Air Liquide is to implement a customized solution to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption at Verallia’s plant in Pescia, Italy. The new furnace at the site will feature an optimized oxy-combustion firing.

In the framework of a long-term contract, the Air Liquide will build and operate for Verallia a new generation on-site oxygen production unit. The oxygen produced by this unit will replace the air usually injected into the furnace. In addition, the company will supply its HeatOx proprietary technology to recover the heat emitted by the glass furnace in order to further reduce the amount of energy needed to produce glass. This will contribute to a reduction of 18% in the CO2 emissions (scope 1 and 2) that Verallia targets for the Pescia glass furnace.

Vidrala Group has announced the refurbishment and setting in operation of one of its furnaces at the plant Gallo Vidrio, located in Marinha Grande, Portugal. This furnace has been designed with the best available technologies and is highly electrified, which will help significantly reduce its CO2 emissions. In addition, this new furnace will increase the plant capacity by over 50%, with a focus on serving customers, aiming to meet the growing market demand and ensure long-term supply.

Vetrotech Saint-Gobain PYROSWISS has been extended to a more versatile range of UL-listed fire-protective and impact-safety 45 minute applications. Extending tint-free glass from 20 to 45 minutes using the original process while passing the hose stream test demonstrates the company’s commitment to safety and fire-ratings.

There are no UV-sensitive interlayers, no films or embedded wires in PYROSWISS 45, allowing the glass to realize 90% visible light transmission in its low-iron option. Sound transmission values are among the lowest for its size on the fire-protective market today, with the added benefit of UV stability.

SGD Pharma has been rated gold, indicating top 5% performance,  following a rigorous sustainability assessment by EcoVadis, the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. EcoVadis assesses companies in four key areas: environment, labour and human rights, sustainable procurement and ethics; rating them relative to their peers.

Results for SGD Pharma show: overall performance in the 98% percentile for manufacturers of glass and glass products; particularly high scores for sustainable procurement, and labour and human rights – in the top 1% and 2% for the sector, respectively; and a continuing commitment to sustainability with an establishing track record of exemplary scores.

AGI Greenpac has received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the proposed acquisition of Hindustan National Glass & Industries through the corporate insolvency resolution process.

As per the latest update, CCI has given its approval to the proposed combination under sub-section (1) of Section 31 of the Competition Act, 2002 vide its letter dated March 15, 2023.

The detailed order of CCI is awaited. In the meantime for an exclusive Glass Worldwide / Kanch interview last year with Rajesh Khosla, President and CEO of AGI Glaspac, visit:

Four new electric forklift trucks have replaced diesel forklifts at the Ardagh Glass Packaging – Europe facility in Bad Munder, Germany. Lithium iron phosphate forklifts, with a lifting capacity of five tons, are being used for loading the facility’s glass containers.

The highly efficient forklift trucks run on a fast-charging battery and require very little maintenance, resulting in reduced loading times as well as reduced carbon emissions.

To meet the increasing demand in Asia, SCHOTT has invested €75 million (approx. INR 660 Cr) over the last three years to expand its pharma glass production in India. The Gujarat-based facility is the company’s manufacturing hub for borosilicate glass tubing, a high-quality material that is converted to pharmaceutical containers, such as vials, ampoules or syringes, to store life-saving drugs.

Şişecam has added brand new features to its GlassTool website and app further enriching the service it offers to users. The ability to create a performance table with different glass combinations, different language options and the ability to calculate by adding enamel paints to different sub-category glass products have all been added. Şişecam Glasstool has been validated by the independent accredited institution Inisma according to EN 17871 and NFRC standards, is the first application to receive validation for the American NFRC calculations.

Şişecam GlassTool helps users to:

International waste-to-product company Renewi has opened its flagship UK headquarters in Milton Keynes. The company took the opportunity to call for clarity over the UK government’s waste strategy.

Renewi operates five PFI (Private Finance Initiative) contracts in the UK and recycles 40% of the residual (black bag) waste it handles. The company is a market-leader in the Benelux, with an industry leading recycling rate of 68% across a broad range of materials, putting 8m tonnes of low carbon secondary materials back into reuse.