Japan’s AGC Inc is aiming to reduce working hours by at least 10,000 hours/year in 2020, following the group’s full-scale launch of robotic process automation (RPA) efforts.

Integral blinds manufacturer Morley Glass & Glazing is working in partnership with Saint-Gobain Glass to take recycling in the UK to the next level. The two companies are joining forces to recycle and re-use post-consumer float glass.

EME has successfully commissioned a batch plant for the greenfield glass container plant of Embalvidro in Angola. Located in Luanda, the factory will primarily produce beer bottles in amber and emerald green colours.

Saint-Gobain has completed the sale of its construction glass activity in South Korea (Hankuk Glass Industries) to Glenwood Private Equity. The business generated revenues of approximately €200 million and operating income of €10 million in 2018. The divestment was based on an enterprise value of some €240 million.

Sisecam Group Vice Chairman and CEO Professor Ahmet Kırman has been honoured by Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Tatarstan Republic of the Russian Federation (pictured) with a ‘Medal for Valorous Labour’, in recognition of his valuable contributions to the economic co-operation and the development of investments.

The group has an annual production capacity of over 1.5 million tons in the Russian Federation and the total sum of its investments is over $1.2 billion. This includes flat glass

OCMI OTG SpA has completed its acquisition of KYP Accesorios, a Spanish company active in the field of automatic production lines for ampoules. The acquisition marks a significant milestone in both companies' growth strategy. By joining forces, both organisation wish to deliver to their customers a wider range of products, a better service and a constant investment in R&D.

Glass Service and CQ Masso partnered with Sisecam last November to organise a glass defects and refractory training day for attendees at the Sisecam International Glass Conference in Istanbul. The expert training session was delivered by Martina Jezikova (pictured), Filip Janos and Jerome Canaguier, focusing on the analysis and possible sources of glass defects, as well as refractory defects and quality control.

According to Glass Service, the room was packed with 50 motivated delegates, who wanted to learn more about where glass defects may come from.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) organisations across Europe are committed to increasing the quality and efficiency of the glass recycling value chain through separate collection, quality recycling and closed loop manufacturing of glass. A practical example of how to achieve genuine circularity of glass packaging is ‘Close the Glass Loop’, the major industry stewardship programme for glass packaging initiated by FEVE and aiming to reach a post-consumer glass container collection target of 90% by 2030.