Gulf Glass Factory LLC is to build the first glass container manufacturing project in Qatar with Italian company Falorni Gianfranco srl. Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Co (QIMC) owns 50% of Gulf Glass Factory.

Tecnoglass has taken a minority shareholding in Saint-Gobain’s Colombian subsidiary Vidrio Andino, as a result of which the glassmaker will build a new float line to meet growing regional demand.

Tecnoglass is a leading manufacturer of glass windows and facades in the region. The float plant will be located near Barranquilla and will offer a solid manufacturing base for domestic and export markets.

The Schott technology group is set to invest around €300 million in the next three years in an expansion of its core glass tubing business as the start material for pharmaceutical packaging.

Production capacities will be significantly increased, in Europe and Asia in particular. Strong demand for FIOLAX glass tubing has prompted the company to build a new plant in Jinyun County, Zhejiang Province, which is scheduled to start production in 2020 and will serve the Chinese market.

Germany’s Wiegand-Glas has placed an order with ZIPPE Industrieanlagen for a batch and cullet house, as well as two cullet return systems for the Schleusingen glass container factory. This follows the recent completion of a ZIPPE batch house at the Wiegand-Glas plant in Steinbach am Wald. The batch and cullet house in Schleusingen is designed to supply two melting furnaces.

At the 2019 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, Corning Inc introduced two auto interior glass solutions.

As automakers respond to consumer demand for more integrated and interactive displays, Corning’s Gorilla Glass solutions are designed to address these trends, delivering the highest product performance and superior system economics. “Consumers want a more connected and immersive driver experience in the cockpit” said Michael Kunigonis, Vice President and General Manager, Corning Automotive Glass Solutions.

A recent innovation from AGC Interpane, Planibel Easy self-cleaning glass makes window cleaning easier. The durable pyrolytic coating of the glazing uses the UV radiation in sunlight to break down dirt in five to seven days.

The self-cleaning function has been independently tested and confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films (IST) according to EN1096-5. In the rain, the special coating distributes the water especially evenly across the glass and allows it to run off more easily, so that it also dries faster.