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Glass Industry Biz News |
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May 2000 |
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Schott Glass Technologies Strives
for
Community Involvement |
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Bruce Jennings, president of Schott Glass
Technologies, will tell you that for more than 30 years his company has
been one of the best-kept business secrets in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
But, he also maintains the Duryea company is trying to change its low
profile in the community.
SGT is a multimillion-dollar division of the Schott Group, a German company that employs more than 18,500 people worldwide and has sales of about $1.6 billion. The Duryea company, which employs nearly 500, makes a variety of specialty glass products ranging from the high-tech glass used in lasers and airplane cockpits to lenses for Ray-Ban sunglasses. SGT recorded $50 million in sales during 1999. The company also employs local artisan Christopher Ries as its artist-in-residence. Mr. Ries, who also works as an independent artist, makes a variety of sculptures from glass produced at Schott. Ever since it opened on York Avenue in Duryea in 1969, Schott has kept mostly to itself, rarely drawing public attention. Mr. Jennings said that was the long-standing corporate philosophy at the time. "They just didn't feel the need for the degree of community involvement and publicity," Mr. Jennings said Wednesday after addressing members of the business community during the President's Breakfast at the University of Scranton. However, since he took the helm nearly two years ago, Schott has begun to change its image. Involvement in groups such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Toys for Tots and the Women's Resource Center have increased. Personally, Mr. Jennings is involved with several local colleges and serves on the board of directors at the Community Medical Center. "I think we need to do it because of the need to attract employees and because of what we can do to help the community both in terms of employment and community sponsorship," he said. "I enjoy being involved with as much as I can, as much as time permits." Headquartered in Mainz, Germany, the Schott Group is owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, an organization Mr. Jennings describes as having both business and social goals. "It is philanthropic and business. It is truly there to create value, to make money like any other business does. But it's more socially oriented, employee-oriented and more scientific-technically oriented than most companies," he said. Locally, the Schott Duryea plant is a 120-acre complex. In addition to its original offices, the company acquired a manufacturing facility formerly owned by the Topps Chewing Gum Co. when that business left the area in 1998.
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source: NEPA News |