Corelle’s legacy will outlive Charleroi plant

The factory whistle will blow for the last time Friday, marking the end of an era in the Magic City.

If walls inside the Corelle Brand plant in Charleroi could talk, hundreds of stories would be told — and they should be.

Forged in fire, the legacy of glassmaking in Charleroi won’t soon be forgotten, even as the presses cool, time cards are stamped for the final time and the warehouse is slowly emptied.

Though the Magic City has changed — much like the company’s name and ownership over the past century — one constant has remained: glassmaking is Charleroi.

In kitchens across the globe, Pyrex ware is a staple.

Sturdy cookware proven to stand the test of time, Pyrex glass became a tool in the kitchen that brought family recipes to life.

Each piece, meticulously crafted in Charleroi, has a story of its own as told by families who continue to use Pyrex and thousands of workers who helped produce it over the course of a century.

The plant sits on 25 acres, where nearly 30 buildings are nestled alongside each other. In the hallways that weave through them are pictures of significant workers, leaders and industry experts who have been there through the years, along with dozens of recognitions and accolades the company has received.

Photos more than 100 years old hang on the walls in the cafeteria, showing the changes and growth that happened at the facility along the banks of the Monongahela River.

From grinding down recycled glass to mix with other products like limestone and soda ash to make the sand dumped into the hoppers, to the heavy-duty molds and plungers crafted, repaired and polished to be used to make each piece, it’s a complex, extremely precise process that requires meticulous attention to detail.

If a batch is off or the temperature is not just right, Pyrex wouldn’t be Pyrex.

Each job, no matter how big or small, carries with it a lot of responsibility by workers across different departments who see the production through from start to finish.

Last whistle

The plant has continued to be dismantled over the past few months. The 111 Press was removed in December and the 112 Press was taken out Jan. 16.

A few weeks ago, the machine used to decorate pieces of Pyrex in house was also removed, and now pieces are shipped to Lancaster to be decorated before they are packaged and distributed.

Though two lines are still running, they will press the last pieces of glass in Charleroi on Friday when the furnace is shut down and begins to cool.

The product, and those who helped make it, won’t be forgotten.

Employees have been preparing for months, and though three extensions were made to meet product demand, glassmaking in Charleroi will come to a sad end Friday when nearly 100 workers clock in and out for the last time.

At noon Friday, like it has for the past several weeks, the whistle at the Corelle plant will sound for the final time — replicating a sound thousands of residents throughout the decades used to tell time and set their watches by in the Magic City.

The final whistle will blow for 132 seconds, honoring each year glass was produced in the factory.

When it was announced the plant would close, an American flag outside was lowered to half staff, where it has remained ever since.

On Friday, it will be removed and replaced with a new custom flag raised in the plant’s honor.

The old flag will be nestled along artifacts and memorabilia that have been collected from residents and workers.

All those mementos will be carefully put inside a time capsule, which will be buried in Meadow Avenue park, a move approved by members of borough council last month though its exact location has not been decided.

Sentimental objects keep pouring in from families of former workers and current workers. So many, in fact, that the 55-gallon capsule won’t nearly be big enough to fit it all.

Items range from old photos and newspapers to sprinkler heads and a Terrible Towel.

In a century, when it is opened, the history of glassmaking in Charleroi will be told through the items tucked inside along with the stories that go along with them.

Items that won’t fit inside could find a home at the Corning museum in Corning, N.Y.

Since the announcement in September, local union representatives have tried to negotiate on behalf of workers who are preparing to lose their jobs, but progress has been almost nonexistent.

The union has met several times for negotiations concerning severance packages, asking for 200 hours per year worked.

It came down to 80. The union also asked for insurance benefits and a handful of other things, but as it stands Anchor Hocking’s proposal hasn’t budged much.

The current union contract expired Feb. 28, but a sixmonth extension was granted.

A deal still hasn’t been reached and negotiations are expected to continue next week.

Layoffs will continue this month, and by June 2, there will only be two union members left at the property.

Measuring history

Although the name has changed over the years, Pyrex has deep roots in the Magic City.

It started when the Macbeth- Evans Glass Company was formed in 1899 by the merger of two Pittsburgh glass firms: Thomas Evans & Co. (1869-99) and George A. Macbeth Co. (1872-99).

Thomas Evans & Co. produced lamp chimneys, while George A. Macbeth Co. manufactured lamp chimneys, reflectors and lantern globes.

The Macbeth-Evans Glass Company was located in Charleroi, where George A. Macbeth purchased land and opened a production facility in 1893.

When the two companies merged in 1899, they purchased American Lamp Chimney Co. in Toledo, Ohio, and its license to produce lamp chimneys on the Owens glass-blowing machine.

By 1919, the company made not only lamp chimneys, but also globes, shades and bowls for lighting, a number of railway and shipping lighting products, and lighthouse lenses with prisms. Other products included laboratory ware, tumblers, vacuum bottle glass, plates for dental chairs, glass for automatic milking machines and automobile headlights.

Automatic glass pressing was introduced in the late 1920s, leading to the manufacture of tableware.

Corning Glass Works was founded in 1851 by Amory Houghton in Somerville, Mass., originally as the Bay State Glass Co. It later moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and operated as the Brooklyn Flint Glass Works.

The company moved again to its ultimate home and eponym, the city of Corning, N.Y., in 1868, under the leadership of the founder’s son, Amory Houghton Jr.

In 1915, Corning created an improved heat-resistant glass formula and launched Pyrex, the first-ever consumer cooking products made with temperature-resistant glass, a staple brand found in kitchens across the globe.

Initially Pyrex was introduced as a line of clear, low-thermal expansion glass used in laboratories and for kitchenware.

In 1936, Corning purchased the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company and the plant in Charleroi. They began to produce Pyrex opal ware bowls and bakeware made of tempered soda– lime glass.

It was subsequently renamed Corning Glass Works Macbeth-Evans Division, and later Corning Glass Works Charleroi Plant.

In November 1994, Corning and the CCPC sold its European, Russian, Middle Eastern and African consumer products businesses to Newell. Corning spun off CCPC in 1998 and sold the division to Borden.

When Corning divested itself of the CCPC, now known as Corelle Brands, the production of consumer Pyrex products went with it.

As part of the sale to Borden, the company was required to shed the Corning name within three years.

The plant was sold to World Kitchen as part of the company’s divestiture of its consumer products division.

The World Kitchen name was adopted in 2000, but in 2002 the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had to undergo a financial reorganization.

As of 2004, it was privately held and that same year there was a change to private equity firm Cornell Capital, a move preceded by a long period of organizational changes and operational restructuring.

On Feb. 5, 2018, the company announced it had changed its name to “Corelle Brands” in order to take advantage of one of its most recognizable trademarks.

That same year, Corelle Brands received a $2.5 million grant from the Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program to modernize the world-renown Pyrex brand glassware manufacturing facility in Charleroi and received the Governor’s Award for Safety Excellence.

In February 2019, Corelle Brands announced a $16 million facility upgrade, supported by the previously announced grant.

One month later, the company announced it had entered into a merger agreement with Instant Brands, maker of the Instant Pot kitchen appliance.

Instant Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2023.

In October 2023, private equity firm Centre Lane Partners acquired the company after a competitive bankruptcy auction when the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved the company pursuing the sale of its housewares and appliance businesses to affiliates of Centre Lane Partners, one of Anchor Hocking’s largest stockholders.

Anchor Hocking took over the Charleroi plant in March 2024 and announced plans to shut down the facility to relocate it to Ohio six months later.

Anchor Hocking fired up the first glass plant in Lancaster, Ohio, in 1905.

Generational glass

Initially, Pyrex was purchased by and for homemakers eager to make magic in their kitchens and feed their families.

From original clear glass kitchenware to colorful decorative pieces used for family staples, Pyrex solidified a legacy that will continue to be passed on through pieces of cookware from generation to generation.

Though the earliest Pyrex was made of clear glass, in 1947 Corning debuted a special set.

The different-sized mixing bowls, made of soda-lime opal glass, were colorful unlike anything the company had ever produced.

The inside of each bowl, which came in a four-piece set, was classic white. On the outside, though, the cookware radiated shades of yellow, green, red and blue.

Its new product with vibrant colors offered the same affordability and practicality expected from consumers.

From grandma’s cupboard to a thrift-store shelf, Pyrex remains in high demand.

It might be the first thing you grab when making dinner, or a precious family heirloom that is carefully tucked away, ready to be passed along with tips, tricks and memories. It’s Pyrex and that’s what matters.

In almost every corner of the world, people of all ages search for and collect Pyrex for various reasons — it’s not a trend.

Pyrex is Charleroi. More than a brand, company or product, no matter the name, Pyrex and its products are deeply woven into the fabric of industry that built the Mon Valley.