Pilkington North America (PNA) is to expand its float glass facility in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The $86.8 million project that is expected to create 20 additional jobs in Scotland County includes the rebuilding of one of its two float glass lines, expansion of existing coating capabilities and other building and equipment improvements.

“This year our Laurinburg plant will celebrate its 50th anniversary,” said Stephen Weidner, Pilkington’s Head of Architectural Glass North America and Solar. “This investment shows our ongoing commitment to our customers and the community. We appreciate the support received from the State on this project.”

Scotland's deposit return scheme will now not launch until March 2023, the country's First Minister has announced. The scheme, which is aimed at increasing the number of single-use drinks bottle and cans that are recycled, due to start in August, has faced fierce opposition from many small breweries and distillers. Humza Yousaf announced the delay when setting out the governing Scottish Nationalist Party’s priorities over the next three years.

Sisecam, a global player in the glass and chemicals industries, operating in 14 countries with more than 24,000 employees, continues to be recognized for its exemplary practices that put people first. Sisecam received the 'Distinction' award at the International Safety Awards 2023, organized by the British Safety Council, a leading authority in its field. Some 978 organizations from 44 countries participated in this year's competition.

As an environmentally friendly company, Şişecam prioritizes energy and resource efficiency across its entire value chain. Şişecam focuses on monitoring the carbon footprint of its products and further boosting its sustainability performance. Şişecam also contributes to sustainability with 11 internationally valid and verified EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) certificates for its entire flat glass product range including clear float glass, tinted float glass, ultra clear float glass, extra clear float glass, online coated glass, offline coated glass, patterned glass, solar glass, mirror, lacquered glass and laminated glass.

GlassTrend will stage an onsite seminar on “Smart Sustainable Glass Manufacturing” for members in Eindhoven, the Netherlands on 18–19 April covering hydrogen combustion, electrification, low-carbon raw materials, sensors and process control.

With the glass industry facing many challenges including cost, energy and CO2 savings, GlassTrend also staged a virtual seminar in February for its members to discuss combustion and burner technologies enabling fuel flexibility, optimised heat transfer and the ability to switch to future green fuels.

Presentations on combustion and burner technology to save operational costs included:

Corning has been named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year (PoY) in the industrial category for the tenth consecutive year, a distinction only ten companies have achieved in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR programme.

“We are on an ongoing quest to make customers and the company more competitive and to support healthier communities around the world,” said Tom Capek, senior vice president and chief engineer. “A decade of recognition from the ENERGY STAR programme demonstrates Corning’s commitment to our global efforts to increase energy efficiency and to support our mission of continuously improving reliability, efficiency, and productivity.”

O-I Glass has completed a €50 million investment to advance the sustainability of its plant in Vayres, France by installing the latest gas–oxygen combustion technology and heat recovery systems. These investments in the sustainable performance of the plant are set to reduce energy consumption and lower CO2 emissions by up to 20%. In addition to the decarbonizing impacts, these new technologies also reduce NOx emission by up to 60%. When combined with the plant’s high usage of recycled glass, the positive impact on greenhouse gas reduction and energy use is bringing to life O-I’s vision to be the most innovative and sustainable glass packaging provider.

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced State investments to bolster the nation-leading collaboration with the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University to expand recycling markets and help municipal recycling programmes find new ways to recycle and reuse glass. An additional $2.5 million has been added to the $1.7 million already available for the Center's ongoing work on glass production, recycling and reuse.

Staff at Knauf Insulation APAC are super excited to have made their first shipment of high-performance unfaced glasswool to the Japanese market from the Johor Bahru plant in Malaysia.

Following successful Certification for Japanese Industrial Standards we are now supplying customers with high quality glasswool insulation products. The team at Knauf Insulation APAC is proud to embark on this new chapter of market development in Japan and showcase its commitment to customers.

www.knaufinsulation.com