New AGR Office in Krakow, Poland
 The Krakow, Poland Team of American Glass Research, is AGR’s direct contact for glass fillers and suppliers in Europe, Middle East and North Africa - and has recently relocated to an expanded office space in the center of Krakow. The group is led by Commercial Manager Aleksander Broda, part of the AGR International team since 1997. The office is also staffed by Mrs. Ewa Prokulewicz, who provides direct assistance to our customers in Central Europe. Additionally, Mrs. Katarzyna Wasek has joined the AGR Krakow team with responsibilities for customer communications, marketing and office management. She is a graduate of Jagiellonian University, speaks English, Russian and Polish. Contact us if we can help you with testing, analysis or training.
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FEATURE STORY: LITIGATION
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Why did the glass container break?
 The answer usually depends on a number of factors. The obvious questions are: When, where and how did the breakage happen? However, the most difficult question to answer is, “Why did it happen?”. We have been helping to unbiasedly answer these questions for nearly 90 years as part of our service that supplies litigation assistance for our customers. We have developed skills and expertise in areas vital to product litigation success. We are available to provide the technical phases of product litigation cases including sample examination, testing and duplication of sample breakage. Our experts can provide sample examination at our laboratory or when necessary at a remote location. We are also available for expert testimony at deposition and at trial. Very simply “We Know Glass”. Let us assist you in your pursuit of a successful completion of your case by utilizing our expert’s fracture diagnosis skills and experience in a properly performed analysis of your fractured glass item. We invite you to contact us to discuss your issue with one of our experts.
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Q: We are designing a new bottle, should we do a line audit before the redesign?
A: AGR Research Engineer Steve Spence: "Yes, if you know the impact levels, you can design to reality vs theoretical. This allows you to give marketing more leeway in creative design or Lightweighting before developing molds. Saves time. Saves money." Contact us to learn more or read our recently published White Paper “Filling Line Impact Measurement”.
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Did you know… that many stones are formed by refractories that drip into the melted glass. The drips are the viscous surface of the refractory on the walls of the furnace or forehearth that drop by gravity into the molten glass. Many times, inadvertently, the refractory may prematurely melt due to excessive heat or a chemical reaction with batch dust. These drips can result in inclusions that will cause a reduced strength in the final product.
 This image was created using both polarized, transmitted and collimated reflected light and magnified 50 times. We can analyze and determine the exact material in any inclusion/stone by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy x-ray spectrometer (EDX). Contact us to talk about your issues. If you would like to learn how to define and quickly analyze stones as well as learn the steps to correct the problem, sign up for our “Stones in Glass: Analysis and Identification” Training Seminar to be held on our Butler, PA, USA campus October 18-20, 2016.
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 The AGR Fall Training Seminar Schedule has been customized to satisfy the needs of our global clientele. In Krakow, Poland two new seminars are offered, “Glass Container Technology” will be presented August 30 and 31 followed by “Audit of Glass Plant Operations” on September 1 and 2. The “Evaluation and Lightweighting of Glass Container Designs” seminar is again offered on September 5 and 6. Finally, "Testing and Fracture Diagnosis of Glass Bottles” will be presented on September 7 through 9. In Munich, Germany a new seminar entitled “Testing and Fracture Diagnosis of Pharmaceutical Glassware” has been added for October 24 through 26, while on the Butler, PA, USA campus, the newly developed advanced certificate seminar entitled “Fractography of Container Glass” will be offered in the fourth quarter of this year. To learn more about all of our seminars visit our Training Catalogue.
According to Commercial Manager, Aleksander Broda, "The seminars offer a unique occasion for the filling industry and the glass suppliers to together learn the aspects of establishing effective solutions to quality issues. They also allow for proactive cooperation in modern packaging development including Lightweighting (possibilities and implications), bottle design criteria, and launch preparation. The foundations for future interactions are laid not only in the conference room, but also during the breaks and additional group activities."
We hope you will join us. To see the full 2016 Training Schedule or to schedule private training at your location, contact us.
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