Penfolds at Magill SA as the flagship premium wine site plus multiple regional bottling operations across the Barossa, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Yarra Valley, Tasmania and Margaret River regions. Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Lindeman's, Wynns, Pepperjack and Squealing Pig are all under the TWE umbrella. Pernod Ricard Pacific operates Jacob's Creek at Rowland Flat SA plus other regional sites. Accolade Wines (Hardys, Banrock Station, Houghton, Berri Estates, Tatachilla, Stonehaven, Bay of Fires) operates Reynell SA and other regional sites. Casella Family Brands (Yellow Tail) operates from Yenda NSW with the largest single Australian wine bottling line. De Bortoli, Brown Brothers, Yalumba, Henschke, Tyrrell's, Tahbilk, Vasse Felix, Leeuwin Estate, Cape Mentelle and the Margaret River wineries round out the major buyer landscape.

Wine buyer HVAC scope is general industrial — the filling hall ambient at 16 to 20 degrees Celsius (cool ambient is important for red wine product quality during filling), CIP system extract on the filling-line clean-in-place cycle (caustic and acid alternation), bottle conveyor area, labelling area, palletisation, despatch warehouse. Standard galvanised SBAL-V throughout with selective 304L on CIP and warm-humid zones.

Beer industry buyers — CUB, Lion, Coopers and the craft sector

Carlton United Breweries CUB (owned by Asahi Group since 2020) operates Abbotsford VIC (the flagship Australian site), Yatala QLD and other regional sites. Lion (owned by Kirin Holdings) operates Tooheys at Lidcombe NSW, James Boag's at Launceston TAS, XXXX at Milton QLD, Little Creatures at Fremantle WA, Furphy at Geelong VIC, and Stone & Wood at Murwillumbah NSW. Coopers Brewery at Regency Park SA is the largest Australian-owned brewery and the heritage Coopers family operation. The craft beer sector includes Mountain Goat (Richmond VIC, owned by Asahi since 2015), Asahi Premium Beverages, and hundreds of microbrewery operations across every Australian capital and regional centre.

Beer buyer HVAC scope includes pasteurisation tunnel heat extract (where pasteurisation is in scope, a major heat load), the filling hall at 8 to 12 degrees Celsius (cold filling for premium beer quality), CIP extract, labelling area, palletisation, and the brewery cellar storage at controlled temperature. Cross-reference to the parallel beer brewery, wine, craft distillery, gin, cider and beverage manufacturing HVAC duct guide for the full upstream brewery and distillery HVAC scope.

Spirits industry buyers

Bundaberg Distilling at Bundaberg QLD is the iconic Australian rum distiller with bottling integrated on site. Beenleigh Distillery at Beenleigh QLD is another heritage Australian rum producer. Lark Distillery at Hobart TAS pioneered the modern Australian craft whisky sector. Manly Spirits at Brookvale NSW, Four Pillars at Healesville VIC, Archie Rose at Rosebery NSW and Mt Uncle Distillery at Walkamin QLD represent the modern Australian craft spirits sector. Each operates bottling lines on glass bottles sourced from Orora, Visy or O-I, with specialty premium bottle imports for higher-end product.

Spirits buyer HVAC scope includes the still house heat extract (overlapping with distillery HVAC covered in the brewery and distillery cross-reference), the bottling hall, the bottle wash for any returnable bottle scheme, labelling for premium decoration, palletisation, and the bonded warehouse for excise control. Standard galvanised SBAL-V throughout the bottling area with selective 304L.

Food packaging buyers

Heinz Australia (Beerwah QLD, the iconic baby food and sauce production site) is the largest single Australian food jar buyer. Bega Cheese (Bega NSW plus multiple regional sites following the 2021 acquisition of Lion Dairy & Drinks), Foster Clark (Hawthorn VIC sauce production), Masterfoods (Mars Australia operations), Nestlé Australia (multiple sites), Aldi Australia (private label), Coles and Woolworths private label, Mars Petcare (jar food for pets), and SPC Ardmona (Shepparton VIC fruit jar and tomato production, Australia's largest single food jar buyer for canned and bottled fruit) cover the major food packaging buyer landscape.

Capilano Honey (Beechworth Honey, Brisbane QLD honey processing) is the largest Australian honey jar buyer. Boundary Bend Cobram Estate at Boort VIC is the largest Australian olive oil jar buyer. Murray River Salt at Echuca VIC supplies specialty salt in glass jar packaging.

Food packaging buyer HVAC scope includes the filling hall (often at controlled temperature for product quality), CIP extract, sterilisation tunnel where hot-fill or pasteurisation is in scope (significant heat load), labelling area, palletisation, despatch warehouse, and the FSANZ 1.2 compliance regime including the ambient cleanliness requirement at the filling and capping zones. 304L stainless mandatory on CIP service; galvanised SBAL-V on personnel zones.

Recycled glass (cullet) suppliers

Visy Glass operates the largest integrated cullet supply through Pratt family ownership of both VisyRecycling kerbside collection and Visy Glass primary manufacturing. Australian Glass Recycling AGR operates specialist cullet processing for the smaller-scale market. Cleanaway, Veolia and Suez operate kerbside collection feeding MRF colour-sort operations. Various MRF operators supply colour-sorted cullet to Orora and O-I as feedstock.

Industry bodies

The Australian Glass and Glazing Association (AGGA) represents the architectural and container glass sector. The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI, US-international reference) provides global best-practice. The Industry Sustainability Group (IS-G) covers the Australian glass industry sustainability agenda. The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) covers packaging environmental compliance. The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) covers the beverage industry environmental coordination. The Australian Beverages Council represents the beverage manufacturing sector. The Wine Australia Act 2013 corporation regulates the wine industry. Each body publishes member technical bulletins that are routinely cited in Australian project specifications.

Materials selection across the plant

Material selection across an Australian container glass plant spans the full range from low-cost galvanised in general HVAC up to specialty 316L stainless in hot end coating chlorine scrubber and bottle wash caustic mist service. The decision matrix is straightforward once the chemistry is identified.

Galvanised G90 (Z275)

Galvanised G90 (276 grams per square metre zinc coating per ASTM A653, equivalent to AS/NZS Z275) is the workhorse material for general HVAC duct in container glass plants. Acceptable for personnel-zone supply and return, packaging hall, palletisation, cold end coating proximity, inspection line, batch house source-capture mains (dry silica service), control rooms, electrical rooms, admin and amenity zones, mould repair workshop, refractory shop, IS machine operator pulpit supply (insulated). Limited to 80 degrees Celsius continuous service. Not suitable for hot end coating chlorine scrubber, bottle wash caustic mist, IS machine hall returns close to mould face, lehr corridor returns within 3 metres of lehr wall, or any humid corrosive zone. Forms readily on the SBAL-V auto duct line at 0.5 to 1.5 mm. For a complete galvanised versus stainless comparison see the galvanised vs stainless steel duct guide.

304L stainless

304L stainless is the default upgrade material for any service that exceeds galvanised limits but does not require full chloride resistance. IS machine hall overhead heat extract (sustained near 80 degree Celsius limit), forehearth proximity extract, lehr corridor returns within 3 metres of lehr wall, mould face lubricant fume extract, bottle wash caustic mist (alkaline service, no chloride), cold end coating proximity returns, labelling area heat-shrink tunnel returns, CIP system extract at the buyer-side filling lines, mould repair workshop welding fume extract. 304L is preferred over plain 304 for welded fabrication because of reduced sensitisation risk during welding. Forms readily on SBAL-V at 0.6 to 1.5 mm.

316L stainless

316L stainless is the high-corrosion upgrade material with added molybdenum content providing chloride resistance. Mandatory for hot end coating chlorine scrubber extract (HCl pyrolysis off-gas), tin chloride sensitisation spray proximity, bottle wash facility on rinse zones with potential chloride loading from incoming bottle soil, AS 1318 chimney flue liner where direct chloride exposure is anticipated (rare in container glass given the upstream lime sorbent scrubbing), and any 304L upgrade where field experience has shown faster-than-expected corrosion. Forms on SBAL-V at 0.6 to 1.5 mm with the same tooling as 304L.

SBKJ supplies stainless coil sourced from Australian or Asia-Pacific mill stockists with NACE MR0175 acceptance certification where the service warrants. The SBAL-V dual-mode capability is critical: a single line forms galvanised, 304L and 316L on the same coil tooling, with 30-minute changeover between modes.

Aluminium

Aluminium duct is rarely used in container glass plant HVAC because galvanised is cheaper and stainless is more durable, with no service profile where aluminium uniquely outperforms. The exception is selected cleanroom applications around the quality control laboratory where aluminium's surface smoothness aids low-particulate operation.

Mild steel welded heavy gauge

Mild steel at 1.5 to 3.0 mm thickness with welded fabrication is reserved for high-temperature furnace exhaust (regenerator stack, AS 1318 industrial chimney), the regenerator chamber alternating combustion air pre-heat manifold, lehr exhaust stack, the SCR and SNCR reactor housings, the lime sorbent injection chamber, the activated carbon injection chamber, the bag filter housing, and any process pressure vessels. Outside SBKJ standard machinery scope, fabricated by submerged-arc welding shops with ASME Section IX qualified procedures. Refractory-lined construction is used where exhaust temperatures exceed 600 degrees Celsius continuous.

FRP — rarely used in container glass

FRP (fibreglass-reinforced plastic) is occasionally specified for the bottle wash caustic mist scrubber housing where the chemistry concentration justifies a non-metallic build. Vinyl ester FRP construction handles caustic up to 50 percent concentration. Hand-laid or filament-wound by specialist composite shops, outside SBKJ machinery scope. See the composite manufacturing HVAC duct guide for FRP fabrication detail.

SBKJ machinery for container glass plant duct fabrication

A mechanical services contractor building dedicated duct fabrication capacity to serve Australian container glass plant projects needs a specific machinery configuration. SBKJ Engineering Team has refined the recommendation across multiple Orora, Visy and O-I project specifications and the much larger downstream sector at the wine, beer, spirits and food buyers.

SBAL-V auto duct line — the dual-mode workhorse

The SBAL-V auto duct production line is the centrepiece of the duct fabrication shop. SBAL-V handles 0.5 to 1.5 mm coil at width 1250 mm (model SBAL-V-1250J) or 1500 mm (model SBAL-V-1500J), forming speed 16 metres per minute, total power 87 kW, weight approximately 16 tonnes, operating 380V 50 Hz three-phase, footprint 14000 by 2000 by 1800 mm (1250J model) or 14000 by 2200 by 1800 mm (1500J model). Output is finished rectangular duct ready for corner blocks and packing, with TDF flange forming, beading and notching integrated into a single coil-to-duct line operated by 2 to 3 staff.

Critical for container glass plant work: dual-mode galvanised plus 316L stainless capability on the same line with 30-minute changeover. This single specification covers 70 to 75 percent of the total HVAC duct length in a typical container glass plant fit-out. SBAL-V output meets AS/NZS 4254.2 pressure class C up to 2500 Pa as standard on Pittsburgh seam. For a full SBAL-V vs SBAL-III comparison see the SBAL-V vs SBAL-III comparison guide.

SBSF-1525 round-duct flanging machine

The SBSF-1525 round-duct flanging machine forms round flanges on spiral pipe ends from 100 to 1525 mm diameter. Round spiral pipe is the most material-efficient construction for return air mains and long horizontal runs in IS machine halls, lehr corridors, packaging halls and warehouse spaces. Round duct carries 30 to 40 percent less material per unit pressure drop than equivalent rectangular at long lengths. SBSF-1525 scope in a container glass plant typically covers 15 to 20 percent of total HVAC duct length as round return mains and selected supply runs.

SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder for stainless plenum and scrubber housing

The SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder closes the longitudinal seam on stainless duct at up to 1.6 mm thickness, producing leak-class A air-tight construction required for hot end coating chlorine scrubber housing, bottle wash caustic mist plenum, AS 1318 chimney CEMS sampling duct, and any 316L pressure-class D service. Stitchwelding is the SBKJ alternative to TIG welding for high-volume seam closing on stainless duct — faster than TIG, equivalent leak-tightness at the seam pitch specified, suitable for the SBAL-V output gauge range.

SB-ZF1500 scope in a container glass plant typically covers 5 to 8 percent of total HVAC duct length but disproportionately high value because welded leak-class A construction is the highest-quality output the SBKJ machinery range produces. Scrubber housings for hot end coating, bottle wash mist eliminator, and any cullet plenum in chloride-bearing service are built on the SB-ZF1500 plus SBLR-600 welder combination.

SBLR-600 laser welder for precision welds

The SBLR-600 handheld laser welder handles precision welded joints on stainless duct elbows, transitions, custom fittings and scrubber housing details. Laser welding is faster than TIG for thin-gauge stainless and provides a narrower heat-affected zone, reducing sensitisation risk on 316L service. SBLR-600 scope in a container glass plant typically covers fitting and custom-detail welding rather than primary duct seam welding (which is the SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder's role).

SBPC1500 plasma cutter for 316L sheet

The SBPC1500 plasma cutter handles cut-to-size operations on 316L stainless sheet for scrubber baffles, custom fitting blanks and any heavy-gauge precision cutting that exceeds the SBAL-V scoring head capability. Plasma cutting is faster than abrasive waterjet for stainless and provides comparable edge quality once the consumables are dialled in. SBPC1500 scope is supplementary to the SBAL-V scoring head for the 5 to 10 percent of duct work that requires off-line cut-to-size processing.

Spark-resistant fan and IECEx motor specification

Every fan inside the cullet processing baghouse train, every fan handling silica-bearing batch house extract, every fan inside the Zone 2 oxygen enrichment envelope at the oxy-fuel furnace burner deck, every fan on hot end coating extract (in case any combustible aerosol forms in upset conditions), and every fan in the labelling-area solvent extract requires spark-resistant or IECEx-rated construction. AMCA Type A (all-metal construction with no aluminium-on-steel rubbing surfaces) is the default specification for the dust collection trains. IECEx Class T1 motors are mandatory for oxygen-enriched combustion proximity. Fans are specified separately from SBKJ ductwork machinery scope and are sourced by the mechanical services contractor from AMCA-certified fan suppliers.

Outside SBKJ machinery scope

Four categories sit outside SBKJ standard machinery scope and require specialist welded-fabrication shops or equipment OEMs. First, high-temperature furnace exhaust at 1.5 to 3.0 mm welded mild steel or refractory-lined plate (regenerator stack, AS 1318 industrial chimney, lehr exhaust stack, SCR and SNCR reactor housings). Second, refractory work on the regenerator chamber, tank furnace walls, burner block and forehearth interior (refractory specialist subcontract). Third, oxygen piping and oxygen storage on oxy-fuel plants (supplied and commissioned by Air Liquide, BOC or Coregas). Fourth, the IS forming machine itself, the lehr, the inspection conveyor, the case packer and the palletiser (bought-in equipment from Heye, Bottero, Krones, KHS, Sidel, Heuft, Filtec). The SBKJ engineering team helps customers plan this scope split at the quotation stage — itemising which lineal metres of the project go onto the SBAL-V, SBSF-1525, SB-ZF1500, SBLR-600 and SBPC1500, and which go to subcontracted welded fabrication, refractory specialist subcontract, industrial gas supplier or bought-in equipment.

Project lead time and delivery into Australia

Container glass plant projects run on long capital windows. Major shutdowns (8 to 12 years between furnace and lehr rebuilds, 4 to 6 weeks duration for a full rebuild) define the major investment cycle. IS forming machine retrofits and capacity expansions recur on a 3 to 5 year tempo. The downstream buyer sector at the wine, beer, spirits and food packaging operations runs a steadier capital cycle with annual minor expansion at each major site. HVAC fit-out projects are scheduled into these capital windows and lead time discipline is critical.

SBKJ machinery lead times

Standard SBAL-V auto duct line: 60 to 90 days from 30 percent T/T deposit to ex-works ready, plus 25 to 35 days ocean freight to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Adelaide. SBSF-1525 round-duct flanging machine: 45 to 60 days plus shipping. SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder: 60 to 75 days plus shipping. SBLR-600 laser welder: 60 to 75 days plus shipping. SBPC1500 plasma cutter: 45 to 60 days plus shipping. Total project window from purchase order to commissioned line at the customer's Australian site is typically 16 to 22 weeks for a complete duct fabrication shop dedicated to a container glass plant retrofit.

Coordination with shutdown windows

Orora Gawler SA, Visy Glass Tumut NSW and Coolaroo VIC, and the mechanical services contractors serving the downstream buyers typically order SBKJ machinery 6 months ahead of their next plant capital window, allowing 16 to 22 weeks for machine delivery and commissioning plus 4 to 8 weeks of duct prefabrication before the shutdown begins. Duct is prefabricated in the contractor's shop, packaged, and trucked to the plant for installation during the shutdown clear-out and rebuild phase.

Australian shipping ports and inland transport

SBKJ machinery routinely ships to Melbourne (for Orora Box Hill engineering and Penrose North operations, Visy Coolaroo, the Yarra Valley and Geelong distillery and brewery customers, Mountain Goat Richmond, Furphy Geelong, the SPC Shepparton supply chain), Adelaide (for Orora Gawler, Treasury Wine Penfolds Magill, Accolade Reynell, the Barossa and McLaren Vale wineries, Coopers Regency Park), Sydney (for Visy Tumut, Casella Yenda, Treasury Wine Beresfield, Lion Tooheys Lidcombe, Manly Spirits, Archie Rose, Plasdene Glass-Pak), Brisbane (for Visy Yatala, Heinz Beerwah, Lion XXXX Milton, Bundaberg Distilling, Beenleigh Distillery, Capilano Beechworth Honey, Mt Uncle Distillery), Perth (for Lion Little Creatures Fremantle, the Margaret River wineries) and Hobart (for Lark Distillery, James Boag's Launceston). Standard 40-foot high-cube container, ISPM-15 fumigated crating, full marine all-risk insurance. Inland trucking from port to contractor's shop arranged on either CIP destination or on customer-arranged inland transport.

How SBKJ supports Australian container glass HVAC duct fabricators

The SBKJ Engineering Team at Box Hill North VIC has supplied SBAL-V, SBSF-1525, SB-ZF1500, SBLR-600 and SBPC1500 machinery into mechanical services contractors building duct fabrication capacity for Australian container glass plant projects and the much larger downstream beverage and food packaging sector. The standard support package covers six items:

• Pre-quotation engineering review. SBKJ engineers review the contractor's project brief and recommend the SBAL-V coil specification, SBSF-1525 diameter range, SB-ZF1500 stitch parameters and SBLR-600 capability matched to the duct fabrication scope. Itemised by lineal metres per pressure class and material across galvanised, 304L stainless, 316L stainless and welded subcontract scope.
• FAT against container glass plant duct samples. Factory Acceptance Test before shipment runs the contractor's nominated coil through a full production cycle on the SBAL-V — galvanised mode, 304L mode and 316L mode — with tolerance verification against AS/NZS 4254.2 pressure class C requirements and leak-class A on welded seam samples representative of hot end coating chlorine scrubber duct and bottle wash caustic mist plenum.
• Installation supervision in Australia. SBKJ engineers on site at the contractor's shop for 5 to 10 days for installation, mechanical commissioning and electrical commissioning, working with the contractor's PLC integrator on any custom interlock requirements for hazardous-area-zoned project work.
• Operator and maintenance training. 8 to 16 hours operator training and 4 to 8 hours maintenance training in English, with a written commissioning report. Training covers stainless mode changeover procedure, tooling regrind schedule, PLC backup procedure and the stitchwelder seam-quality check protocol for hot end coating and bottle wash service.
• Spare parts continuity. One-year wear-parts kit shipped with the machine. Documented spare parts lead time under 14 days for stocked items, under 45 days for build-to-order. SBKJ continuity guarantee for spare parts on every machine model for 10 plus years from first delivery.
• Australian after-sales coverage. SBKJ Group's Australian operations at Box Hill North VIC provide English-speaking after-sales support, parts despatch and on-site service for Australian customers within a 12-hour reply window. The Box Hill North VIC location is a few minutes' drive from Orora Limited's Box Hill VIC head office, allowing same-day engineering response for the Orora supply chain.

Get an itemised SBKJ quote for your container glass plant or beverage packaging duct fabrication project →

How container glass HVAC compares to adjacent heavy industries

For HVAC duct fabricators serving multiple heavy-industry sectors, container glass HVAC sits at the upper-intermediate complexity tier — more demanding than general commercial HVAC and most light industrial, less demanding than primary semiconductor fab or pharma sterile manufacturing. The closest parallel is flat glass primary manufacturing, with which container glass shares the silica batch house, the regenerative tank furnace, the AS 1318 chimney and the annealing lehr — but diverges at the IS forming machine, the hot end coating chlorine scrubber, the bottle wash and the oxygen-enriched combustion zoning.

vs flat glass primary manufacturing (float, mirror, laminate, IGU)

Flat glass and container glass share batch house, melt furnace and lehr scope but flat glass adds the tin-bath hydrogen Zone 1 hazardous area, silvering line corrosive mist extract, HF acid etching scrubber, IGU assembly clean area and laminating autoclave room — none of which apply to container glass. Container glass adds the IS forming machine high-throughput hot end, the hot end coating chlorine scrubber, the bottle wash caustic mist and the oxygen-enriched combustion Zone 2 envelope — none of which apply to flat glass. See the full flat glass, mirror, laminate, tempered and IGU manufacturing HVAC duct guide for the parallel scope.

vs brewery, winery, distillery (the downstream buyer sector)

Brewery, winery and distillery HVAC shares the bottling hall, CIP system extract, labelling area and palletisation scope with the buyer-side end of container glass HVAC. The brewing and distilling upstream (mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation) has its own HVAC scope distinct from the container glass plant. See the beer brewery, wine, craft distillery, gin, cider and beverage manufacturing HVAC duct guide for the full upstream brewery and distillery scope.

vs plastic, polymer injection blow moulding, extrusion (the alternative packaging)

Plastic blow moulding produces PET, HDPE and PP bottles and jars that compete with glass containers in many beverage and food packaging applications. Plastic injection blow moulding HVAC has its own profile dominated by polymer fume extract, mould cooling water management and resin handling dust. See the plastic polymer injection blow moulding extrusion recycling manufacturing HVAC duct guide for the alternative packaging scope.

vs tile, brick, ceramic manufacturing (the parallel high-temperature ceramic sector)

Tile, brick and ceramic manufacturing shares the silica dust handling, the high-temperature kiln operation (1100 to 1300 degrees Celsius firing temperature, lower than the 1500 to 1600 degree glass furnace), the chimney emissions and the refractory shop scope. See the tile, brick, ceramic manufacturing HVAC duct guide for the parallel high-temperature ceramic scope.

vs recycling MRF waste sortation

Recycling MRF waste sortation handles the upstream cullet supply for container glass plants plus the broader paper, plastic, metal and organic stream sortation that does not feed glass production. The container glass plant cullet handling is a subset of the MRF sortation scope at the back end. See the recycling MRF waste sortation HVAC duct guide for the parallel MRF scope.

vs waste-to-energy and landfill biogas

Waste-to-energy plants burn the residual non-recyclable fraction of municipal solid waste to generate electricity and heat, with flue gas treatment train similar to the container glass furnace flue (NOx reduction, SO2 control, particulate filter, mercury and dioxin capture). The AS 1318 chimney and CEMS scope is closely parallel. See the waste-to-energy, landfill biogas, composting, e-waste and scrap metal recycling HVAC duct guide for the parallel high-temperature waste processing scope.

Common procurement mistakes on container glass HVAC projects

SBKJ engineers see the same handful of procurement mistakes repeatedly on container glass plant HVAC retrofits and at the downstream beverage and food packaging buyer sites. Avoiding them takes one Friday afternoon of upfront engineering review.

Mistake 1 — Buying a single-mode SBAL-V

Specifying an SBAL-V configured for galvanised only forces all stainless work onto subcontracted fabrication or a second machine. Container glass plants need 25 to 30 percent of their duct in 304L or 316L stainless (hot end coating chlorine scrubber, bottle wash caustic mist, IS machine hall overhead heat extract, lehr corridor returns, forehearth proximity). A dual-mode SBAL-V handles galvanised, 304L and 316L on the same line with 30-minute changeover. The incremental cost of dual mode at order time is recovered on the first hot end coating chlorine scrubber project.

Mistake 2 — Underestimating the welded-fabrication scope split

Procuring SBKJ machinery for 100 percent of project duct then discovering at fit-out that 8 to 12 percent (the regenerator stack, AS 1318 chimney, lehr exhaust, SCR or SNCR reactor housing, oxygen piping) must be subcontracted at a premium. The scope split should be in the quotation, not discovered on site.

Mistake 3 — Galvanised on hot end coating chlorine scrubber

Saving material cost by specifying galvanised on hot end coating extract. Galvanised corrodes through in weeks to months in HCl pyrolysis service. 316L stainless is the only durable choice. The galvanised "saving" is wiped out by the first re-fit within the first year of service.

Mistake 4 — 304L on hot end coating where 316L is mandatory

Specifying 304L instead of 316L on hot end coating duct. 304L is challenged within 12 to 18 months by the chloride attack at flange welds. The cost difference between 304L and 316L is modest (typically 30 to 40 percent material cost premium for 316L over 304L) and is recovered on extended service life.

Mistake 5 — Forgetting oxygen-enriched combustion Zone 2 zoning

Specifying standard non-IECEx motors on burner deck HVAC at an oxy-fuel-fired furnace. The burner deck is Zone 2 oxygen enrichment under AS/NZS 60079 and the spec must include IECEx-rated motors, oxygen-clean piping segregation and continuous oxygen monitoring. Retrofitting to compliance after commissioning costs 3 to 5 times the original specification difference.

Mistake 6 — Missing NFPA 660 on cullet handling

Treating cullet processing dust collection as identical to virgin batch dust collection. Cullet contains organic residue (label paper, plastic, food residue) and falls within NFPA 660 combustible dust scope. The current lithium-ion battery contamination risk in mixed cullet streams from container deposit return schemes drives the infrared spot fire detection and continuous CO monitoring requirement that is easily forgotten at design stage and is the only protection against a baghouse fire from a vape battery.

Mistake 7 — Wrong duct gauge for cullet and batch house mains

Specifying 0.7 mm galvanised on cullet and batch house source-capture mains because that is the standard HVAC office-building gauge. Silica-and-glass-loaded airstreams abrade through 0.7 mm in 3 to 5 years; the correct specification is 1.0 to 1.2 mm galvanised, well within SBAL-V capability.

Mistake 8 — Skipping the pressure class for the IS machine hall extract

Designing the IS machine hall overhead heat extract at pressure class B because pressure class C duct construction "costs more". The combination of long horizontal runs, high airflow volume and warm humid air creates pressure transients that flex class B duct over a few weeks and unseat Pittsburgh seams. Pressure class C is mandatory; SBAL-V output meets class C as standard.

Mistake 9 — Skipping the FAT on stainless mode

Skipping the Factory Acceptance Test in 316L mode on the assumption that the SBAL-V will "just work" on the contractor's stainless coil. Stainless coil from different mill sources behaves differently through the Pittsburgh-seam tooling; the FAT verifies acceptable seam quality before shipment, and is mandatory on every SBKJ auto duct line where stainless capability is in scope.

Mistake 10 — Forgetting the bottle wash 304L specification on returnable schemes

Specifying galvanised on bottle wash caustic mist extract because the wash plant looks "like a kitchen hood". Galvanised corrodes rapidly in caustic mist service. 304L stainless is the minimum specification, 316L preferred on the rinse-water zones where chloride loading is anticipated. The cost difference is recovered on the first 18 months of service life.

FAQ

What is the major hazardous-area concern in container glass HVAC design?

The oxygen-enriched combustion Zone 2 envelope around the oxy-fuel furnace burner deck. Where the regenerative tank furnace fires on natural gas plus pure oxygen (replacing combustion air) supplied by Air Liquide, BOC or Coregas, AS/NZS 60079 classifies the burner block area as Zone 2 oxygen enrichment with 23.5 percent oxygen as the engineering control upper limit. Above this concentration, ordinary combustible materials become significantly more flammable and the burning rate accelerates dramatically. Every fan motor in the envelope must be IECEx-rated, every oxygen line must be oxygen-clean degreased to ASTM G93 Level 200, and continuous oxygen monitoring at the burner block, at floor level and at the operator station with 22.5 percent alarm and 23.5 percent trip is mandatory. Container glass plants that have not yet converted to oxy-fuel firing have a simpler hazardous-area profile dominated by combustible dust on the cullet processing baghouses under NFPA 660.

Why is 316L stainless mandatory for hot end coating chlorine scrubber duct?

The IS machine hot end coating station sprays tin tetrachloride (SnCl4) or titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) onto bottles at 500 to 600 degrees Celsius. The chloride pyrolyses immediately to tin oxide or titanium oxide on the bottle surface, releasing hydrogen chloride (HCl) into the extract airstream by the stoichiometry SnCl4 plus 2 H2O equals SnO2 plus 4 HCl. Galvanised duct fails in weeks; 304L is challenged within 12 to 18 months because the chloride attacks austenitic stainless at flange welds and crevice corrosion sites. 316L stainless with 2 to 3 percent molybdenum content resists the chloride attack reliably for 10 to 15 years in service. The SBAL-V handles 316L on the same coil mode as 304L and galvanised, and the SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder closes the longitudinal seam for the leak-class A air-tight construction required on the scrubber housing.

What HVAC ductwork is within SBKJ machinery scope and what is outside?

SBKJ duct machinery (SBAL-V, SBSF-1525, SB-ZF1500, SBLR-600, SBPC1500) handles 0.5 to 1.6 mm galvanised, 304L stainless, 316L stainless and aluminised sheet formed into rectangular, oval and round duct for ambient HVAC, batch house source-capture, cullet handling extract, IS machine hall heat extract, hot end coating chlorine scrubber duct, lehr corridor, cold end coating, bottle wash, packaging hall, inspection and QC lab. High-temperature furnace exhaust at 1.5 to 3.0 mm welded mild steel or refractory-lined plate (regenerator stack, AS 1318 industrial chimney, lehr exhaust, SCR and SNCR reactor housings) is outside scope. Refractory work on the furnace and forehearth interior requires refractory specialist subcontract. Oxygen piping on oxy-fuel plants is supplied and commissioned by Air Liquide, BOC or Coregas. The IS forming machine itself, the lehr, the inspection conveyor and the case packer are bought-in equipment from Heye, Bottero, Krones, KHS, Sidel, Heuft, Filtec.

Can SBKJ machinery form 316L stainless duct for hot end coating service?

Yes. The SBAL-V forms 316L stainless from 0.6 to 1.5 mm with 30-minute changeover from galvanised mode. The SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder closes the longitudinal seam for leak-class A air-tight construction required on the chlorine scrubber housing and hot end coating primary extract. The SBLR-600 handles precision welds on fittings and custom details. The SBSF-1525 forms round flanges on 316L spiral pipe. Together, the SBKJ machinery range covers the full hot end coating duct scope upstream of the chlorine scrubber, with the scrubber housing itself fabricated on the SB-ZF1500 plus SBLR-600 combination.

What is the typical lead time for SBKJ machinery to an Australian container glass project?

SBAL-V auto duct line 60 to 90 days from deposit to ex-works ready, plus 25 to 35 days ocean freight. SBSF-1525 round-duct flanging 45 to 60 days. SB-ZF1500 stitchwelder 60 to 75 days. SBLR-600 laser welder 60 to 75 days. SBPC1500 plasma cutter 45 to 60 days. Total project window from purchase order to commissioned line is typically 16 to 22 weeks. Orora Gawler SA, Visy Glass Tumut NSW and Coolaroo VIC, and the mechanical services contractors serving Treasury Wine Estates, CUB, Lion, Coopers, Bundaberg Distilling, Heinz, SPC and the wider beverage and food packaging sector typically order 6 months ahead of plant capital windows.

How does AS 1668.2 apply to container glass plant HVAC?

AS 1668.2-2024 Section 5 governs personnel-zone ventilation (IS machine hall, lehr corridor, packaging hall, inspection line, operator pulpit, control rooms). Section 6 governs specific exhaust applications (hot end coating chlorine scrubber, cold end coating extract, bottle wash caustic mist, batch house silica capture, cullet processing dust). Pressure class C (up to 2500 Pa) covers batch house dust collection mains and IS machine hall overhead heat extract; class A through B covers personnel comfort runs. SBAL-V output meets AS 4254 pressure class C as standard on Pittsburgh seam, with SB-ZF1500 stitchwelded seams for class D and leak-class A.

Which Australian operators are the major container glass HVAC procurement targets?

Container glass manufacturers: Orora Limited (Box Hill VIC HQ, Gawler SA bottle plant, Penrose North VIC; SBKJ Box Hill neighbour), Visy Industries (Pratt family; Tumut NSW, Coolaroo VIC, Yatala QLD), O-I Australia (Owens-Illinois Australia), Plasdene Glass-Pak (Sydney supplier and distributor). Wine industry buyers: Treasury Wine Estates and Penfolds, Pernod Ricard Jacob's Creek, Accolade Wines Hardys and Banrock Station, Casella Family Brands Yellow Tail, De Bortoli, Brown Brothers, Yalumba, Henschke, Tyrrell's, Tahbilk, Vasse Felix, the Margaret River wineries. Beer: CUB (Asahi), Lion (Kirin), Coopers Brewery, Stone & Wood, Mountain Goat. Spirits: Bundaberg Distilling, Beenleigh Distillery, Lark, Manly Spirits, Four Pillars, Archie Rose, Mt Uncle. Food: Heinz Beerwah QLD, Bega Cheese, Foster Clark, Masterfoods, Nestlé, SPC Ardmona Shepparton VIC, Capilano, Boundary Bend Cobram Estate. Recycled glass: Visy Glass, Australian Glass Recycling AGR, Cleanaway, Veolia, Suez.

What materials are specified for HVAC duct around the IS forming machine hot end?

304L stainless on the IS machine hall overhead heat extract (sustained near 80 degree Celsius galvanising limit), mould face lubricant fume extract hood, and any return air within 5 metres of the hot bottle conveyor. Galvanised acceptable on the operator pulpit insulated supply duct and the hall periphery. 316L stainless mandatory on hot end coating chlorine scrubber duct, hood and scrubber housing — galvanised fails in weeks in HCl service and 304L is challenged within 12 to 18 months. SBAL-V forms galvanised, 304L and 316L on the same line with 30-minute changeover, covering the full IS machine hall HVAC scope.

How does FSANZ 1.2 food packaging compliance affect container glass HVAC design?

FSANZ Food Standards Code 1.2 governs the safety and quality of food packaging including jars used for jam, honey, sauces, pickles, preserved fruit, baby food and other food applications. The HVAC implication is that the jar production environment downstream of the annealing lehr — inspection, hot end coating, cold end coating, packaging — must avoid contaminating the jar interior with airborne particulate, oils or chemical residue that could migrate to the food product. Class III filtered air supply at the inspection and packaging zones is standard, with positive pressure to keep external dust out. The hot end coating chlorine scrubber must remove HCl and any chloride aerosol to below regulatory limits before discharge to ensure the surrounding production zone meets FSANZ contamination thresholds.