• A sand mine in a small west coast of Scotland village has reopened and aims to export up to 100,000 tons of sand a year. Lochaline Quartz Sand, a joint venture between Italian mining company Gruppo Minerali Maffei and NSG Group, a global glass manufacturer, which operates under the Pilkington brand in the UK, opened the mine last week. The sandmine has lain dormant since the previous operator closed it at the end of 2008.
• Owens Corning’s new furnace in its Tlaxcala, Mexico, glass reinforcements facility is now operational. The Tlaxcala plant expansion will support increased manufacturing of OC’s corrosion-resistant Advantex glass and will initially produce assembled roving and dry-use chopped strands.
• Libbey is to lay-off more workers than originally stated and will change the retirement benefits of United States workers. The Toledo, Ohio, glass tableware company said in July it would cut about 5 percent of its global work force, but it has now changed that number to 9 percent.
• Air Products is to supply its integrated oxy-fuel solution to Jinxin Glass in Jiyuan, Henan Province, China. It will help Jinxin reduce emissions and improve productivity and quality in its glass production. Jinxin is a manufacturer of pharmaceutical borosilicate glass for local and overseas markets.
• The Ethiopian Hansom International Glass factory, which had temporarily halted production due to hikes in international furnace oil prices, is to relaunch production according to Xia Yong, general manager of the company.
• The increase of import duties and introduction of anti-dumping duties by the Brazilian government has created a new framework for investments in Brazil. This new situation requires an adaption of RHI Group’s plans for a production site for refractory products in the State of Rio de Janeiro.
• Resco Products Inc. has announced an across the board price increase effective Nov. 1, 2012. Resco products have been affected by increased cost of services and supplies in 2012 that cannot be off-set thru efficiencies; increases will range 4–7 percent.