LAURINBURG — While agriculture plays a big role in Scotland County, perhaps one of the largest impacts made world wide comes from Nippon Sheet Glass.
The Laurinburg-based company — also known as Pilkington Glass and, before that, as Libby, Owens & Ford — manufactures more than 300,000 tons of flat glass per year at its 1.3 million square-foot facility located on U.S. 74 Business, where two manufacturing lines operate 24/7, 365 days per year.
“One of the most diverse manufacturers of glass in the world is right here in Laurinburg,” company spokesperson Dan Hamilton told the Rotary Club on Tuesday. “We supply all of the North American auto manufacturers, as well as Toyota — and we also supply glass to 65 countries around the world.”
The local plant supplies glass products for architectural, automobile and technical (such as solar panels, electronic display and bullet-proof) items. A typical sheet of glass coming from the Laurinburg site is 10 feet by 17 feet — and it is sent elsewhere for bending and shaping.
“Our glass is used for a wife variety of products — much more than most people could imagine,” Hamilton said.
The Laurinburg facility was built in 1973 and the second line was added in 1980. NSG, a company based in Japan, purchased the facility in 2008. Overall, the company manufactures more than 1 million tons of glass per year throughout its facilities and ships to about 130 countries.
According to Hamilton, the recipe to produce glass consists of 60 percent sand and includes a portion of crushed glass.
“The company builds its facilities where there is a good supply of sand, and we get all of our sand from within a 40-mile radius,” he said. “I’m told we have at least a 50-year supply available to us.”
He explained that the process to produce glass includes up to a 50-day melting period that sees temperatures of about 2,800 degrees used. From there, the glass is quickly cooled and can be made into clear, tinted, reflective or colored glass. Hamilton said one of the fastest-growing markets is for solar panels.
But he also said the company has supplied glass to places around the world — some of which many might not think about.
“At the Grand Canyon, there is a walk-out deck made of glass that goes out over the canyon about 75 feet and people can look straight down into the canyon,” he said. “That glass came from here.”
W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or cvincent@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.
