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GREG MORRIS, EDITOR
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All set for a year devoted to glass
Congratulations to all of those who have pushed to have a year devoted to glass around the world. As Glass International went to press, the United Nations General Assembly was set to give approval to the International Year of Glass 2022, a campaign which started in 2018 and has gathered pace since. Thanks to the tireless work of the steering committee, led by Alicia Duran and backed by Glass International columnist John Parker and David Pye, hundreds of organisations around the globe have signed up in support of the proposal. Such overwhelming support from glass organisations around the world helped persuade the UN to give its approval to the campaign. A Year of Glass should certainly help put the material in the public spotlight, with increased publicity and visibility. The steering committee has a number of activities planned throughout the year and these will no doubt gain exposure to those outside the industry. In recent years it feels the benefits of glass have reached a wider audience. We all heard of the Blue Planet affect and the backlash against plastic as a result. Consumers turned to glass because of its inert and environmental qualities. An International Year of Glass is an opportunity to strengthen consumers’ attitudes towards glass and to promote the material’s qualities to a global audience.
Saint-Gobain Glass in £30 million UK plant investment Saint-Gobain Glass is to invest £30 million in its glass manufacturing factory in Eggborough, East Yorkshire, UK. The company is carrying out a major construction programme to completely rebuild and install a new state-of the-art float glass furnace, as well as upgrade other areas of
the factory. The project represents the largest industrial investment in the UK by the Saint-Gobain Group since the Eggborough plant was built in 2000. Due to be completed by late summer of this year, the installation of the enlarged capacity furnace will replace the exist-
ing furnace that has reached the end of its design life. The new furnace will use less energy and will help the company to optimise manufacturing efficiency, increase production capacity, and further enhance Saint-Gobain’s environmental and sustainability credentials.
International Cookware to invest €21 million in Duralex upgrade After acquiring the Duralex brand in Janaury 2021, International Cookware is investing 21 million euros to create an industrial hub in the Center-Val de-Loire region of France. The project will see Duralex’s workforce of 500 in-
crease to almost 800, and its turnover from 110 million euros to 150 million euros. It also expects to double the turnover of the plant and to go from a production rate of 40 to 75%. International Cookware, which owns the Pyrex trade-
mark, hopes that the investment will help with training and the creation of a glass industry within the Center-Val de-Loire region in Northern France. The project is to be spread over four years and aims to upgrade Duralex’s Orléans plant.
2 Glass International May 2021
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