Oliver Wiegand honoured by Phoenix Award

Wiegand-Glas joint CEO, Oliver Wiegand, said he was honoured to receive the Phoenix Committee Glass Person of the Year Award.

Mr Wiegand received the award at a black-tie event in Konstanz, Germany and thanked several colleagues during his acceptance speech.

The Phoenix Committee named Mr Wiegand as the 48th Glass Person of the Year. It highlighted his commitment to new technology and his openness to work with suppliers.

Mr Wiegand said he felt like he had won an Oscar.

He said: “There is one little difference between this and an Oscar. You can receive an Oscar many times in your career but you only receive one Phoenix Award in your lifetime.”

He thanked his wife, his father Konrad, and his cousin Nikolaus - who is also a joint owner of Wiegand-Glas - for their support.

He said: “Nikolaus is the second most important person in my life and who I sometimes spend more time with than my wife.

“We are of different characters and whenever we discuss a decision he comes from a different direction to me.

“I really appreciate his opinion and the trust that we have together.”

He also praised two colleagues for their loyalty and dedication to Wiegand-Glas: Karl-Heinz Mann, Head of Forming and Burkhard Zipfel, a retired Plant Manager.

This year’s Phoenix Committee Chairman, Graham Womersley, of Pennine Industrial Equipment, said: “We’re here tonight to recognise Oliver’s pioneering attitude towards glass production, research and development of new technologies. 

“The industry has benefitted greatly from his openness to work with suppliers to trial and develop new technologies.

“Wiegand-Glas were the first container plant to install and prove NIS machines, cullet and batch pre-heaters and gob assist technologies. 

“His furnace technology means Wiegand-Glas has some of the cleanest and most efficient furnaces in the container industry.”