Glassman in Mexico, Meet the speaker: Bill Slusser, American Glass Research

Bill Slusser is Director of Research, at American Glass Research, which he joined in 1999. He is due to speak at Glassman Latin America in Mexico City next week on Wednesday May 15 at 14:00. His presentation, delivered with colleague Marta de la Torre, is titled Leveraging Glass Container Testing to Validate Sustainability.

1 Why is glass container testing so important to glass manufacturers?

Glass testing is critical to confirming ongoing quality of the containers. It helps to ensure performance is optimised and also to identify and limit defects from making it to the end consumer.

2 In your discussions with customers, has sustainability become a prevalent topic in recent years? How can AGR help glass manufacturers in this aim?

In our customer discussions, sustainability has become one of the most consistent topics that we are asked to speak on.

In the presentation we will point out many of the tests and equipment supplied by both Agr International and utilised by American Glass Research, that can be used to guide sustainable efforts.

In addition, American Glass Research offers our design lightweighting service and we can partner with our customers to optimise the container design weight without sacrificing any performance.

3 What are the other benefits of glass testing (aside from sustainability)

Properly constructed testing protocols, at a minimum, can assure ongoing quality assurance and limit the number of issues related to glass performance.

At its best, glass testing can allow companies to push to the limits of the container’s performance potential with confidence.

The key is understanding which tests are required and how to prepare the samples to obtain the answers needed to make critical decisions.

4 Yours is a joint presentation with your colleague Marta de la Torre. Why did you decide to have a joint presentation and what can delegates expect from the presentation ?

The synergy that exists between Agr International and American Glass Research was something we felt we could capitalize on in this talk.

While I can speak from a consulting point of view and hold expertise in glass testing procedures, my colleague Marta is more versed and holds expertise in the equipment that performs many of those tests.

Our talk will provide the attendees several insights into approaches that can be taken towards sustainability.

The key is to know the limitations and potential pitfalls of implementing those efforts.

In our talk we will provide guidance on how to ensure success and verify quality when companies choose to increase their recycling efforts, switch to multi-use (refillable) containers our lightweight their existing designs.

5 You have been at AGR since 1999. What do you enjoy about your role, the organisation, and working with glass?

For me, the most enjoyable part about my role is the chance to interact with customers and colleagues.

One of the richest opportunities to do so is when presenting training seminars. I truly enjoy traveling to unique locations and then spending multiple days learning about our customers both on a professional and personal level.

In regards to glass, I have been intrigued by the material since I was in college.

It has such unique properties, has such innate beauty and holds such naturally sustainable characteristics that I cannot imagine building my career around any other material type.

You can also see Bill and his colleagues on Stand C01. Glassman Latin America takes place May 15 and 16 at Santa Fe Expo, Mexico City.