Sisecam’s Chairman and Executive Member of the Board Cavaliere Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kirman has been honoured for his long-term valuable contributions to the glass industry and elected The Glass Person of the year 2023 by the Phoenix Award Committee. Outstanding personalities in the glass industry have been awarded with the Phoenix since 1971.

Founded under a partnership between Sisecam and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 2016, Sisecam Cevre Sistemleri has supported industry players on the way to institutionalization by focusing on ecosystem financing. The joint venture company aimed to establish modern facilities that can produce higher quality cullet. It has mediated glass recycling companies in Türkiye to invest in infrastructure and establish state-of-the-art facilities. Sisecam also played an active and pioneering role in the production of quality cullet by establishing its own licensed facility.

Three Ardagh Glass Packaging–North America customers were awarded 2023 Clear Choice Awards by the Glass Packaging Institute. The award-winning glass packaging are: Newell Brands’ Ball Nesting Jars, In Good Taste’s California Wine Mixer and the Carbone Fine Food Pasta Sauces.

The uniquely shaped, stackable Ball Nesting Jars AGP–North America manufactures for Newell Brands won GPI’s Clear Choice Award in the Innovation category. The jars have a unique design that allows them to securely nest and stack with each other when not in use, helping preserve home canning foods while maximising storage space.

The Glass Packaging Institute has announced the winners of the 2023 Clear Choice Awards, which recognize North America’s top brands and manufacturers creating remarkable glass product designs that form dynamic consumer experiences.

The 2023 CCA winners (listed by both brand and glass container manufacturer) for each category are:

Beer, Cider & Flavoured Alcoholic Beverages: Buenavida Hard Seltzers made by O-I Glass. The shape and colour of the glass bottle draws from the look of popular Mexican sodas, and the artwork is inspired by the Calaveras (sugar skulls) that are a common sight on el Día de los Muertos, as well as Talavera tiles moulded into the design.

The DecomBlades innovation project has addressed the lack of a market for the glass fibre reinforced composite with a new blade material passport, making dismantling and recycling easier. The material passports were developed by mapping out the composition of the blades of three major blade manufacturers: Siemens Gamesa, LM Wind Power, and Vestas. Other companies, including Nordex Group, Enercon and GE Vernova, are planning to join this initiative aimed at implementing standardized material passports in the wind industry.

Frédérique Ries, MEP for Belgium’s French-speaking community and leading lawmaker on the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWR) proposals, visited Saverglass’ container glass factory in Ghlin, Wallonia to discover the latest innovations in glassmaking, and the contribution glass producers bring to customers in Belgium and beyond. This comes as EU policymakers get set to debate revisions that limit creative design possibilities and force standardisation on the market.

O-I Glass has joined the World Intellectual Property Organization in recognising the vital role of innovators worldwide that create economic and social benefits through their ideas. April 26 marked World Intellectual Property Day with this year’s theme being “Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity”. O-I applauds the innovative spirit of its female inventors and all creators company wide.

Stoelzle Glass Group has successfully completed the installation of a cutting-edge batch preheater at the Köfach, Austria production site. This innovative technology uses hot exhaust gas from the furnace to dry and preheat the batch. it reduces the electrical energy needed for melting, significantly lowering the energy consumption of the glass melting process.

Overall energy savings of about 4,000MWh/year are predicted, which is equivalent to energy savings of 8% for the amber furnace and approximately 1.3% for the entire Austrian site. The project was made possible through the BMK, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action and Energy's environmental promotion programme.

The 36th Hotbels glass industry seminar was held in Lexington, USA on 18-19 April and featured several informative and well-received presentations by glass industry suppliers and glassmakers. Neil Simpson, Independent Consultant at Simpson Combustion and Energy, was selected as recipient of the 2023 Hotbels Business & Technology United (BTU) Award.

Organised jointly by Fosbel and Hotwork USA, Hotbels attracted representatives from multiple glass production facilities in addition to delegates from many different organisations that supply essential services and products to the glass industry.