Libbey history

By 1849 New England Glass became the largest glassmaker in the world, employing 500, with the value of goods produced growing to $500,000.

In 1864 a former employee, William Leighton, developed a soda lime formula to replace lead in the making of glass.

In 1870, William L. Libbey joined the New England Glass Company as an agent and sales manager, and four years later, his son Edward Drummond Libbey joined as a clerk.

Leading the independent company as chairman and CEO was John Meier, a man with 24 years of experience with the Libbey Glass Division. It was originally founded in 1871 as The Onondaga Pottery and over the course of its history earned a strong reputation for its high quality dinnerware and ability to adjust to changing tastes in American dining.

The son was Edward Drummond Libbey, who had gone to work for his father at New England Glass in 1872 as a chore boy, apparently as a way for the father to convince the son to enroll at Harvard University, which young Libbey had refused to do.

1874William L. Libbey & Edward D. Libbey William L. Libbey takes over operations of the New England Glass Company, with his son, Edward Drummond Libbey 1874

William L. Libbey took over the company in 1878 and renamed it the New England Glass Works, Wm.

In 1880, Edward became partner with his father in the firm and change the name to New England Glass Works, Wm.

In 1883, Edward Drummond Libbey gained full control of the company when is father died.

In 1888, William's son, Edward Drummond Libbey, moved the company to Toledo, Ohio.

1893: Libbey Pavilion at Chicago's Columbian Exposition leads to period of strong growth.

Although Edward Libbey remained the company's largest stockholder, he withdrew from active participation in its affairs in 1896, choosing instead to devote most of his time to the businesses created to exploit Owens's inventions.

After designing machines to produce light bulbs, tumblers, and lamp chimneys, Owens in 1903 invented the automatic bottle blowing machine, one of the most important advances in the history of glassmaking, resulting in a variety of glass products that now became affordable to the masses.

1904 1904St Louis World’s Fair Libbey exhibits brilliant cut glass at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair in St Louis, Missouri.

Edward Libbey continued to hold a controlling interest in Libbey Glass until 1920, three years before his death, when the business was reorganized as the Libbey Glass Manufacturing Company.

Owens-Illinois was the result of the 1929 merger of the Owens Bottle Machine Company and the Illinois Glass Company.

Unfortunately, a poor decision in 1931 to attempt to reestablish the Libbey name in the fine art glass market more than offset these positive developments.

With the repeal of prohibition in 1933, the demand for glassware products from restaurants and bars grew even greater.

A poorly timed introduction of high-end art glass during the Great Depression proved to be a costly mistake for the company, and it was sold to Owens-Illinois Glass Company in 1935.

In 1944 the company was folded into Owens-Illinois and began operating as the Libbey Glass Division of the parent corporation.

Pre-packed sets of eight tumblers, "Hostess Sets," introduced in 1945, were especially successful, and by offering a variety of changing styles and designs, Libbey Glass became a major force in popular-priced glassware.

In April 1993, Owens-Illinois announced that it would sell the Libbey Glass division for an estimated $225 million.

Net income reach $30 million, a 12.5 percent bump over 1994's 26.7 million.

1995: Syracuse China is acquired.

In 1997 Libbey expanded its international presence and broadened its product lines when it agreed to purchase a 49 percent interest in Mexico's top glass tableware supplier, Vitrocrisa, a subsidiary of Grupo Vitro S.A., the country's largest glassmaker.

In 2001 Libbey agreed to buy the Anchor Hocking glass business from Newell Rubbermaid Inc. for more than $330 million.

In 2004, it was the United States' largest manufacturer of glass dinnerware, with plants in Louisiana, California, and Ohio, as well as in the Netherlands.

The company marked its 200th anniversary in 2018.

In March 2019, Libbey announced that it had hired Mike Bauer, the former president of Master Lock Company, to replace Bill Foley as Chief Executive Officer.