Europe Glass

Glass is an amorphous (non­crystalline) solid material. Glass is often transparent and used for practical, technological and decorative usages like panes, tableware and optoelectronics. Glass can be heated to a liquid. Glass can be made of aqueous solutions, ionic melts, metallic alloys, molecular liquids and various polymers. Glass is primarily comprised of silica (SiO2), which is a component of sand and found in quartz. Glass can be made more durable by adding sodium carbonate (soda), lime and various oxides to create soda­lime glass. Soda­lime glass is the dominant industry glass produced. It is used as a thermal insulator, reinforcement materials, container material for environmental protection, aesthetic, building materials and for optical device systems. Value-­added industries like semiconductor device manufacturing, photovoltaic(PV) product manufacturing, other solar products and equipment, consumer electronics, building materials manufacturing, construction, consumer products, ophthalmological product manufacturing, automotive and vehicle manufacturing, and mirrors rely heavily on glass products. Currently, the global glass industry is led by Nippon Sheet glass (NSG)/Pilkington (Japan/United Kingdom), Saint­Gobain (France), Guardian Industries Corp. (US), and Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. These companies rely on use of commercialized float glass method where sheets of glass are produced or 'floated' on molten metals such as tin and lead. Float glass is usually soda­lime glass. Value-­added and specialty glass manufacturers include optical product and lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss (Germany) and its subsidiary Schott AG (Germany).