GMIC director says farewell to glass industry

A glass director said farewell to the industry after 12 years at the helm.

Bob Lipetz, Executive Director of the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council (GMIC) in the USA said goodbye at last week’s 83^rd Glass Problems conference held in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

He will be replaced by Kerry Ward, who will join the organisation in January.

The event included a two-day conference programme as well as a separate one-day seminar focused on Energy Decarbonisation in Glass Manufacturing.

Afterwards he said: “When I first accepted the offer to manage the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council some 12 years ago, I could not have imagined what a remarkable journey it would be.

“It has been gratifying to see GMIC achieve its potential as the coordinator of glass manufacturing industry technical information, education, and initiatives.

“I discovered that it is a fascinating industry and I have made many friends along the way. You could say, “glass got under my skin”.

“The value of having the US glass manufacturing industry’s leading trade association organise the industry’s biggest conference was evident in the excellence of the 83^rd Conference on Glass Problems.

Speaking at the end of the conference, Mr Lipetz said: “All I try and do is listen to what the industry needs and try and put it together. We have an advisory board from manufacturing companies and the big suppliers who have their finger on the pulse and they tell me.

“You are the industry and what you do is really hard but people don’t realise that, it is not that simple, that is why this is called the Glass Problems conference.”

The 84^th Glass Problems conference takes place October 30-November 2, 2023.