PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

Glass factory goes all gas in £40m investment

Encirc in Derrylin, the leading glass manufacturer in Northern Ireland, converted its production facilities to gas as part of a £40 million investment program. Encirc is one of the key industrial connections for the ongoing Gas to the West project, which is connecting parts of Fermanagh, including Derrylin, to the natural gas network.

O-I launches third Gironcourt furnace in €60 million investment

Owens-Illinois inaugurated the third furnace at its Gironcourt-sur-Vraine plant in France on August 27. The €60 million investment, which is the largest investment made by the company in Europe in 20 years, will ensure the company can produce 1.9 billion glass beer bottles a year.

Wabtec Corp. inaugurates India additive manufacturing center in Bengaluru

Wabtec Corporation, a global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions, and value-added services for freight and transit rail, inaugurated an additive manufacturing center focused on accelerating the design and production of integrated 3D-printed components in Bengaluru, India. The center was launched in collaboration with HP and Redington.

NSG putting finishing touches on new glass plant

Construction on NSG Group’s massive float glass plant is nearing completion. The coronavirus pandemic is causing delays in certain materials arriving from overseas, but overall the $265 million project is coming along well and has not run into many issues.


ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

RPM acquires leading abrasives manufacturer

RPM International Inc. announced its Rust-Oleum business acquired Ali Industries, LLC, a leading manufacturer of sandpaper and other abrasives. Ali Industries, commercially known as Gator Finishing Products, is headquartered in Fairborn, Ohio, and has annual net sales of approximately $75 million. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Samsung working with Corning’s ultrathin glass substrates for Galaxy Fold smartphones

According to display industry sources, Samsung Electronics IT & Mobile Communications Business recently started receiving glass substrates from Corning that are required for development of foldable glass. Previously Samsung Display used Schott’s glass substrates.

Wiegand-Glas collaborates on climate-neutral light-glass wine bottle, EcoBottle

German container glass manufacturer Wiegand-Glas collaborated with undergraduate students majoring in International Wine Business on the production of the EcoBottle, a climate-neutral wine bottle made of guaranteed 93% recycled glass. Although glass is 100% recyclable, the production of a glass bottle creates CO2-emissions.

British Glass launches campaign to get consumers buying British

A campaign was launched by British Glass and Friends of Glass to encourage consumers to buy their favourite products in glass bottles and jars. The campaign helps consumers to locate the punt marks identifying British and Irish glass manufacturers on the bottom of their glass bottles and jars to celebrate local manufacturing.

The Welch Foundation and Rice University announce creation of The Welch Institute

The Robert A. Welch Foundation announced a $100 million gift to Rice University to establish The Welch Institute, a sweeping strategic partnership that combines fundamental research in chemistry and materials science with machine learning and artificial intelligence to accelerate discovery, design, and manufacture of next-gen materials.

Zampell enters Asian market through cooperation agreement with Somal Refractories

Zampell Refractories and Somal Refractories signed a cooperation agreement in August. The agreement will enable Somal Refractories to expand its product market to include Europe and America, and for Zampell to expand their installation capabilities to include the Asian market into their global footprint.


OTHER STORIES

TRI academic scholarships for full-time students

The Refractories Institute provides academic scholarships to full-time students who have expressed interest in refractory manufacturing through their coursework or related activities. Scholarships consist of one-time grants of $5,000 per student. The application deadline is October 1. Successful applicants will be notified and awarded in November.

Preview of Virtual Conference on Glass Problems

Glass International provides a preview of the upcoming Virtual Conference on Glass Problems, which is scheduled to take place online Oct. 26–30, 2020. The conference, which is organized by the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council, will feature a three-day technical program and two technical short courses.

Glass International webinar: Mexican focus

The next Glass International webinar on the Mexican glass packaging industry is planned for Sept. 8, 2020, at 10 a.m. Eastern. Key suppliers to this industry will discuss some of the technologies that have helped the sector flourish.

Mir Stekla rearranged for March 2021

The Mir Stekla glass trade show, which focuses on the production, processing and application of glass, was rearranged and will now take place March 22–25, 2021, in Moscow, Russia. The event was originally scheduled for June 2020, before being postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis. It will take place in the same venue, the Expocentre Fairgrounds.

Şişecam receives approval to unite operations under a single entity

The Şişecam group is set to unite all its operations into one entity, following approval by shareholders. The Turkish organization said it aimed to simplify the structure of its business by merging its four publicly listed companies Trakya Cam, Anadolu Cam, Soda Sanayii, and Denizli Cam, as well as Paşabahçe Cam, into one single listed corporation.

Amazon wins FAA approval for Prime Air drone delivery fleet

Amazon received federal approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The certification comes under Part 135 of FAA regulations, which gives Amazon the ability to carry property on small drones “beyond the visual line of sight” of the operator.


MARKET TRENDS

India pushes to increase domestic manufacturing of solar parts

India has a goal of installing 100 gigawatts of solar power by 2022 , or slightly less than 10% of the generating capacity of the entire U.S. grid. India currently has 36.8 gigawatts of installed solar capacity with another 36.9 gigawatts in the pipeline.

Glass and glazing construction still easing back

The value of nonresidential architectural glass and glazing activity declined again in July, according to glass industry research firm Key Media & Research. Overall nonresidential construction did not fare as negatively as glass-related activity, as it was buoyed by segments that are irrelevant to glazing contractors.


NEW PRODUCTS

MRF: Graphitization furnaces

In their September newsletter, Materials Research Furnaces describes the process of graphitization—the enhancement of graphite properties using a high-temperature furnace—and the several furnaces they offer to perform graphitization, which include top, bottom, or front loading configurations and a maximum temperature of 3,000°C.

Mobile bag dump station with compactor, conveyor

Flexicon Corp. introduces a mobile bag dump station with a flexible screw conveyor and bag compactor that allows bulk material transfer from handheld sacks, pails, and boxes into elevated process equipment and storage vessels throughout the plant.

New antiviral test results confirm SINTX’s silicon nitride inactivates SARS-CoV-2

SINTX Technologies, Inc., an original equipment manufacturer of silicon nitride ceramic for medical and nonmedical applications, announced new studies confirming that its material inactivates SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Influenza A virus that is responsible for the common cold.

Scaling thin glass use to the architectural world

AGC Glass Europe developed a special glass composition (commercial name Falcon glassTM) that can be produced by a standard float line and on which chemical tempering is very effective. The convenient price alongside excellent mechanical properties make Falcon glassTM suitable for unprecedented thin glass applications in architecture.

Author

Lisa McDonald