Chemicals To Glass

Doug Thornton has succeeded Dr Bill Cook as Director General of British Glass. Doug had been 27 years in the chemical industry, with the Courtaulds Group, which was taken over by Akzo Nobel in 1998. He had progressed from Research Chemist through a variety of commercial and business management roles to head Courtaulds' Flame Retardants business as its General Manager, alongside becoming President of CEFIC's sector group for such products, EFRA (European Flame Retardants Association). Here he talks briefly about the end of Courtaulds and his first impressions of the glass industry.