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

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Usmania Glass plans to set up a new container glass plant

Usmania Glass Sheet Factory in Bangladesh is planning to set up a new container glass plant at its factory premises using modern technology. It suspended its operation for one year and its plants remained out of production since 2018 for low demand for its product. However, since August 2021, one of its plants has been in operation.

King County leaders want to develop publicly owned concrete facility amid strike

Executive Dow Constantine (King County, Washington State) introduced legislation to study the possibility of the county and other local entities developing their own concrete manufacturing facilities. A months-long standoff between local concrete workers and construction companies has brought many construction projects to a standstill.

Battery supply startup looks to bring energy to West Virginia workforce, US supply chain

Sanjiv Malhotra, CEO of the California-based battery supply startup Sparkz, announced plans for his energy startup to open a battery factory in West Virginia employing 350 people and invest in workforce training for dislocated mine workers.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Nadir Figueiredo acquires O-I’s glass tableware company

Brazilian glass manufacturer Nadir Figueiredo acquired Colombian glass tableware group Cristar Tabletop from O-I. Combined, Nadir and Cristar have the largest production capacity in Latin America and one of the most comprehensive glass tableware portfolios in the world.

Tiama and Somex form partnership

Tiama and Somex will combine their technologies to create a range of testing equipment for the glass industry. Tiama is a global provider of real-time data and quality controls for the glass packaging industry, while Somex has developed a portfolio of testing instruments for manufacturers of glass containers.

Rohrdorfer and Zosseder start joint recycling concrete pilot project

Rohrdorfer and Zosseder decided on a joint pilot project so that high-quality concrete can be produced from demolition material in the quantities customary in the industry and with consistent quality. The project started at the beginning of January 2022. It is planned to start delivering the recycled concrete in the second half of 2022.

OTHER STORIES

Webinar: Developing porous microspheres from bioactive glasses

University of Nottingham associate professor Ifty Ahmed will deliver an in-person/online lecture on the topic of developing porous microspheres from bioactive glasses for biomedical applications. The free lecture takes place April 7 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.

Final FY22 science budgets fall short of aspirations

FYI looks at the recently passed FY22 appropriations legislation. All science agencies will receive budget increases through the final appropriations agreement for fiscal year 2022, though they are generally below the ambitious amounts initially proposed and less than the current elevated rate of inflation.

DOE launches solar industry communications awards

The U.S. Department of Energy launched a new award program to recognize solar industry communications campaigns that reach underrepresented audiences and have the potential to increase the diversity of solar adopters and the solar workforce.

Chinese rare earth firms’ capacity cut by at least 25% due to border closure with Myanmar

The capacity of rare earth companies in Ganzhou, one of China’s biggest rare earth manufacturing bases, was cut by at least 25% compared to last year, after major border gates for rare earth minerals from Myanmar to China shut down again at the beginning of the year, which has largely affected raw material supply.

Plibrico announces new vice president of sales

The Plibrico Company announced Tony Olszewski as its new vice president of sales. Olszewski will be responsible for aligning sales strategy and objectives with Plibrico’s customer-centric development and corporate goals.

MARKET TREND

1 TW of global solar capacity achieved

After totaling 971 GW by the end of 2021, global solar PV capacity is now estimated to have crossed the 1 TW threshold—a major achievement for the global solar community. The largest contributor to this capacity is China, who broke through—and blew past—100GW in late 2016/early 2017.

Wind, solar could replace coal power in Texas

A new study led by Rice University researchers found that a fraction of the wind and solar projects already proposed in Texas could eliminate the state’s remaining coal power plants and their emissions.

Tampa could become center of quest for rare earth elements

Jim Mennie and Patrick Zhang, two researchers at Florida Polytechnic University’s Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute, believe the U.S. demand for many critical elements could be met by recovering rare earths from phosphate mining in Florida.

NEW PRODUCTS

ACC Ltd launches climate control concrete insulation system in India

ACC Ltd unveiled a thermal insulating climate control concrete system called ACC Airium in India. ACC Airium is a mineral foam-based insulating technology that is available in low densities starting from 300 kg/m³ and above.

Scientific Dust Collectors announces free technical book on dust collection

Scientific Dust Collectors offers a FREE third edition publication on dust collection titled “A Scientific Review of Dust Collection–Third Edition.” It reviews the history, theory, and application of all types of dust collection equipment.

New low voltage compact LED bulbs are reliable alternatives to incandescent bulbs

LEDtronics announced new additions to its industry-leading offering of HYPERLINK intermediate-based LED bulbs that fit in enclosed fixtures, with low voltage, 160-degree spherical illumination, low power consumption, and high lumen intensity.