[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CELEBRATING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF LIBBEY GLASS COMPANY

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                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2018

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an achievement few 
American companies have attained: the 200th anniversary celebration of 
Libbey, a glass manufacturer in Toledo, Ohio. In fact, the company's 
legacy gave rise to Toledo's designation as ``the glass capital of the 
world.''
  In 1818, the New England Glass Company was started in Cambridge, 
Massachusetts. Through successive generations including his father 
before him, Edward Drummond Libbey became the company's president in 
1880. In 1888, the company's 70th year of operation, after studying a 
location for a move and noting the fine silica sand and natural gas 
qualities of the region, Mr. Libbey moved the entire plant--along with 
many of its skilled tradesmen and workers--to Toledo. In 1892, the 
company was renamed the Libbey Glass Company. The Libbey Glass Company 
produced bottles, containers, window glass and was best known for its 
cut glass .
  Always a visionary, Edward Drummond Libbey obtained the exclusive 
right to build and operate a glass factory at the 1893 world's fair in 
Chicago. Michael J. Owens, a skilled blower and inventive wonder who 
came to the plant as it arrived in Toledo, managed the World's Fair 
factory. Guests could tour the factory, watching the tradesmen and 
production of blown, cut and etched glass pieces, and purchase such 
pieces in a gift shop. The exhibition put the Libbey Glass Company on 
the world stage so that the company and its products were widely known 
and valued.
  The success of the Libbey Glass Company was due in significant part 
to the inventions of Michael J. Owens. In 1903, he invented an 
automatic bottling machine, revolutionizing the industry and lauded as 
the ``most important invention since the blowpipe 2,000 years 
earlier.'' In 1904, a machine was developed to automatically produce 
light bulbs. That same year, Libbey Glass Company was featured at the 
1904 World's Fair where an amazing 25 inch cut glass punch bowl was 
showcased. In 1907, machine blown glass was made possible. These 
inventions enabled Libbey and Owens to go on to found the Owens Bottle 
Machine Company (later Owens-Illinois) and the Libbey-Owens Sheet Glass 
Company (later Libbey-Owens-Ford) as the company produced windshields 
for automobiles. In 1935, Owens-Illinois purchased Libbey Glass. As the 
1940 World's Fair in New York approached, Libbey Glass again dazzled 
the crowds. Michael J. Owens' genius for invention partnered with 
Edward Drummond Libbey's incredible business acumen made the pair among 
``the greatest developers in the 20th century.''
  The Libbey Glass Company has been one of the largest glass 
manufacturers in the United States throughout its 200 years. Even as 
the original founders passed into history, the company continued 
remarkable progress. In 1970, a machine was developed to blow and press 
stemware in one piece, in 1989 the company invented the marbelique 
glassware process and in 1995, a computer controlled stemware blowing 
machine. Revolutionary techniques continue to the present day.
  Through the centuries Libbey has been a strong community partner. The 
company was responsive as a community leader and foundational investor 
in the revitalization of the farmers market complex in downtown Toledo, 
building a signature showroom as an anchor store. Libbey has even been 
a key partner in our annual Ninth Congressional District Art 
Competition.
  Intertwined and indelibly Toledo, Libbey will toast its 200 years 
with a reception and a performance by the Toledo Symphony Orchestra on 
Friday, May 4, 2018. The company will share its journey with our 
community even as it looks toward a bright future. As the oldest brand 
name and American table and decorative glassware in continued 
existence, Libbey--and Toledo--have a lasting legacy proudly shared.

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