Ceramic and glass business news of the week for January 23, 2023

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Somany Ceramics expands its horizons in Aligarh, India

Somany Ceramics Limited, an internationally acclaimed organization specializing in ceramics and allied products segments, opened its SOMANY Exclusive store in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. The SOMANY Exclusive store will offer a wide range of wall and floor tiles, sanitaryware, and bath fittings across all major categories.

Verallia announces two new furnaces in Europe by 2026

Verallia, the third-largest producer globally of glass containers for food and beverages, announced the construction of two additional furnaces in Spain and Italy by 2025 and 2026, respectively, to increase its capacity production and respond to market’s needs.

Ardagh Glass Packaging set to reduce water use by a third across Europe

Ardagh Glass Packaging is on track to reduce water usage by one-third across its 20 European sites. Two water reduction projects undertaken over the past year achieved substantial water savings: the Closed Loop Water Cooling Process in Limmared, Sweden, and the Water Reduction Project in Ujscie, Poland.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

Johnson Controls acquires Hybrid Energy to enhance industrial heat pump portfolio

Johnson Controls acquired Hybrid Energy AS, a growing provider of high-temperature energy management solutions with a focus on heat pumps for district heating and industrial processes.

Calibre Scientific acquires Glass Chemicals

California-based Calibre Scientific announced the acquisition of Glass Chemicals, a Spanish distributor of scientific consumables, equipment, and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and industrial sectors. Glass Chemicals is Calibre Scientific’s second acquisition in Spain.

Hydrogen partnership receives US boost

The Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen coalition received encouragement from the U.S. Department of Energy to proceed with the development and submission of their full hydrogen hub application. Their proposal was one of 33 projects encouraged to proceed to the full application process.

Furnace professionals form Mexican alliance

Furnace specialists M-Glass Factory Services and Excelsius have formed an alliance for the Mexican and South American glass production markets. The two companies specialize in furnace draining, drilling, controlled cooling down, controlled heating up, cullet fill, and thermal cleaning of regenerators.

OTHER STORIES

Webinar: Five reasons to use ceramic FFF 3D printing

Nanoe is hosting a webinar on five important issues that businesses usually deal with and how ceramic fused filament fabrication could be the perfect technique to resolve them. The webinar takes place Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 8 a.m. Eastern.

Webinar: Industrial Decarbonization Program Notice of Intent

The Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations released a Notice of Intent to provide $6.3 billion toward the demonstration of cutting-edge decarbonization technologies in the industrial sector. An informational webinar on the program will take place Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Webinar: Seizing energy-saving opportunities by using alternative raw materials

CelSian will host a free webinar on using alternative raw materials to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The webinar will take place February 1 from 8–8:45 a.m. Eastern.

France votes to ban deep-sea mining in its waters

The French Parliament voted in favor of banning deep-sea mining in its waters, in an emphatic move against the controversial practice. The National Assembly is now urging the government to adopt the moratorium.

Vidrala secures leading environmental rating

The nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) awarded glass container manufacturer and filler Vidrala a “B” in Water Security and an “A-” in Climate Change in its 2022 CDP scores. It is the first time Vidrala placed in the leadership band by the CDP.

SCHOTT continues gains in US market, invests for future organic growth

SCHOTT maintained strong growth in the United States amid global challenges in fiscal year 2021–22. The company achieved U.S. sales of more than $520 million for a 7% year-over-year increase. An additional $23 million was invested in 2022 to support organic growth, bringing its five-year investment total to nearly $75 million.

SSRC to expand glass refractory services internationally

Special Shapes Refractory Company is to expand its international presence by offering services to glass manufacturers in Mexico, South America, and Europe. To meet the demand for these services, SSRC restructured the sales team and promoted Andrew Pea to the role of director of international sales and business development.

OSTP publishes framework to strengthen federal scientific integrity policies and practices

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a framework for federal agencies to use in assessing their scientific integrity policies. OSTP director Arati Prabhakar also issued a memo requiring agencies to draft updates to their integrity policies within 60 days, solicit public input within 180 days, and finalize policies within 270 days.

MARKET TRENDS

Are 3D-printed houses the suburbs of the future?

3D-printed houses are affordable and quick to build. But could all that efficiency lead to a new kind of cookie-cutter suburban housing? A Fast Company article investigates.

EVs made up 10% of all new cars sold last year

Electric-vehicle sales crossed a global milestone last year, achieving around 10% market share for the first time, driven mainly by strong growth in China and Europe, according to fresh data and estimates. The surge in EV sales also contrasted with the broader car market that suffered from economic worries, inflation, and production disruptions.

IEA: World needs $4.5 trillion investment in clean energy tech by 2030

As the world enters a new industrial age, where technology manufacturing for clean energy will lead the way, total investments in clean energy technologies and infrastructure must top $4.5 trillion in 2030 under the net-zero emissions by 2050 scenario, the International Energy Agency said in a new report.

Concrete prices will not fall before spring despite lower energy prices

ING Think, an economic and financial analysis website, notes that despite the decrease in energy prices, the prices of concrete, cement, and bricks are still creeping up and will not experience a price decrease until at least spring 2023.

NEW PRODUCTS

Samsung advances new era of screens with its new 2023 lineups

Samsung Electronics recently unveiled its new Neo QLED, MICRO LED, and Samsung OLED lineups. For the 2023 lineups, each step is made more eco-conscious, from making the manufacturing process more efficient to reducing packaging and changing how consumers use their products.

Tiama launches latest version of the HOT move

In 2014, Tiama introduced the HOT move as a component of its HOT systems range. The Tiama HOT move is the module dedicated to monitoring and improving ware positioning on the hot end conveyor. Due to the limited space available on production lines at the hot end, Tiama launched a new version of its Tiama HOT move sensor with no footprint.

Carbon Revolution wheels featured on 2024 Corvette E-Ray

Carbon Revolution Limited, a Tier 1 OEM supplier and a leading global manufacturer of lightweight advanced technology carbon fiber wheels, announced that Carbon Revolution carbon fiber wheels will be available on the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, the second C8 Corvette model to feature the company’s lightweight wheel technology.