Project Manager - Furnace, Batch House & Glass Melting Operations

Role & responsibilities

Prefer

Project Manager Furnace, Batch House & Glass Melting Operations

Location: Ahmedabad

Qualification: BE Ceramics

Experience: 12-15 years
Industry Preference: Solar Glass, Float Glass, Container Glass, Specialty Glass

Role Objective

Lead complete furnace engineering, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, repair, life management, and team development activities for Solar Glass Manufacturing Plants. Candidate should be capable of independently handling furnace activities from Greenfield project stage through furnace campaign life and major rebuilds.

Key Responsibilities

1. Furnace Engineering & Design

• Understanding of End-Fired and Cross-Fired Furnaces
• Solar Glass Furnace Selection & Evaluation
• Furnace Capacity Planning (300 TPD to 1000+ TPD)
• Furnace Heat Balance & Energy Optimization
• Furnace Layout Review
• Furnace Design Coordination with OEMs and Consultants
• Furnace Expansion and Capacity Upgrade Studies

2. Furnace Construction & Rebuild

• Greenfield Furnace Construction
• Furnace Dry-out & Heat-up Planning
• Refractory Installation Supervision
• Steel Structure & Furnace Equipment Coordination
• Furnace Commissioning & Startup
• Furnace Reconstruction & Rebuild Projects
• Contractor and Chinese Team Management

3. Refractories Management

Must have strong knowledge of:

• Fused Cast Refractories
• AZS Blocks
• Silica Bricks
• Fireclay Bricks
• Mullite Refractories
• Insulation Materials
• Burner Blocks
• Crown Refractories
• Sidewall Refractories
• Bottom Refractories
• Superstructure Refractories

Should understand:

• Refractory Selection
• Failure Analysis
• Corrosion Mechanisms
• Glass Attack
• Thermal Shock
• Refractory Life Assessment

4. Furnace Operation

• Glass Melting Process Control
• Pull Rate Management
• Furnace Pressure Control
• Temperature Profile Management
• Fuel Consumption Optimization
• Furnace Efficiency Improvement
• Yield Improvement
• Defect Reduction
• Production Planning

5. Furnace Fuel & Combustion System

Experience in:

• Natural Gas (NG)
• LNG-Based Furnace Systems
• LPG Backup Systems
• Fuel Switching
• Burner Systems
• Gas Trains
• Combustion Air Systems
• Regenerative Systems
• Furnace Safety Systems

Must handle:

• NG Failure Situations
• Burner Failure
• Power Failure Situations
• Emergency Furnace Stabilization
• Furnace Restart Procedures

6. Hot Repair & Cold Repair

Strong experience in:

Hot Repairs

• Crown Repairs
• Sidewall Repairs
• Doghouse Repairs
• Electrode Repairs
• Burner Block Repairs
• Leak Management

Cold Repairs

• Furnace Shutdown Planning
• Furnace Demolition
• Refractory Replacement
• Furnace Rebuild Execution
• Furnace Restart

7. Furnace Life Management

• Campaign Life Monitoring
• Remaining Life Assessment
• Furnace Health Audits
• Thermal Imaging Analysis
• Refractory Wear Monitoring
• Furnace Repair Planning
• Rebuild Budgeting

8. Batch Plant & Raw Materials

Must possess strong knowledge of:

• Silica Sand
• Soda Ash
• Dolomite
• Limestone
• Feldspar
• Salt Cake
• Sodium Sulphate
• Cullet
• Additives and Fining Agents

Should understand:

• Raw Material Specifications
• Batch Formulation
• Batch Plant Operation
• Material Handling Systems
• Batch House Equipment
• Impact of Raw Material Variations on Furnace Performance

9. Glass Defects & Melting Quality

Understanding of:

• Stones
• Seeds
• Bubbles
• Cords
• Knots
• Inclusions
• Devitrification
• Browning
• Roller Marks
• Distortion

Must be able to identify root causes originating from:

• Furnace Operation
• Refractory Failure
• Batch Quality
• Fuel System
• Temperature Imbalance

10. Engineering & Procurement

• Furnace Technical Specifications
• BOQ Preparation
• RFQ Preparation
• Technical Bid Evaluation (TBE)
• Technical Evaluation Report (TER)
• Vendor Selection
• Furnace Contractor Evaluation
• Commercial Negotiation
• Project Costing & Estimation

11. Team Building & Leadership

• Furnace Operations Team Hiring
• Melting Department Setup
• Training Programs
• SOP Development
• Performance Management
• Shift Team Development
• Chinese and Indian Team Coordination

12. Emergency & Risk Management

Must have experience handling:

• Furnace Power Failure
• Total Plant Blackout
• NG Supply Failure
• Burner Trip Conditions
• Cooling Water Failure
• Compressed Air Failure
• Furnace Leakages
• Crown Hot Spots
• Glass Breakout Risks
• Emergency Shutdown Procedures

Technical Skills Required

• Glass Melting Technology
• Solar Glass Manufacturing
• Float Glass Technology
• Refractory Engineering
• Combustion Engineering
• Heat Transfer Fundamentals
• Furnace Energy Optimization
• Batch Plant Operations
• Furnace Construction Management
• AutoCAD Drawing Review
• MS Project / Primavera

Preferred Candidate Background

• Saint-Gobain
• AGI Glaspac
• HNG
• Piramal Glass
• Borosil
• Asahi India Glass

Key Requirement

Candidate should be capable of independently leading the complete furnace lifecycle including design review, construction, refractory installation, commissioning, glass melting operations, hot and cold repairs, combustion systems, batch plant operations, furnace life management, emergency handling, team development, and long-term furnace performance optimization for a Greenfield Solar Glass Manufacturing Project.

CTC: Best in the Industry red candidate profile