Philippe Bastien, Regional President, Building & Industrial Division of AGC Glass Europe, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Glass for Europe. “I am honoured to take on this role and I realise responsibilities that now fall upon me in these difficult times” he declared. “With the spread of Covid-19, the flat glass industry is reacting quickly to ensure the health of all its workers, while we must safeguard the integrity of our industrial operations.”

Separately, Jérôme Lionet, General Manager of Saint-Gobain Glass Industry has been elected Vice Chairman of the Glass for Europe Board.

UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe, representing the European soft drinks industry, has joined the ‘Close the Glass Loop’ industry stewardship programme for glass packaging, initiated by FEVE. The platform has the objective to achieve a post-consumer glass container collection

target of 90% and to ensure that this is recycled into the glass container production loop to come back as a new packaging.

“We are proud to join the Close the Glass Loop platform” says Nicholas Hodac, UNESDA Director General. “ It is a strong initiative and a step in the right direction towards making Europe’s economy circular. Its objectives are in line with our theme of ‘Circularity works, let’s all give it a chance’ and we are glad to be involved in building its foundation.”

A recent NSG Group statement emphasises that the worldwide expansion of Covid-19 infections is having a significant direct and indirect impact on the group, particularly in its main business areas of architectural and automotive glass. In the automotive glass market, the suspension of production by vehicle manufacturers across the globe has led to a sharp drop in demand, especially since mid-March. In the architectural glass sector, the economic impact of lockdowns, particularly in European cities, has also started to soften demand.

British Glass has written to the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, expressing concern and disappointment in relation to the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) regulations that were recently laid, despite economic uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. “I write on behalf of the glass container manufacturing industry, which services the significant whisky, spirits, beer, food and beverage business that are vital to the Scottish economy” Dave Dalton, Chief Executive (illustrated) explained.

Stoelzle Glass Group CEO, Georg Feith has issued a statement confirming that the glassmaker is striving to supply customers with pharmaceutical and consumer glass as quickly as possible, despite the prevailing difficult operational conditions. “We have successfully implemented our emergency plans” he confirmed. “This means that our production plants in Austria and the Czech Republic can continue to produce and we in turn can react flexibly to inquiries.”

British Glass is urging local authorities to continue the collection of household recycling, in the face of a growing threat of valuable materials being lost to landfill, as councils across the UK halt collections during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It has been reported in recent days that a number of local authorities are reducing their waste and recycling services, including recycling collections and closures of recycling sites during the pandemic, due to staff shortages.

The Government has named the waste sector and food and drink packaging manufacturers as ‘critical sectors’ during the pandemic, reflecting the need to continue recycling collections, as well as the capture of glass to be processed and manufactured into new packaging.

Glass Futures, in the process of building the global centre of glass excellence in R&D, innovation and training, has announced significant progress in recent weeks, with the appointment of a new board of directors and an expansion of its team.

The board of directors comprises eight leading representatives from the global glass industry, supply chain and academia. Richard Katz, CEO of Glass Futures, commented: “We are delighted to welcome a board of such high calibre experts from various fields who are all passionate about the future of glass. This new board, in partnership with the knowhow of our growing team of full-time staff, together with the 15 strong advisory committee, will contribute significantly to Glass Futures’ progression and the achievement of our goals.”

Discover the latest product innovations, contracts and investment stories from many of the world’s leading suppliers of plant, equipment and materials to the international glassmaking industry here.

First published in the May/June 2020 issue of Glass Worldwide, this extensive news compendium is provided as an additional service to on-line readers associated with the flat, hollow and speciality glass production and processing sectors.