On 10 September 2021, former AIGMF Presidents Sanjay Somany and Mukul Somany announced Udit Kapoor, Director of Kapoor Glass India Pvt Ltd., Mumbai as the winner of the AIGMF’s prestigious annual ‘CK Somany Award for Innovation and Technology’. M/s Borosil Renewables Ltd. was the recipient of the ‘Balkrishna Gupta Award for Exports’, presented by former AIGMF President, Pradeep Gupta. Both awards are supported by Glass Worldwide, preferred international journal of the AIGMF in association with Kanch.
Highly deserving
Kapoor Glass India Pvt Ltd. is one of India’s leading manufacturers and exporters of high-quality glass ampoules, tubular vials, Indulin & Dental cartridges, perfume samplers, and laboratory test tubes. With a manufacturing base in India, it serves 29 countries including highly regulated markets in the Americas, Europe, and Japan. Mr Kapoor’s primary focus for the business is to innovate and build equipment and systems to meet growing international requirements and expectations.
The first and only solar glass manufacturer in India, Borosil Renewables Ltd., part of the Borosil group, has produced the “world’s first” Antimony-free solar glass and fully tempered 2mm solar glass. The company has set targets to be a 5.0GW equivalent solar glass manufacturer by July 2022, growing to 7.5GW by April 2023. It expects to raise exports significantly once the additional production is available from July 2022.
The jury for the 4th AIGMF industry awards was comprised of Dr. K. Annapurna, Senior Principal Scientist, Glass Division, CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI); Dave Fordham, Publisher of Glass Worldwide, London (UK); Sanjay Somany, Former President of the AIGMF and CMD HNG Industries Ltd.; P K Kheruka, Former AIGMF President and Chairman of Borosil Ltd.; and Vinit Kapur, AIGMF Secretary.
Comments from the judges
Dr. K. Annapurna congratulated Udit Kapoor on Kapoor Glass India’s win “for developing [an] indigenously hot-end camera system along with operating software to achieve online automation control over key production parameters to end up with quality production of glass vials of international standards,” and commended the company for improving India’s “self-reliance in such a critical technology.”
She also applauded M/s Borosil Renewables for bagging “yet another esteemed BalKrishna Gupta award for its achievements in quality productions and exports” and commented on the quality of “worthy contenders for these 4th AIGMF glass awards.”
“It was a pleasure for Glass Worldwide to be part of the judging process,” agreed Dave Fordham, Publisher of the magazine. “The inhouse achievements overseen by Udit Kapoor during the integration of advanced technology into Kapoor Glass’ production line of ampoules and vials cannot be underestimated and has resulted in multiple benefits.” Mr Fordham also congratulated Borosil Renewables – “deservedly recognised for tremendous export figures during unprecedented global market conditions.”
‘Glass in our Lives’ photography contest
During the AIGMF’s AGM, Chief Guest Prof. Dr. Reinhard Conradt, Vice President and Elect President of the International Commission on Glass unveiled a touring exhibition on ‘Glass in our Lives’. To mark the International Year of Glass 2022 activities in India, photographers aged 7–24 were invited to participate in a kickstarter event in the form of the AIGMF’s first photography contest. Approximately 7,000 online entries were received from India’s youth and educational institutes across the country.
The top three photographs were decided by a distinguished jury of AIGMF members representing a cross section of glass sectors and regions: Sanjay Somany, Former President of the AIGMF and CMD HNG Inds. Ltd.; Sanjay Ganjoo, Former President of the AIGMF and COO of Asahi India Glass Ltd.; Dr. Suman Kumari Mishra, FNASc, Director of CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute and Adjunct Prof. AcSIR and Ex-Dean Eng. Sc. AcSIR; Prof. Manoj Choudhary, Former President of the Int’l Commission on Glass, Adjunct Prof. Materials Science & Engineering, The Ohio State University and President of MKC Innovations, LLC (USA); Dr. Arun K. Varshneya, Emeritus Professor (Glass Science) at Alfred University and President of Saxon Glass Technologies, Inc. (USA); Dave Fordham, Publisher of Glass Worldwide (UK).
Results
Dr. Suman Kumari Mishra of the CSIR-CGCRI congratulated the winning students. First prize (Rs. 20,000) was given to S. Christy Laura aged 15, a student of Sri Akilandeswari Vidyalaya, (Trichy) Tamil Nadu. Second Prize (Rs. 10,000) was given to Medhansh Singhla aged 8, a pupil at Delhi Public School (Vasant Vihar) New Delhi and Third Prize (Rs. 5,000) was given to Brijesh Jethva aged 22 from (Junagadh) Gujarat.
The ‘Glass in our Lives’ roadshow will travel to other cities showcasing the vital role of glass as a 100% recyclable packaging and building material.
A digitised version of the exhibits may be viewed on the AIGMF website.
Image: The Borosil Renewables factory in Bharuch, Gujarat; Udit Kapoor; and Bharat Somany and Sanjay Somany with the prestigious CK Somany Award.