Ceramic and glass business news of the week for November 2, 2020

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Hydrogen and solar linked as pioneering project seeks to ease grid congestion

German renewables developer BayWa r.e. and its Dutch subsidiary GroenLeven signed a contract with the Netherland’s biggest energy network company Alliander to study how hydrogen production linked to an adjacent 50MW solar plant could reduce grid congestion.

Visy Glass sells Auckland facility for NZ$178 million

Visy Glass sold its Auckland manufacturing facility to Centuria Capital Group for NZ$178.3 million (US$118.5 million) on a 20-year sale-and-leaseback, triple net lease deal. It means the capital group will lease the facility back to the glass manufacturer for the next 20 years.

HSIL to invest Rs 320 cr for setting up glass making facility, expanding plastic plant capacity

Glass packaging producer HSIL said it will invest Rs 320 crore to set up a new specialty glass manufacturing facility in Telangana, India (which would be operational by the end of September 2022) and raise production capacity of its plastic business facility.

Chinese glass manufacturer selects Stratford for its first Canadian manufacturing facility

Xinyi Canada Glass, the Chinese glass maker that has attempted to build a manufacturing facility in Ontario since 2018, chose Stratford, local officials say. Stratford’s economic development corporation confirmed that a potential $400-million development that would bring approximately 320 jobs is being considered in the city’s southwest corner.

UK government spearheads £54m investment to revive Merseyside’s historic glass industry

The Liverpool City Region will benefit from a £54 million investment to revitalize its glass industry and support the region’s economic recovery. The funding will be used to establish a state-of-the-art glass furnace R&D facility in St Helens, reviving the closed United Glass facility. The plant will be capable of producing 30 tonnes of sustainable glass a day.

Harper International completes virtual acceptance at 2,000°C on graphite rotary tube furnace

Harper International completed factory acceptance testing of a new continuous, graphite rotary tube furnace at 2,000°C. The customer, a global chemical manufacturer, participated virtually. The furnace will process refractory metal powders in hydrogen and inert atmospheres.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

French VERCANE project aims to decarbonize glass production

A French consortium, formed by energy group ENGIE, glass furnace supplier Fives, and glass manufacturers Saverglass and Verescence, launched an R&D program called VERCANE that aims to decarbonize the glass manufacturing process.

Construction Supply Group, White Cap investors fulfill merger plan

White Cap Supply and Construction Supply Group combined in a transaction valued at approximately $4 billion, netting the top North American distributor of concrete accessories plus specialty construction and safety products.

OTHER STORIES

American Chemet announces new sales account manager

American Chemet is pleased to announce that Jon Hassert has joined the Chemet Sales team as sales account manager in the Deerfield, Ill., office. Hassert will focus on expanding Chemet sales of cuprous oxide into the international marketplace.

SINTX Technologies announces grant of US patent for antibacterial applications of SiN

SINTX Technologies, Inc. announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent 10,806,831 covering antibacterial biomedical implants and associated materials. This newly issued patent broadly covers a variety of biomedical implants wherein the SINTX’s silicon nitride is applied to improve the antibacterial characteristics of the implant.

Additive Manufacturing Austria advocates for sustainable funding with R&D working group

The Austrian federal government implemented measures to handle the COVID-19 crisis. Additive Manufacturing Austria recently supported a petition advocating increased R&D funds to cope with the COVID-19 crisis and ensure that these are not reduced despite other challenges.

Ardagh Group’s recycled glass briquettes win Sustainability Award

Ardagh has won a Sustainability Award in the inaugural “Pre-Commercialised Innovation” category for its method of producing remeltable briquettes from the fine particle glass rejected during the recycling process, allowing 100% of recycled glass to be remelted into new glass bottles and jars.

ACI announces winners of annual excellence in Concrete Construction Awards

The American Concrete Institute announced the winners of the 2020 Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards, who were honored during the Institute’s Virtual Concrete Convention, on Oct. 26, 2020. The highest honor was presented to the Kennedy Center Expansion Project in Washington, DC, which consists of three new buildings.

Vitrum Glass Group earns first Guardian Select Elite Fabrication Certification

Vitrum Glass Group is the first company to earn Guardian Glass North America’s Guardian Select Elite Fabrication certification for architectural glass fabricators in the U.S. and Canada. Vitrum achieved Guardian Select Elite Fabricator status because of its advanced capabilities and quality standards, according to the company.

Successful debut of THERMPROCESS China

THERMPROCESS China made its successful debut during the wire and Tube China trade fairs on Sept. 23–26 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Some 20 companies presented their thermo processing and sawing technology innovations in a themed pavilion, which was organized by Messe Düsseldorf Shanghai together with Chinese and international partners.

MARKET TRENDS

Solar power in Africa is set to surge

The Intersolar Solarize Africa Market Report 2020, prepared by the Becquerel Institute and the German Solar Association with support from Intersolar Europe, concluded Africa has immense potential for photovoltaics upon analyzing the market conditions in 16 African countries.

NEW PRODUCTS

Next gen Miraj Diamond Glass materials, including new Diamond Ceramic Glass

AKHAN Semiconductor, manufacturer of the world’s first diamond smartphone screen, announced the debut of its newly formulated nanocrystalline diamond display glass technology. Tests by the Northwestern NUANCE facility confirmed Miraj Diamond Glass Ceramic materials exhibit hardness of over 36 Gigapascals.

Granulating & drying in double planetary mixers

The ROSS Double Planetary Mixer is ideal for high-precision mixing, granulation, and vacuum drying all in a single vessel. Powders and granules are gently blended by two rectangular planetary blades that rotate on their own axes while orbiting the mixing zone on a common axis.