Float glass — primary craft
22+years on the plant floor
Move the light. Find the leader.
Nitin Khatri · B.Tech. Chemical Engineering · SVNIT 2004
Nitin Khatri
Production Head. Chemical engineer. Process first, people always.
02 On the floor
Running how plants perform.Building the teams they run on.
Operations leader with 22+ years across float glass, vacuum coating, carbon black and zinc manufacturing. Combines process expertise, asset care and economic thinking to improve business results, with leadership grounded in respect, humility, empowerment and accountability.
- Owns today
- Float Line · Sputter (Vacuum) Coater Line · Warehouse and Shipping
- The team
- Leads a large multi-shift team spanning managers, frontline supervisors, process engineers and hourly employees.
- Direct-report managers
- Hot End, Capping Line, Warehouse and Shipping, Coater Technical, and Shift Managers
- Frontline supervisors and process engineers
- Running each area shift by shift
- Hourly employees
- Across the Float Line, Coater, Warehouse and Shipping
- Mandates
- Float Asset Care Strategy · Coater capacity and efficiency improvement · Manpower resource optimization · Cost optimization · Warehouse inventory management
NowProduction Head, Gujarat Guardian Limited. Concurrently Integration Manager for a co-located Float Line expansion.
03 Case files
Three case files.Written on the plant floor.
Three recent pieces of work at Gujarat Guardian Limited, told qualitatively. Open a file for scope, actions and results.
Coater Technical Manager · September 2023 – October 2024
Stabilizing the coater
Turning a coater line with inconsistent output into a systematic, data-led operation.
Open the file
Scope
- Sputter (vacuum) coater line: thin functional layers are deposited on glass in a vacuum chamber.
- New robust and high performance coating products: low-emissivity (low-E) coatings that limit heat transfer through glass.
Actions
- Harmonized process data monitoring for systematic troubleshooting, product stabilization and efficiency.
- Established structured process preventive maintenance schedules for consistent operation.
- Developed a realistic product-level cost model to assess manufacturing costs and profitability.
Results
- Substantially improved yield of robust and high performance coating products.
- Substantially improved coater uptime.
- Stabilized low-E and U-value specifications, strengthening product competitiveness. (U-value: the rate of heat transfer through glazing.)
Operations Transformation and Plant Projects · November 2024 – April 2025
Furnace, quality and plant projects
A run of commissioned systems that give the furnace and the coating lines better eyes.
Open the file
Scope
- Float furnace efficiency and control, online quality check gauges, and online camera inspection on the Mirror and Sputter Coater Lines.
- Township accommodation and plant café facilities.
Actions
- Led furnace efficiency improvement projects.
- Commissioned advanced AI technology for furnace insights and control.
- Commissioned the latest online quality check gauges.
- Led commissioning of the latest online camera quality inspection system on the Mirror and Sputter Coater Lines.
- Delivered township accommodation and plant café upgrades.
Results
- Improved furnace efficiency.
- The online quality check gauges eliminated glass handling for measurement.
- The online camera inspection system eliminated customer complaints related to spot defects in mirror and coated products.
- The completed café upgrade received positive appreciation.
Concurrent with Production Head role · Ongoing
Integrating a Float Line expansion
Bringing operating experience into a co-located Float Line expansion while it is being planned and built.
Open the file
Scope
- Integration Manager for the co-located Float Line expansion project.
- This is an expansion responsibility, separate from the operating Float Line.
Actions
- Provides technical process assistance to the expansion project team.
- Participates in evaluation and finalization of potential float process equipment suppliers.
Results
- Project in progress; no outcomes are claimed.
04 The toolkit
What I run with
ProcessFour industries
- Float glass
- Vacuum coating
- Carbon black
- Zinc
PlantRun and transform
- Plant operations
- Operations transformation
- Capital projects
- Commissioning
AssetsKeep it running
- Asset care
- Reliability
- Preventive maintenance
- Root cause analysis
BusinessThink in cost
- Cost and profitability
- Resource optimization
- Inventory and shipping
- Business planning
PeopleBuild the bench
- Talent development
- Succession
- Safety culture
- Quality culture
05 The record
The record,in order.
September 2023 – Present · Float glass and vacuum coating
Gujarat Guardian Limited
Ankleshwar
Production Head · Senior Manager- Asset owner for the Float Line, Sputter Coater Line, Warehouse and Shipping, leading a large multi-shift team. Concurrent Integration Manager for a co-located Float Line expansion.
- Float substrate surface quality improvement enabled more high-value-added production.
- Recurring annual value created through box tons, furnace efficiency, cost-to-melt and warehouse packaging initiatives.
Operations Transformation and Plant Projects- Led furnace efficiency improvement projects, including advanced AI technology for furnace insights and control.
- Commissioned the latest online quality check gauges and the latest online camera quality inspection system on the Mirror and Sputter Coater Lines.
Coater Technical Manager- Substantially improved yield of robust and high performance coating products, and coater uptime.
March 2021 – September 2023 · Carbon black
PCBL Limited
Mundra
Chief Manager Production · Unit Production Head- Led carbon black operations across three manufacturing lines. Accountable for HSE, quality, compliance, production, reliability, continuous improvement, talent development and on-time, in-full delivery with sales and supply chain.
- Completed hard black line asset optimization, increasing line capacity.
- Improved carbon black yield.
- Prepared business plans and operating priorities; led root cause analysis, raw material and manufacturing cost optimization, and water and power consumption reduction.
- Strengthened risk management, shop-floor continuous improvement, knowledge sharing and succession development.
June 2010 – March 2021 · Float glass
Gujarat Guardian Limited
Ankleshwar
Manager Production- Led Float Hot End business planning and operating performance: EH&S, quality, reliability, yield, production and manpower planning. (Hot End: the furnace and forming section of a float line.)
- Led asset throughput optimization, increasing Float Line output.
- Substantially reduced packing wood consumption by moving from full-box to picture-frame packaging.
- Delivered initiatives in furnace efficiency, yield, specific power consumption, cutting system upgrades and bad-batch reduction, with regional and global teams.
Executive Production- Built experience across Hot End, Cold End, Capping Line, scheduling and warehousing.
June 2004 – June 2010 · Zinc
Hindustan Zinc Limited
Rajasthan
Graduate Engineer Trainee → Process Engineer → Associate Manager Process; SBU Process Incharge- Worked across Rajpura Dariba Mines and the Chanderiya Lead Zinc Smelter, including zinc electrolysis, melting and casting operations.
- Commissioned three greenfield zinc projects, including slab and jumbo ingot casting machines, automatic cathode stripping machines and electrode handling cranes.
- Contributed to lead/zinc ore beneficiation expansion and commissioning of a new froth flotation circuit (mineral separation using air bubbles) and a pressure filter, with equipment suppliers.
- 22+Years in manufacturing
- 4Industries
- 9Plant locations seen
- 8Countries
Exposure
Nine plant locations in eight countries, plus education and languages. Plant exposure means training and technical exposure, not employment at these plants.
- MEA · UAERas Al KhaimahPlant exposure and training
- MEA · Saudi ArabiaAl-JubailPlant exposure and training
- MEA · EgyptCairoPlant exposure and training
- EU · LuxembourgBascharagePlant exposure and training
- EU · PolandCzęstochowaPlant exposure and training
- EU · SpainLlodioPlant exposure and training
- SA · BrazilTatuíPlant exposure and training
- SA · BrazilPorto RealPlant exposure and training
- AS · ThailandRayongPlant exposure and training
- EDU · 2004B.Tech. in Chemical EngineeringSardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat. First Class with Distinction.
- LANGEnglish · Hindi · GujaratiWorking languages
07 Open to the right conversation
Let’s talk about what I can run for you.
Nitin Khatri
Production Head · Chemical engineer · 22+ years
Plant operations, operations transformation, asset care and capital projects across float glass, vacuum coating, carbon black and zinc.
