EW Bowman Inc has been supplying annealing and decorating lehrs to the glass container industry since 1959. Over the years, the company has added several lehr and oven-related products to the product range, including a mould preheating oven, used to preheat glass forming moulds prior to their installation on the forming machine, ready for production. Originally, these mould preheating ovens were always supplied as "standalone" units, which relied on an external source of electricity and an independent source of heating energy, typically either gas-fired burners or electric heating elements. With the industry's increased focus on energy efficiency and energy conservation in recent years, Bowman has seized the opportunity to review its technology and identify possible areas for improvement. With this focus on energy conservation, the company was able to design a mould preheating oven that is installed in the sidewall of the lehr. This effectively reduces the energy used in the preheating of moulds to zero.
