Stand Table
How Libbey Glass Cheers Your Desk
Today it is no great tragedy when a goblet shatters on the tile floor. There was a time, however, when this meant finding an artisan who could match a new one to the rest of the set, a time-consuming and expensive process. These days, mass production has lowered the cost of stemware, and finding a replacement for broken pieces simply means a trip to the right store. One company making this possible is Libby glass, a significant producer since the late nineteenth century.
Their history parallels many aspects of the industrial revolution, beginning as the New England Glass Company. The company produced many related household items, such as water pitchers, including containers for drinking or storing beverages and other liquids. At the time, red lead was a integral component of production. The patent for using it was held by an employee, which had the effect of setting up a red lead monopoly, much to the frustration of other companies.
One of the problems with using lead, of course, is its toxicity. Workers were often exposed to lead in ways not permitted today, but New England Glass would not give it up. While the company staunchly continued to stand by its tried and true methods of production, however, others were moving ahead with newer technology. A former employee had discovered a new way to make these products without using lead. Called the lime-soda formula, it changed the way silicon-based items were made and sold.
The basic concept is still in use today to make a variety of containers, including jars, bottles, and tableware, and is even used in the production of windows. The New England management staunchly refused to adopt it, and only hard financial times and declining business revenue forced a change. The company was ready to cease production altogether until members of the Libbey family saved it from oblivion, and renamed it for themselves.
Yet even with the advances in manufacturing, these products were still made in part the old-fashioned way into the early twentieth century. Industry changed radically immediately after the end of World War II. Once there were no more shortages of raw materials, the economy took off, and the truly modern era of manufacturing began. Mass production of inexpensive consumer items exploded, and this company grew along with the expansion.
These were the years when the machine-made boxed “tumbler sets” were introduced, and the public loved them. Not only were the tumblers popular, but newly styled wine goblets, pitchers, and formal drink-ware sales also increased substantially. With growing balance sheets, Libbey branched out. Previously, the emphasis had been primarily on production for hotels and restaurants, but post-war consumer spending habits encouraged production of products for the home dining room.
Today this company not only has an established presence in several states in the U. S. And other western hemisphere nations, but has gained an international scope with the acquisition of manufacturing capability in China. In addition to home products, this family of companies concentrates on containers for the pantry, for baking, serving beverages, and a host of other kitchen and dining decor items.
No longer does this forward-looking company hesitate to incorporate technology into its business plan. Others have taken note of the “lean manufacturing” policies implemented to streamline efficiency and reduce or stop waste altogether such as with products like water pitchers. The company that once commonly used lead now embraces many “green” philosophies and practices. In 2007, Libbey glass spearheaded a recycling program, and today helps convert used cast iron, steel, paper products, computers and even basic water and oil into forms that can be reused.