Ceramic and glass business news of the week for February 28, 2022

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

CADdent installed their first Lithoz 3D printer as an investment in additive manufacturing

Lithoz GmbH recently installed their CeraFab System S65 Medical at the CADdent facilities in Germany. CADdent, a leading provider of additive manufacturing and CAD/CAM solutions in dental technology, is currently expanding its 3D printing operations.

Greenglass invests €10 million in Romanian recycling facility

Greenglass will start the construction of a second post-consumer glass waste facility in Romania, which will increase its production capacity to 260,000 tons / year. For the recycling of post-consumer glass packaging, the plant has invested in modern, optoelectronic sorting equipment.

Pilkington UK runs furnace on biofuel in four-day trial

Pilkington UK, part of the NSG group, became the world’s first flat glass manufacturer to fire its furnace on 100% biofuel. A sustainable biofuel made from organic waste materials powered the St Helens glass manufacturer’s furnace entirely for four days, producing 165,000 m² of the lowest carbon float glass ever made.

Ciner Glass signs €80m third furnace deal at Park Cam site, Turkey

Ciner Glass signed an €80 million contract to build a third furnace at its Park Cam site in Bozüyük, Turkey. The investment will increase capacity at the facility by an additional one billion glass bottles a year.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Meeka Gold moves into rare earth elements with Cascade Rare Earth acquisition

Meeka Gold Ltd has moved into the rare earth space by picking up the Cascade Rare Earth Project, which includes exploration licenses and applications covering 2,068 square kilometers of the Albany-Fraser Mobile Belt.

Portugal’s top cement, glass makers join new consortium for green hydrogen plant

Portugal’s two main glass producers and two biggest cement makers, together accounting for 10% of the country’s industrial carbon emissions, have joined a new consortium to launch a green hydrogen plant. The consortium, named Nazare Green Hydrogen Valley (NGHV), is led by Portugal-based renewable gas producer Rega Energy.

Recresco signs five-year supply deal with Encirc

U.K. glass recycling company Recresco secured a five-year deal to supply Encirc with high quality glass cullet for remelt. Under the deal, processed glass from Recresco’s modern Ellesmere Port facility will serve Encirc for the manufacture of new glass bottles and containers at its site in Elton, Cheshire.

Stoelzle Glass Group and Special Shapes Refractory Company join GPI as members

The Glass Packaging Institute announced Stoelzle Glass Group and Special Shapes Refractory Company (SSRC) as GPI’s newest member companies. Stoelzle has more than 200 years of expertise as a manufacturer of high-end glass containers. SSRC manufactures numerous refractory products used in the glass industry.

OTHER STORIES

Webinar: A future of glass

ACerS Fellow and Penn State professor John Mauro will give a free webinar on some future advances in glass and technology that promise to address global challenges in energy, the environment, healthcare, information and communication technology, and more. The webinar takes place March 22 from 12–1 p.m. Eastern.

ASEAN Ceramics coming fall 2022

ASEAN Ceramics is Southeast Asia’s leading international exhibition of machinery, technology and materials for manufacturing whiteware, heavy clay, and advanced ceramics. The show will take place Nov. 30–Dec. 2, 2022 in Thailand and will be organized by MMI Asia Pte Ltd, a full subsidiary of Messe München GMBH.

Sandia materials scientist elected president of TMS

Brad Boyce, a materials scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, was elected president of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society.  He is the second Sandia employee to be elected to lead the professional society. The first was Elizabeth Holm, now a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

Lincoln Electric expands board with addition of Owens Corning CEO

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. announced that Brian D. Chambers, chair and chief executive officer of Owens Corning, was elected to Lincoln Electric’s Board of Directors, effective Feb. 16, 2022. He was appointed to serve on the Audit and the Finance Committees. Chambers’ appointment expands Lincoln Electric’s Board to 13 directors.

MP Materials reports higher profit as rare earth prices surge

U.S. rare earth miner MP Materials posted a higher fourth-quarter profit, helped by rising prices for the minerals used in high-end electronics. MP said its realized price for rare earth oxides soared 148% to $10,101 per metric tonne square in the quarter.

Semiconductor sector needs probed by science committee

The U.S. House Science Committee has held two hearings thus far examining semiconductor industry needs as Congress considers pumping billions of dollars into domestic semiconductor R&D and manufacturing. An FYI article summarizes what took place at the meetings.

MARKET TREND

Russia-Ukraine tensions to trouble Indian cement makers

The rising fuel prices in the wake of Russia-Ukraine tensions will hurt Indian cement makers, which are already reeling under rising costs of raw material and energy. Fuel prices will also affect logistics costs of companies, which are struggling with lower demand.

US bans import of art and antiquities from Afghanistan

The U.S. has introduced an immediate four-year import ban on a wide range of art and antiques from Afghanistan. The emergency measure aims to prevent the looting and trafficking of archaeological and ethnographical material. But cultural property experts fear that the policy may result in any seized material being handed over to the Taliban.

India could export $500 bln in green energy over 20 years, Reliance’s Ambani says

India could become a global green energy superpower with exports of clean energy rising to $500 billion over the next 20 years, says Mukesh Ambani, chairman of oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries. Indian companies including Reliance have announced plans worth billions of dollars to boost India’s renewable energy capacity.

NEW PRODUCTS

Teijin unveils advanced spread-tow carbon fiber woven fabric

Teijin Limited launched a lightweight, strong and cost-effective carbon fiber woven fabric developed with the company’s proprietary tow-spreading technology. The new woven fabric is made with 3K (3,000) carbon fiber filament yarn for applications requiring low weight and design flexibility, such as automotive interior materials and sporting goods.

Bricking Solutions’ torpedo ladle improves refractory replacement efficiency

Bricking Solutions offers the Torpedo Ladle Bricking Machine. This bricking machine replaces old-fashioned wood form and wedges and cuts set-up time in half. It also offers greater efficiency and safety for refractory installation in torpedo ladles.

Ultradent introduces MTApex bioceramic root canal sealer

Ultradent Products, Inc. announced the launch of its new endodontic product, MTApex bioceramic root canal sealer. For clinicians performing root canal treatments requiring obturation, MTApex is a sealer that is bioceramic and can be used with any endodontic obturation method.

SINTX announces milestones in development and testing of antipathogenic fabrics

SINTX Technologies, Inc. announced new results on the development and antipathogenic testing of fabrics impregnated with SINTX silicon nitride. The most recent fabric sample was tested against SARS-CoV-2 and was found to inactivate the virus with greater efficiency than previous fabric.

Xaar launches Sure Flow, an ultrasonic self-cleaning printhead mode

Xaar has launched Sure Flow, its new ultrasonic self-cleaning mode, which is designed to help users keep their print at its very best.  Sure Flow enables users to clear and prevent nozzle blockages without the need to remove the printhead, maximizing operational print time for optimum productivity.