PaneraTech to show furnace management tools and AI support at glasstec 2026

PaneraTech will use glasstec 2026 in Düsseldorf, Oct. 20–23, to pitch a digital furnace management approach that connects inspection data, engineering expertise and AI-enabled support. The company says the goal is to help glass manufacturers make faster maintenance and operational decisions.

Why it matters: - Glass manufacturers face hard calls on when to repair, overcoat or keep a furnace running until the next planned outage. - PaneraTech is positioning data, engineering interpretation and AI support as one workflow for those decisions. - The approach is meant to help plants preserve reliability, focus maintenance resources and retain decision knowledge as workforces and furnace designs change.

What happened: - PaneraTech will bring its “See Your Furnace Differently” campaign to glasstec 2026, Oct. 20–23, at Messe Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany. - The company will discuss how furnace condition data can be connected to operational action across a furnace campaign. - Visitors can meet CEO Yakup Bayram and the PaneraTech team at Hall 15, Stand 15C63.

The details: - Glass plants collect operating data, inspection results, maintenance records and thermal observations, but key questions can still be difficult to answer. - PaneraTech says those questions include whether intervention is needed now, where maintenance resources should go, whether a furnace can run reliably until a planned repair or rebuild, and what changed since the last assessment. - Bayram said the challenge is not collecting more information, but building a dependable line from furnace condition to engineering interpretation to operational action. - PaneraTech says furnace management has long depended on experienced people interpreting available indicators. - The company says repeatable measurements of refractory condition can strengthen those judgments and make changes easier to compare over time. - SmartMelter portable sensors measure residual refractory thickness non-invasively in applicable furnace areas. - Those measurements can help teams decide whether an overcoat is necessary, focus a repair, review operating plans or identify areas that need closer monitoring. - Bayram said a single inspection is a snapshot and furnace management is a continuing process. - PaneraTech’s Digital Furnace Management approach combines inspection and monitoring information with engineering expertise and structured follow-through. - Depending on the furnace and customer needs, that can include SmartMelter inspections, SmartAudit, XSight software and Polaris continuous monitoring. - PaneraTech said AI becomes useful in furnace management only when it is grounded in quality measurements, historical context and an engineering framework for interpretation. - The company’s AI-enabled support is intended to help teams identify patterns, prioritize attention and make knowledge more accessible while people keep final decision-making responsibility.

Between the lines: - PaneraTech is making a broader case that furnace performance is now as much about information management as hardware. - The company is also tying AI to a narrow, practical role rather than replacing expert judgment. - That framing may resonate with plants that are dealing with more electric and hybrid furnaces, higher cullet use and changing operating practices. - Structured records could help teams preserve the reasoning behind past maintenance decisions as staff and processes evolve.

What’s next: - PaneraTech will spend the glasstec show talking with manufacturers and industry partners about its furnace management approach. - The company is using the event to present AI as a support layer for inspection and monitoring, not a standalone decision-maker. - The broader test will be whether glassmakers see the workflow as useful for daily operations and long-term asset planning.

The bottom line: - PaneraTech wants glassmakers to treat furnace management as an ongoing data-and-judgment process, with AI helping organize the evidence rather than replace the experts.