At the intersection of Whitestown and Evans City roads, you can find a group of nondescript buildings centered in the midst of an immaculately groomed campus. This is the world headquarters of Agr International, a lesser-known company on the local scene but a world-renowned player in the area of packaging and technology.

Agr International has been operating in the Butler area since its founding in 1927. Today, as it approaches its 95th anniversary, the Butler location is the epicenter of a worldwide operation with offices in Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Mexico, China, Thailand and Japan. Along with the world headquarters, the Meridian site is home to Agr's sales, design and engineering and manufacturing operations as well as its subsidiary, American Glass Research.

Over its nearly 95 years, Agr has been dedicated to developing processes and equipment to improve the quality and safety of the bottles that are used in our everyday lives. Almost every plastic and glass bottle that is on store shelves has been touched by a product or process developed by Agr engineers in the Butler facility. Agr testing and measurement products can be found in glass bottle, plastic bottle and beverage plants in more than 120 countries. Agr says that more than 70% of Agr products are destined for markets outside of the USA.

Tech powerhouse

In the Butler location, Agr operations include administration of the worldwide operations, sales, marketing, product development, advanced engineering and research as well as all manufacturing.

Being a leading research and development center for the container testing industry, Agr relies on a highly educated and talented workforce. With the 150-plus employees in the Butler facility, talents range from research scientists, physicists, software and electrical and mechanical engineers to a team of manufacturing experts that build the equipment that is used throughout the world. An essential part of the Agr organization is a team of highly trained technicians that travel the world to install and service equipment whenever and wherever necessary.

Green revolution

There is a lot of news today about the green revolution, reducing the carbon footprint and saving energy and resources. Agr was playing a major role in this effort long before it became the “in thing” to do. Dating to the mid-1970s, Agr introduced a product that made it possible for manufacturers to reduce the weight of glass bottles by as much as 40%.

This product was adopted worldwide, and through the years has contributed significantly to reducing energy and material use in this industry. Most recently, Agr's Process Pilot product line is used in the manufacture of plastic bottles. The super-thin, very-lightweight water bottles that we use every day are more than likely produced on molding machines that incorporate Agr's Process Pilot technology.

This technology automates the molding process, making it possible to reduce the material and energy used to manufacture each bottle, saving money for manufacturers and consumers, while contributing to the green environment. This same technology also is used to manage the production of bottles with large percentages of recycled materials. Agr continues to work with glass and plastic bottle manufacturers to produce better, safer and more environmentally friendly products.

Advanced technology

One of the newest products that Agr engineers has developed is a device called Gawis 4D, a high precision measurement system that combines advanced vision technology with robotics. It is designed to be used by bottle manufacturers to measure all of the intricate dimensional features as well as material thickness of a bottle in a matter of seconds.

To ensure that bottles meet specifications, it is necessary to measure bottle samples on a regular basis. This is a tedious, drawn-out task that requires numerous hand measurements on each bottle that can take more than 10 minutes per bottle.

The Gawis 4D system automatically performs all of these measurements, and more. Up to 100 bottles can be processed in a set with the robot maneuvering the bottles through the system, taking less than a minute to measure each bottle. This is a completely hands-off system that totally revolutionizes the way bottles are measured in the manufacturing plant, saving time, energy and unnecessary labor. The Gawis 4D is just one of many products that Agr offers to the packaging industry.

Agr prides itself in its contributions to making better and safer bottles. One of Agr's specialties is its line of equipment for testing the pressure strength of bottles. Pressure testing is particularly important for glass bottles that are used for beer or carbonated drinks. These bottles need to be able to withstand the pressure produced by carbonated beverages. Defective bottles with low pressure strength present a real danger to consumers and potential legal issues for the manufacturer. Agr pressure-testing equipment is specifically designed to help bottle manufacturers avoid any such problems.

Bottle design, training and more

Agr's subsidiary, American Glass Research, made up of a small group of glass specialists, provides a unique portfolio of services to the glass industry. These range from advanced bottle design to bottle testing, material analysis and in-plant training and consulting.

One particular area of expertise of this group is forensic bottle analysis. There are times when a manufacturer, or beverage producer, needs to understand the exact cause of a bottle break. Was it poorly manufactured? Is there something on the filling line that is damaging bottles or is breakage caused by poor handling or abuse? American Glass Research personnel can reconstruct the broken bottle, and utilizing their expertise and range of tools, identify the exact cause of the break. Often a design flaw is uncovered, or something on the production line is damaging the bottles. In the end, this group provides the proper guidance to the manufacturer to correct the problem.

Proud of its role

“From our earliest discoveries of applying the principles of glass to the challenges of making bottles, to our role in developing quality standards for an entire industry and to the equipment and training we now provide the entire world, Agr has been at the forefront of innovation when it comes to bottle packaging,” said Henry Dimmick Jr., Agr chief executive officer.

“We are proud of our role, helping to make the world a better place through increased product safety, “ Dimmick said. “Manufacturers use less energy and fewer raw materials in their production process.”