Emhart Glass
An industry leader for over ninety years

Emhart Glass has grown from a tiny company with nothing to sell but ideas into a multinational serving the glass industry worldwide. This is our story.

1900–1920: Origins
Emhart Glass first began in 1902 with an idea shared by US entrepreneurs Karl E. Peiler, William H. Honiss and William A. Lorenz: to find new ways of making and using glass containers. In 1912, four more businessmen joined them to form the Hartford-Fairmont Company. Hartford-Fairmont developed the first glass gob shearing and feeding device, the forerunner of modern glass container machines. A year later, the firm introduced the first plunger-feeder. Although simple, it included most of the elements found in modern machines. The innovative technique of feeding molten glass into molds in gobs, rather than by suction, would ultimately lead to the automation of the glass container industry.

1920s: The IS innovation
In June 1922, Hartford-Fairmont joined with the Empire Machine Company of Elmira, NY, USA, to form Hartford-Empire. It was around this time that glass-making pioneer Henry W. Ingle joined the company, and in 1924 he created the first individual section (‘IS’) machine. IS represented a new standard in automation, and established the core of Emhart Glass’ product range right up until the present day. (View our current IS range) Three years later, the first four IS machines went into operation at the Carr-Lowery Glass Company in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The era of automatic container manufacturing had begun!

1930s: Progress and diversification
In 1932, Hartford-Empire introduced a continuously rotating paste-mold machine. Now known as the Hartford 28, this machine allowed glassmakers to manufacture seamless tableware. In 1933, the end of Prohibition in the US resulted in a huge resurgence in demand for alcohol – and a great boost to the glass market. However, Hartford-Empire’s managers realised that the glass industry would always have its ups and downs. To protect the firm they formed Plax Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary focused on the design, development and manufacture of plastic containers. Its first products were marketed in 1941.

1940s: Demands for quality
In 1940, the first double gob equipment was introduced. Post-war prosperity increased demand for glass packaging for food, drink, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. New uses meant higher quality demands, and Hartford-Empire responded with new methods for automatic inspection. The HE-74 check inspector was introduced in 1945, and inspection research was made a priority. In 1946, Plax introduced the first unbreakable ‘squeezy’ plastic bottle.

1950s: Becoming Emhart Glass
In 1951, Hartford-Empire’s stockholders voted for a new name: ‘Emhart Manufacturing Company’, reflecting the firm’s ambition to explore new directions. The glass machinery business became known as the Hartford Division. In 1952, Emhart Glass made its first move overseas by acquiring Aktiebolaget Sundsvalls Verkstader, a Swedish machinery manufacturer. In years to come, Emhart Glass’ Swedish division would become its main resource for IS machines. In 1953, Emhart Glass decided to sell 50% of its shares in Plax in order to focus on glass. In the following year, the first 6 section IS machine was introduced to the market, along with the HE-127 automatic finish check inspector. Emhart Glass’ ‘light-weighting’ program had succeeded in cutting the material used in the average glass container by a third between the 1930s and the 1950s. Emhart Glass slimmed containers down by a further 20% between 1951 and 1961, helping glassmakers to reduce their raw-material costs.

1960s: Exiting plastics
In 1962, Emhart Glass exchanged its 50% interest in Plax for $15m of Monsanto Chemical Company stock, ending its interest in plastics. Some of this stock is now used to endow the Emhart Glass Foundation, which supports social, civic, and educational organizations. In 1968, the first triple gob machine was introduced. Other key late-60s innovations included electric gob controls, electric melting, electric ‘boosting’ and larger machines.

1970s: Electronic advances
In 1970, Emhart Glass’ first 8 section double gob machine hit the market. It delivered a 30% improvement in productivity. A ten-section double-gob machine with modular sections followed in 1972. In 1974, Emhart Glass reached a major milestone when it shipped its 1000th IS machine. During the same year, Emhart Glass announced its 516 electronic control system. It took a while to be accepted, but today almost every new machine features this system, and over 50% of existing machines have had it retrofitted. The 516’s descendant, the T600, is still in use today. In 1977, the first Advanced IS (AIS) machine was installed. During the 70s, Emhart Glass’ international setup was strengthened with new sales and service centers in Sweden, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Japan and Singapore.

1980s: Total Inspection, Vertiflow and Flex-line
In 1980, the first Automatic Inspection Defect Analysis (AIDA) machine was demonstrated in Brussels. This was Emhart Glass’ first Total Inspection Machine (TIM). In 1982, Emhart Glass acquired Powers Manufacturing Inc., based in Elmira, NY, USA. Powers had established an international reputation for quality cold-end inspection equipment, and its facility was ideally suited for producing Emhart Glass’ Total Inspection Machines (TIM). The early 80s also saw Emhart Glass acquire Laclede Christy Refractories, a leader in feeder expendables and glasshouse products. The mid-1980s saw the creation of the VertiFlow mold cooling system. VertiFlow used software control to cool molds internally, almost doubling production speed and enhancing the quality and strength of the final product. In 1986, Emhart Glass introduced its FlexLine system, which allowed glass producers to make quick changes to the number of IS sections being used and deal with fluctuations in demand more economically. In 1988, Zurich was selected as the location for Emhart Glass’ global headquarters. By the end of the 1980s, Emhart Glass had confirmed its position as a complete systems supplier for glass container manufacturing, making it a natural target for the merger and acquisition fever sweeping the US and Europe. In April 1989, the Black & Decker Corporation acquired the group.

1990s: Boosting productivity
The 90s saw Emhart Glass continue to deliver new equipment and productivity advances, with average IS line speed jumping by 10% between 1992 and 1995. Key introductions during the decade included servo-electric parallel shears, an improved 555 servo-electric feeder system, the T600 LAN forming control system, the 560 servo-electric pusher and pocket air fingers for pusher mechanisms. In the area of automatic inspection, important introductions included the scanner base/sealing surface inspectors and the PRISM range for dimensional and sidewall inspection. In 1998, Bucher Industries of Niederweningen, Switzerland acquired Emhart Glass.

2000s: The next generation
Emhart Glass’ first major step forward in the new century was the Next Generation IS (NIS) Machine, introduced at Glasstec 2000. NIS delivers up to 4.2% higher cycle rates, reduces workout times by half and increases mold life by up to 20%. It also saves energy and offers substantial noise reduction. Since 2005, the NIS has been available in a quad gob configuration. (View our current NIS range) A new website was launched to build brand recognition and inform Emhart Glass customers. Within the company, a Six Sigma initiative aimed to raise quality standards even higher. In March 2007, Emhart Glass completed the acquisition of ICS Inex Inspection Systems of Clearwater, FL, USA. At the same time, Emhart Glass’ cold end business was renamed ‘Emhart Inex’. As well as ICS Inex’s headquarters in Clearwater, FL, USA, the acquisition strengthened Emhart Glass’ international structure with additional production and service sites in Spain, Malaysia and the UK. The ICS Inex deal brought a new depth to Emhart Glass’ inspection know-how, and added high-precision online sampling systems, label-inspection devices and vision inspection machines to the range. (View the Cold End Emhart Inex range)

Emhart Glass today
Today, Emhart Glass is the world's leading international supplier of equipment, controls and parts to the glass container industry. The company offers expertise in glass container forming, glass conditioning, gob forming, ware handling, cold end inspection, refractory parts and quality assurance, as well as training and maintenance services. Headquartered in Cham, Switzerland, Emhart Glass has 15 offices in 11 countries.