What F.I.C does

F.I.C. (UK) Limited designs and manufactures electric glass melting and boosting systems for industrial glass producers worldwide. The company's core product portfolio includes Distributed Boost electric boosting systems, High Q and Maxi Q No-Weld electrode holders (over 10,000 High Q units shipped over 20+ years), bubbler systems, complete electric furnaces ranging from laboratory scale up to 200 tonnes per day, HVP and Isothermal forehearths, dry type feeder electrodes, and mathematical modelling and CFD services accurate to better than 1%. FIC claims to be a world leader in electric boosting design, with stated experience boosting more float furnaces than Pilkington and Saint-Gobain's in-house operations combined, and is the only company with field-proven all-electric furnace solutions for PDP/LCD glass using molybdenum rather than platinum electrodes. Equipment is manufactured at the company's ISO 9001-certified Penzance, Cornwall facility (ISO certification held since 1993, a first in the glass furnace industry).

The business operates through direct enterprise field sales, manufacturing custom-engineered equipment, and providing onsite installation, commissioning, and after-sales engineering services (hot drilling, electrode advancing, troubleshooting, furnace surveys, project management). Revenue is generated through two primary streams: hardware sales (boosting systems, furnaces, forehearths, electrode holders) and engineering/professional services (consulting, modelling, maintenance). Pricing is custom and project-specific with multi-year contract cadences; the customer base is concentrated in float glass, container glass, TFT/LCD, borosilicate, and specialty glass manufacturers. Geographic reach is delivered via the UK headquarters, a China representative office in Qingdao, a US operations partner (Monofrax LLC in Falconer, NY), the Czech Republic-based parent Glass Service a.s., and agency partners in Japan, India, and Mexico.

F.I.C. was incorporated in the United Kingdom on April 20, 1982 and became a subsidiary of SEFPRO on April 2, 2024 through SEFPRO's acquisition of the GLASS SERVICE Group (which also includes Glass Service a.s. and FlammaTec). The company employs over 200 experts worldwide with diverse specialisms in electric glass melting. Current leadership includes Hayley Newberry-Powell as General Manager, Stuart Hakes as Business Development Director, Neil Marston as Technical & Customer Experience Director, and engineering and technical management across development, engineering, and technical functions. The SEFPRO group appointed Antoine Peyrude as CEO effective April 14, 2025.

Name

F.I.C

Legal name

F.I.C. (UK) Limited

Website

https://fic-uk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

F.I.C. (UK) Limited designs and manufactures electric glass melting and boosting systems — including proprietary Distributed Boost technology, High Q and Maxi Q electrode holders, complete electric furnaces, and mathematical modelling — for industrial glass producers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Glass Furnace Equipment

NAICS

Industrial Process Furnace and Oven Manufacturing (333994), Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414)

SIC

Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567), Electrical Industrial Apparatus (3620)

akta.pro primary industry

Heat Transfer Equipment (Heat Exchangers, Boilers, Condensers) (IMAHAEAC)

Keywords

• Electric glass melting
• Glass furnace equipment
• Electric boost systems
• Forehearth technology
• Industrial glass engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Penzance

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Electric Boost Systems and Equipment Sales: Manufacture and supply of electric boosting systems, electrode holders, transformers, busbars, control systems, and components for glass furnaces. Equipment manufactured at purpose-built premises in Penzance, Cornwall conforming to ISO 9001.
2. Engineering Services and Consulting: Comprehensive engineering services including troubleshooting, hot drilling and installation, electrode advancing and re-positioning, pre-emptive maintenance, furnace surveys, heat-up, charging, controlled cool-down, draining, regenerator packing, reverse burn-out, diagnosis and repair, project management, and efficiency evaluation.
3. Furnaces and Forehearths: Supply of complete electric furnaces, forehearths including HVP Forehearth, Isothermal Unit, All-Electric Forehearth, and dry type feeder electrodes. Furnaces range from laboratory scale to 200 tonnes per day capacity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

F.I.C. (UK) Limited designs, manufactures, and supplies electric boosting systems, electrode holders, bubbler systems, electric furnaces, and forehearths for the glass manufacturing industry. The company also provides engineering services including troubleshooting, hot drilling, electrode advancing, pre-emptive maintenance, and mathematical modelling with CFD for furnace optimization. Equipment is manufactured at purpose-built ISO 9001-accredited premises in Penzance, Cornwall, with global onsite installation and commissioning support.

Product overview

F.I.C. (UK) Limited is a world leader in electric boosting design and supply for the glass industry, offering a comprehensive portfolio of electric glass melting systems. The core product portfolio consists of Electric Boost Systems (including Distributed Boost, electrode holders such as High Q and Maxi Q, transformers, busbars, and control systems), Bubbler Systems (pulse and variable types with multiple tube materials), Electric Furnaces (including Fully Modulating, laboratory scale, and Pochet furnaces), and Forehearths (HVP Forehearth, Isothermal Unit, All-Electric Forehearth, and Dry Type Feeder Electrodes). Supporting services include Engineering Services, Mathematical Modelling with Computational Fluid Dynamics capabilities, and complete furnace supply. The company specializes in solving difficult electric melting problems across all glass types including TFT, LCD, float, fibre, holloware, borosilicate, and coloured glasses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electric Boost Systems Distributed Boost electric glass melting systems designed for all glass types and manufacturing processes including TFT, LCD, float, fibre, holloware and borosilicate. The systems include electrodes, transformers, busbars, and control systems.
• Bubbler Systems Pulse type and Variable Bubbling Systems that reduce fuel consumption, increase productivity and glass quality. Available with multiple tube materials including Ceramic, Water-Cooled, Platinum/Platinum Coated, Inconel, and Super Kanthal.
• Electric Furnaces All-electric furnaces including Fully Modulating Electric Furnace with flexible operation, laboratory scale furnaces, Pochet furnaces for stop/start operations, and specialist furnaces for rolled sheet and coloured glass. Capacities range from a few kilograms to 200 tonnes per day.
• HVP Forehearth High Vapour Pressure Forehearth with unique volatilisation control, thin muffle tiles for improved heat transfer, and microprocessor-based control for reduced devitrification faults and rapid response during job changes.
• Isothermal Unit Forehearth boosting system that improves thermal homogeneity and efficiency by preferentially dissipating heat in colder glass areas adjacent to channel sidewalls. Small capital outlay with 3-6 months payback period.
• All-Electric Forehearth Complete electric forehearth system for glass conditioning.
• Dry Type Feeder Electrodes Feeder electrodes available in both air-cooled and water-cooled configurations for forehearth applications.
• Engineering Services Comprehensive engineering services including troubleshooting, hot drilling and installation, electrode advancing and re-positioning, pre-emptive maintenance, furnace surveys, heat-up, charging, controlled cool-down, draining, regenerator packing, reverse burn-out, diagnosis and repair, project management, and efficiency evaluation. Access to over 200 experts worldwide.
• Mathematical Modelling and CFD Well-proven mathematical modelling accurate to better than 1% for optimising electrode location, transformer characteristics and design, including Computational Fluid Dynamics for simulating physical, chemical and thermal processes during glass production.
• Supply of Complete Furnace Complete furnace supply, onsite installation and commissioning services for glass producers worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fuel consumption reduced by up to 5%
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• GLASS SERVICE, a.s.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2024GLASS SERVICE, a.s. is the parent company of F.I.C. (UK) Limited. As part of the GLASS SERVICE Group (which includes GLASS SERVICE, FlammaTec, and F.I.C.), the company was acquired by SEFPRO on April 2, 2024. GLASS SERVICE supplies innovative services as well as hardware and software products to improve glass melting, conditioning and forming efficiency, helping customers increase quality, production efficiency and yield while reducing costs and emissions.
• SEFPROcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2024SEFPRO acquired GLASS SERVICE Group including GLASS SERVICE, FlammaTec, and F.I.C. on April 2, 2024. This partnership marks a strategic collaboration focused on innovation, digitalization, decarbonization, and sustainability within the glass industry. SEFPRO provides future-proof solutions for the glass industry, combining unmatched resistance with the agility to adapt to change. Antoine PEYRUDE became CEO of SEFPRO effective April 14, 2025.
• FlammaTeccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlammaTec, spol. s r.o. and FlammaTec Germany GmbH offer burners suitable for all types of regenerative furnaces (end-port and side-port). All burners produce highly luminous flames with under-port and side-port installation, suitable for oil, gas and dual fuel, creating low NOx through excellent heat transfer resulting in faster batch melting. FlammaTec operates as part of the GLASS SERVICE Group alongside F.I.C.
• A-SENSsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationAugmented Sensors and Systems d.o.o. (A-SENS) is an innovative company active at the intersection of Glass and Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, and Smart Factory technologies. A-SENS offers Augmented Sensors and Systems as well as Advanced Vision and Control Systems for Furnace Operation.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Corning Incorporated: Major specialty and display glass manufacturer that itself engineers melting technology. Representative of F.I.C.'s large end-customer base in PDP/LCD/borosilicate segments — closer to an ecosystem customer than a competitor, but a key comparable for the technology adoption curve.
• Schott AG: Specialty glass producer (pharmaceutical, borosilicate, optical) and operator of its own melting facilities. Representative high-end customer for F.I.C.'s electric melting and Maxi Q No-Weld solutions; not a direct equipment competitor.
• Air Products and Chemicals: Major industrial gases supplier whose oxygen and combustion technologies are integral to glass furnace efficiency improvements. Adjacent ecosystem participant — not a direct furnace competitor, but its oxy-fuel offerings are an indirect alternative to F.I.C.'s electric boosting for some customers.
• Linde plc: Industrial gases supplier (oxygen, hydrogen) to glass manufacturers. Provides enabling technologies (oxy-fuel, hydrogen pilots) that compete conceptually with electric boosting for decarbonization — relevant adjacent/ecosystem peer.

Direct peers

• Glass Service a.s. Former parent of F.I.C. within the same SEFPRO group; supplies hardware and software (including optimization and mathematical modelling) to improve glass melting, conditioning, and forming efficiency. Directly comparable in offering and customer base.
• Horn Glass Industries AG: Designs and builds complete glass melting plants (furnaces, forehearths, batch plants) for float, container, and specialty glass producers. Competes with F.I.C. for turnkey electric and hybrid furnace projects globally.
• SORG GmbH & Co. KG: German manufacturer of electric and gas-fired glass melting furnaces and conditioning equipment for the container, float, and specialty glass industries. One of the closest functional competitors to F.I.C.'s electric furnaces and forehearths.
• SEFPRO: Acquired F.I.C. in April 2024 as part of the GLASS SERVICE Group acquisition. Provides refractory products and now sits as the parent company, making it the most direct comparable on glass-industry equipment and solutions.

Broad incumbents

• Bucher Emhart Glass: Global supplier of container glass forming equipment and inspection machinery. Larger and broader portfolio than F.I.C., but overlaps with F.I.C.'s container-glass conditioning (forehearths) and quality-improvement solutions.
• Fives Group: Diversified industrial engineering group with a long-established Glass business unit supplying furnaces, conditioning, and forming technologies to container and flat-glass producers. Larger, broader portfolio than F.I.C., but overlapping in furnace offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about F.I.C