Ceramic and glass business news of the week for March 11, 2024

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Italy is putting a big hybrid floating solar–floating wind farm in the sea

A 540-megawatt hybrid floating solar–floating wind farm is going to be developed off Italy’s southern coast, in the Ionian Sea. Dutch-Norwegian offshore solar company SolarDuck, Italian investment fund Arrow Capital, and Italian developer New Developments are jointly developing the Corigliano project.

Innolume expands quantum dot laser diode production

Innolume, the Germany-based innovator and manufacturer of GaAs quantum dot lasers, substantially expanded its production capacity to address the surging demand for O-band cw lasers and semiconductor optical amplifiers in several markets, including artificial intelligence-driven connectivity.

Corning to build $900m solar component facility in Michigan

Corning plans to invest up to $900 million to build a solar component manufacturing plant in Richland Township, Mich. The facility is expected to create over 1,100 jobs and will be operated under Corning’s subsidiary Solar Technology.

RHI Magnesita invests more than $35m in tech, infrastructure, and equipment upgrades

RHI Magnesita is investing more than $35 million in technology, infrastructure, and equipment upgrades across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Additional global investments, planned over the next two years and exceeding $90 million, will provide benefits to the North America region.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

McDanel Advanced Material Technologies acquires Rayotek Scientific

McDanel Advanced Material Technologies announced the acquisition of Rayotek Scientific. Founded in 1992, Rayotek is a specialty advanced materials manufacturer of high-performing optical window and mirror systems for the aerospace, defense, space, and semiconductor industries.

PGW Auto Glass acquires AutoglassCRM and launches ‘Everything Autoglass’

PGW Auto Glass, LLC acquired AutoglassCRM, a provider of VIN decoding services and point-of-sale software focused on delivering business solutions to the automotive replacement glass installer. Together they will launch “Everything Autoglass,” a comprehensive set of business tools to help their customers succeed.

EMA Design Automation, Hawk Ridge Systems reshape engineering software landscape

EMA Design Automation, Inc. and Hawk Ridge Systems entered a strategic partnership to give customers a full ECAD/MCAD design experience, leveraging best-in-class tools and support for the entire electronic product design flow.

Bloom Energy signs agreements with Shell to investigate large-scale hydrogen projects

Bloom Energy, Inc. is teaming up with Shell Plc. with the goal of developing replicable, large-scale, solid oxide electrolyzer systems that would produce hydrogen for potential use at Shell assets.

OTHER STORIES

A new generation of women architects take the advocacy helm

The Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation, an organization that has promoted women in the field of architecture since 2002, announced that multidisciplinary designer and curator Tizziana Baldenebro will join the Foundation as executive director. Baldenebro is one of several young women taking up the mantle following the death of founder Beverly Willis.

O-I Glass announces CEO will retire

O-I Glass, Inc. announced that Andres Lopez will retire as chief executive officer, effective May 15, 2024, following a nearly 40-year career with the company. The Board has been working with an executive search firm to identify O-I’s next CEO.

EDC bolsters Midwest presence with appointment of new regional representative

Electronic Drives and Controls, Inc., a control system integrator and field service company for industrial automation and drive technology, announced the appointment of Dean Grosel as the new regional representative for the Midwest region, covering Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan.

Saverglass shares sustainability advancements in the wine and spirits glass bottle industry

Saverglass released its roadmap for sustainability advancements, underscoring the company’s commitment to addressing climate change within the wine and spirits glass bottle packaging sector.

Liberty Reach Inc. announces rebranding to Liberty Robotics Inc.

Liberty Reach Inc. rebranded to Liberty Robotics Inc. to better represent the company’s increased focus on advancements in machine vision and robotic guidance technologies.

DOE launches prize to recycle critical materials from electronic scrap

The U.S. Department of Energy launched the Electronics Scrap Recycling Advancement Prize, which will award up to $4 million to competitors to substantially increase the production and use of critical materials recovered from electronic scrap.

MARKET TRENDS

Image sensing revolution makes 2024 the ‘year of the quantum dot’

Nanoscale semiconductor particles are making waves in numerous sectors including autonomous vehicles, food inspection, medical devices, and artificial intelligence as industry players increasingly seek to expand their access to infrared data.

NEW PRODUCTS

Emerson: cost-effective upgrade path to energy-efficient LED lighting

Emerson introduced the Appleton Retromaster Series of LED luminaires, a cost-effective upgrade path for converting legacy Appleton incandescent and high-pressure sodium lighting fixtures installed in Class I, Division 2 hazardous locations to economical and sustainable LED technology, while keeping the original fixture’s certification.

Liberty Robotics: AI-powered VPick and VPack systems for material handling

Liberty Robotics Inc. announced the official launch of its flagship suite of robotic palletizing and depalletizing solutions, VPick and VPack, which use state-of-the-art artificial intelligence vision systems to enhance warehouse efficiency and reliability.