SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

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Tomak Julian Baksik
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by Tomak Julian Baksik »

A few questions for tony , brad and others: spruce pine spent a long time tooling up for 96 cullet then cancelled that plan. Why? And why does spectrum not move outside epa jurisdiction, north to Canada ? If there truly is a void in this necessary niche I may set up 96 production myself but it doesn't seem likely it will come to that. More likely price will go up until a new equilibrium is reached among other manufacturers.
Thanks, Tomak
Brad Walker
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by Brad Walker »

Tomak Julian Baksik wrote:A few questions for tony , brad and others: spruce pine spent a long time tooling up for 96 cullet then cancelled that plan. Why? And why does spectrum not move outside epa jurisdiction, north to Canada ? If there truly is a void in this necessary niche I may set up 96 production myself but it doesn't seem likely it will come to that. More likely price will go up until a new equilibrium is reached among other manufacturers.
Thanks, Tomak
Most of the visitors to the board are fusers, not blowers, and don't have much interest or knowledge of the blowing industry. For people in that area, you may want to visit the Craftweb forum: http://talk.craftweb.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=4

Spectrum is currently working with several others to set up supplies of 96 cullet. See here: http://www.spectrumglass.com/GlassBlowing/default.html
Kevin Midgley
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by Kevin Midgley »

It is easy enough to send a glass blowing formula off to China and they will fill a container for you with it. I know a Canadian west coast glass blower who did just that. All he had to do to keep the formula to himself was to buy $20,000 of glass every unknown to me, period of time. He in turn distributed it to other glass blowers as I recall at around retail of $1Cdn a pound. I think he was using 96 color but not sure it could just as easily been Kugler. Last time I spoke to him a few years ago he was planning to retire.
Buying in China would certainly be cheaper than setting up a plant to do the same in Canada.
Remember Canadian Art Glass in Alberta went under despite making pretty sheet glass and cheap natural gas to melt it. That was decades ago.
Terry Gallentine
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by Terry Gallentine »

I think a closer match to Spectrum than Uroboros is Wissmach. At least it is machine rolled not hand rolled like Uroboros is. Because of that, the sheet sizes are larger.
AndyT
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by AndyT »

Tomak Julian Baksik wrote:A few questions for tony , brad and others: spruce pine spent a long time tooling up for 96 cullet then cancelled that plan. Why? And why does spectrum not move outside epa jurisdiction, north to Canada ? If there truly is a void in this necessary niche I may set up 96 production myself but it doesn't seem likely it will come to that. More likely price will go up until a new equilibrium is reached among other manufacturers.
Thanks, Tomak

Spectrum closing is due more tro economic issues than the EPA. they have had bag house filtration in place for years. They are producing on 40% of what the produced in the past and trying to run all the equipment just isn't feasible anymore.
AndyT
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by AndyT »

Terry Gallentine wrote:I think a closer match to Spectrum than Uroboros is Wissmach. At least it is machine rolled not hand rolled like Uroboros is. Because of that, the sheet sizes are larger.
Wissmach makes glass just like BE, Uro and Kokomo. They have 12 furnaces that make one sheet at a time unlike a continuous pour that Spectrum has. Here is alink to how they do it.
http://www.wissmachglass.com/thefactory.html
Barry Kaiser
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by Barry Kaiser »

Several Comments:
First, let us not forget that stained glass is a mainstay of most of the manufacturers that are being impacted. Stained glass has been hit even worse than fused glass by the great recession. This had a huge impact on Spectrum. The EPA overhang is only a contributory factor (could be a large one)

Second: We keep saying EPA when they have not really gotten cranked up (yet-god forbid). That is when the little guys across the country will really bite the dust. It is the Oregon environmental department that is the current culprit.

Third: I cannot fathom why the Oregon governor would shut down Bullseye and not Uroboros. The same unproven (and probably unfounded) allegations would weigh against them.

Fourth: (and this is political). It is totally feasible that the EPA could shut down the entire fused and stained glass industry by the sheer weight of investigation. And it can accomplish that without any evidence.
Brad Walker
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by Brad Walker »

Barry Kaiser wrote:Third: I cannot fathom why the Oregon governor would shut down Bullseye and not Uroboros. The same unproven (and probably unfounded) allegations would weigh against them.
High lead content in the air was detected in the playground next to Bullseye's factory. No where near Uroboros.

The bigger question is why the governor got involved, rather than the DEQ simply calling Bullseye and asking them to stop using lead, as they had done earlier with cadmium, arsenic, and chromium. Obviously, it's a highly politicized issue in Oregon.

I have a recap of the current situation on the main page of this site: http://www.warmglass.com/art-glass-industry-update/
AndyT
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by AndyT »

Brad Walker wrote:
Barry Kaiser wrote:Third: I cannot fathom why the Oregon governor would shut down Bullseye and not Uroboros. The same unproven (and probably unfounded) allegations would weigh against them.
High lead content in the air was detected in the playground next to Bullseye's factory. No where near Uroboros.

The bigger question is why the governor got involved, rather than the DEQ simply calling Bullseye and asking them to stop using lead, as they had done earlier with cadmium, arsenic, and chromium. Obviously, it's a highly politicized issue in Oregon.

I have a recap of the current situation on the main page of this site: http://www.warmglass.com/art-glass-industry-update/
I think the Governor is involved because it's an election year.
Morganica
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Re: SPECTRUM GLASS CLOSING DOWN

Post by Morganica »

The governor, Kate Brown, was appointed when the last governor (Kitzhaber) resigned (rule in Oregon is that if the governor's gone, the secretary of state takes his place). She's facing a fall election to get in for real, has no real challengers, but several supporters (such as Precision Castparts) who have had sometimes significant pollution issues. Given that this state prides itself on eco-consciousness, the news that Portland is actually quite polluted has shaken a lot of people, and they're screaming for blood.

Brown needs to be seen as tough on environmental violations, without disturbing her supporters. Frankly, the art glass industry is small, scattered, they don't tend to play well together, and they don't have much money. Their customers equally small and scattered, so shutting down a glass factory is relatively safe, politically speaking.

The C&D was unnecessary; Bullseye and Uroboros have complied and voluntarily shut down production when the pollution issues surfaced, and they've followed the agreement to report any issues immediately. But Brown is using Bullseye (and to a lesser extent Uroboros) to throw the voters a bone.

If you want to show support, check here: https://savecoloredglass.wordpress.com/

It'll give you some next steps.
Cynthia Morgan
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