Ceramic and glass business news of the week for June 13, 2022

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

American Resources completes first phase of commissioning new facility

American Resources Corporation announced that its majority-owned American Rare Earth division successfully completed the first phase of commissioning of its critical and rare earth element isolation and purification facility in Noblesville, Indiana, enabling the company to progress to preparing its chromatography columns for initial production.

Rare earth manufacturing facility to open in Oklahoma

USA Rare Earth LLC announced that it plans to invest $100 million into a plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma, that will convert rare earth oxides into metals, magnets, and other specialty materials. The company will refurbish a 309,000-square-foot facility built by World Color Press in the 1970s and later purchased by an energy company.

C-Capture launches £2.7 million project

C-Capture’s £2.7 million project will see carbon capture technology deployed at two U.K. glass manufacturing sites. The compatibility of C-Capture’s unique, solvent-based technology will be trialed and assessed with real-world flue gas at Glass Futures’ research facility in St Helens, as well as member NSG Pilkington’s site in St Helens.

Collins Aerospace opens additive manufacturing center

Collins Aerospace announced the opening of a new additive manufacturing center and expansion of its maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities at its campus in Monroe, North Carolina.

CoorsTek continues to grow its capabilities in Arkansas

CoorsTek joined local, county, and state officials to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Advanced Materials Processing expansion at its facility in Benton, Arkansas. This expansion will grow the company’s portfolio of cutting-edge materials and enhance its current offering to customers.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Altair acquires Gen3D to expand design technology for additive manufacturing

Altair, a leader in computational science and artificial intelligence, acquired Gen3D, a startup out of the University of Bath, to expand its design technology for additive manufacturing. Gen3D is a pioneer implementing the implicit geometry method for describing highly complex geometries in additive manufacturing.

Berlin Packaging acquires Verrerie du Comtat

Berlin Packaging will acquire specialist glass packaging supplier Verrerie du Comtat. Berlin Packaging believes the supplier will strengthen its position in the wine and olive oil markets in France.

CelSian in training deal with Float Glass Consortium

CelSian acquired the intellectual property of all training material from the Float Glass Consortium. The firm will provide an introductory course on float glass this November based on training material from the acquisition. CelSian will also offer further training specially adapted to the needs of the float glass industry.

Equinor and bp launch new offshore wind innovation hub in New York

Equinor and bp partnered to launch an offshore wind innovation hub in New York to foster partnerships with start-ups. The initiative is the result of a new three-year partnership between the Urban Future Lab at the NY Tandon School of Engineering, Equinor, and the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium.

OTHER STORIES

EU rule requires new devices to have USB-C charging ports

The European Union reached an agreement that will require all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, and other portable devices to use USB-C charging ports by 2024. By 2026, the law will apply to laptops. Under the law, a European standards body will be in charge of considering future charger designs for all devices.

Colorado governor signs extended producer responsibility bill into law

Colorado governor Jared Polis signed into law a bill to establish a statewide recycling system operated and funded by producers of packaging and printed paper. Colorado is the third state to enact an extended producer responsibility bill for packaging but the first to do so without already having a beverage container deposit program.

MARKET TRENDS

Vietnam continues to dominate cement imports in the Philippines

With local demand expected to reach 66 Mt in 2025, the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines revealed data showing Vietnamese cement accounts for the bulk of cement imports while deliveries from the rest of the world continue to shrink.

NEW PRODUCTS

Lithoz announces the CeraMax Vario V900 3D printer with all-new LIS technology

Lithoz GmbH revealed all details about their all-new CeraMax Vario V900. The innovative machine is the world’s first 3D printer that can produce large ceramic components with thick walls and full densities using oxide and nonoxide ceramics. It can also easily process dark ceramics such as silicon carbide.

Fully enclosed ROSS mixing/melting system

A custom-designed mixing/melting and holding tank system by ROSS produces highly potent and reactive materials at 350°F and up to 10 psig internal pressure. The system includes a pressure-rated sealed enclosure and two mixers each equipped with a two-wing anchor agitator, Teflon scrapers and jacketed 6-gallon vessel.