SCHOTT, the international technology group and inventor of specialty glass, maintained strong growth in the United States amid global challenges in fiscal year 2021-22.
The company achieved U.S. sales of more than $520 million for a 7% year-over-year increase. An additional $23 million was invested in 2022 to support organic growth, bringing its five-year investment total to nearly $75 million.
Prior investments created production efficiencies that fostered success across six production sites, its research and development center, and the U.S. Headquarters.
All of SCHOTT’s business units in the U.S. experienced growth, with pharmaceutical systems, home tech, and advanced optics leading the way. A key highlight for SCHOTT Pharma USA was the plan to triple capacity of high-value pharmaceutical vials at the facility in Lebanon, PA.
"Investments in equipment and facility upgrades allowed us to mitigate numerous challenges and maintain our steady progress in the U.S. market," said Christopher Cassidy, President of SCHOTT North America.
"We’ve committed another $24 million in planned investments this year, that will allow us to build on our momentum. Just this month we opened a new diagnostics facility in Phoenix, a one-stop-shop for point of care diagnostics that increases domestic manufacturing and underscores SCHOTT’s ability to be a reliable partner within the U.S."
The company also made important contributions toward sustainability in 2022. Most notably, SCHOTT made the switch to 100% green energy and plans to move closer to its climate neutrality initiative this year.
In December 2022, SCHOTT laser and optical glass helped achieve a spectacular breakthrough in nuclear fusion. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California generated more energy than was consumed in a fusion reaction, opening new possibilities for the future of clean power.
SCHOTT has supplied more than 1,000 parts to the NIF and continues its role in the decades-long challenge of producing commercial-scale laser fusion energy.
In 2023, SCHOTT is focused on advancing its core business units and making strong gains in the areas of med-tech, aerospace, and semiconductors.
SCHOTT’s increased capacity to manufacture adaptiQ® ready-to-use vials and components for diagnostics and medical laser therapies will play a large role in advancing healthcare technology. Moreover, SCHOTT’s ultra-thin glass is protecting photovoltaics on satellites orbiting the Earth, while ZERODUR® glass-ceramics will enable never before seen insights from telescopes such as those at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.
Other specialty glass products such as BOROFLOAT® or fiber optic light guides are supporting local microchip production. In the future, specialty glass can also enable advanced chip packaging designs for the most powerful microchips.
