Sebastien Donze discusses his role as Research & Development Director at leading tableware specialist Arc and as a member of the GlassTrend advisory board. The full version of this article appears in the January/February issue *.

More than 650 people registered for last November’s Sisecam International Glass Conference in Istanbul, including strong support from international glassmakers and the academic community. John Wallis spoke to Professor Dr Sener Oktik, Conference Executive Chair and Sisecam’s Chief Research and Technological Development Officer about future plans for the conference and how they align with Sisecam’s ambitious R&D goals. The full version of this article appears in the January/February issue *.

Professor Alicia Durán received the 49th annual Phoenix Award at a ceremony in Madrid this October, supported by colleagues and friends. In an acceptance speech that emphasised her passion and support for glass and for members of the international glass community, Professor Durán confirmed her commitment to achieve a series of goals while President of the International Commission on Glass. This involves the realisation of the ICG2030 project and support for the International Year of Glass 2022 proposal. The full version of this article appears in the November/December issue *.

A two day GlassTrend seminar held in Munich last September addressed opportunities to increase efficiencies in glass production via the utilisation of enhanced process automation and big data. Glass Worldwide, preferred journal of GlassTrend, was among those in attendance. The full version of this article appears in the November/December issue *.

Johannes Kappe discusses experiences with the GCS301 forehearth system from HORN Glass Industries in the glass container industry. The full version of this article appears in the November/December issue *.

Peaks in electricity demand from unmanaged electric heating systems can increase the risk of power outages, especially if these systems are running on emergency power generation. When power is demanded from multiple heating zones at random, it can unpredictably overload the power supply system, causing circuit breakers or gen-sets to trip. In the worst case, unmanaged demand from multiple heating systems can leave glass manufacturing plants operating close to the limit of their main electrical power supply and at risk from a plant-wide power outage. Peak power demands can also affect the measurements used by electricity suppliers to set tariffs and calculate bills resulting in higher electricity costs than necessary. René Meuleman and Amber Watkin explain how using predictive load management strategies in the EPower Advanced SCR power controller help minimise peak power demand through ‘load sharing’ and ‘load shedding’ technology. The full version of this article appears in the November/December issue *.

David Dineff discusses a more efficient way to manage volume and fill height requirements during glass bottle production. The full version of this article appears in the November/December issue *.

Dr Marco Rep discusses the application of gas recycling systems within float glass production operations.
As the focus is shifting towards the reduction of harmful emissions, industries are constantly searching for alternative ways to reduce the environmental impact of their processes. At the same time, companies in the glass industry are continuously seeking ways to optimise the glass production process, improving glass quality and reducing costs. The full version of this article appears in the September/October issue *.

Having worked for one of the glass industry’s leading furnace contractors for more than 30 years, Fred Aker was recently confirmed as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at PaneraTech Inc. He joins a passionate and innovative team that is becoming increasingly influential in the management and optimisation of glass melting furnaces throughout the world. The full version of this article appears in the September/October issue *.