Ambev’s new glass plant in Carambeí, Paraná, has entered full production with Pennekamp delivering the core annealing and cold-end technology. The facility produces 400 tonnes of container glass per day, primarily long-neck and 600 ml returnable formats, demanding strict thermal uniformity and mechanical durability across repeat circulation cycles.

Pennekamp commissioned three gas-heated annealing lehrs, each running controlled cooling profiles from approximately 520°C at entry to 90–110°C at exit. Commissioning thermal scans confirmed less than ±3°C cross-belt deviation, securing stress-relief stability and reduced cold-end fracture rates. The lehrs feature multi-zone burner modulation with individual lambda control, enabling targeted adjustments without full-line disruption, an operational necessity for high-throughput filling environments.

Energy performance was addressed through exhaust heat recirculation and optimized airflow tuning, reducing fuel consumption by an estimated 8–10% per tonne compared to conventional zoned lehrs used in similar Brazilian container plants. These measures support Ambev’s circular packaging commitments and lower total emissions per production cycle.

In parallel, Pennekamp installed three cold-end coating stations calibrated for MSVD-compatible silane deposition, achieving consistent 0.15–0.22 COF values to prevent scuffing during automated conveying and palletizing. The accompanying mould pre-heating equipment and deflector firing ovens operate on digitally sequenced burner curves to ensure stable thermal preparation before IS handling.

The collaboration enabled the plant to reach commercial stability in under 12 operating days, positioning Carambeí as a technical reference point for next-generation container glass manufacturing in South America.