This year’s Glass Focus conference was held in Edinburgh and was followed by the awards dinner, which celebrated achievements from across the British glass industry. The award for ‘sustainable process development’ was awarded to O-I, for its investment in oxy-fuel furnace technology at its Harlow plant. The award for ‘glass design’ went to Beatson Clark, for its creative combination of lightweight with embossing, proving that light-weighting needn’t be boring with their bottle for Story Pressé. This year, the ‘corporate social responsibility’ award went to Encirc, while Ardagh won the award for ‘marketing campaign impact’ for its Reasons to Love Glass campaign. Siemens was awarded the ‘supply chain initiative’ prize for its efforts in demonstrating how major players can collaborate to reposition the UK glass industry, as with their energy supply partnerships initiative. Encirc won a second award, ‘improvement through innovation’, for its approach to sharing best practice through their Academy. Finally, ‘Apprentice of the Year’ went to Ardagh’s Tom Bagley, who was commended for the impact he has been able to have on his employer’s efficiency and productivity.
