Lab glassware repair and glassblowing workshop

This is a small workshop that repairs and makes lab glassware. A glassblower heats borosilicate glass (the heat-proof glass used in labs) over a gas and oxygen flame to fix broken joints and taps, and to make custom traps and condensers that catalogue items do not cover. Each piece is then annealed (cooled slowly in an oven) so it does not crack later.

Vadodara is one of Gujarat's main pharma and chemical centres, and pharmaceuticals are its ODOP (One District One Product) item. Its drug, chemical and fertiliser plants run testing and research labs, as do The Maharaja Sayajirao University and other colleges. Units moving from bulk drugs into finished medicines will need more testing, and more glass.

You need a bench with torches, gas and oxygen cylinders and good ventilation, an annealing oven, a glass saw, a strain viewer to spot weak points, and Udyam and GST registration. The hard part is skill. Scientific glassblowing takes years to learn and good glassblowers are few, so you may need to hire one. Many labs simply buy new pieces instead, and repairs come in small lots.

Visit lab heads, purchase teams and college stores with a clear price list. Offer quick pickup and return, and take custom orders for pilot plants (small trial set-ups for new processes).