Steuben Glass, the only maker of luxury lead crystal still handcrafted in the United States has been put up for sale by its longtime owner, Corning Inc..
The crystal business launched by Frederick Ca…
Steuben Glass, the only maker of luxury lead crystal still handcrafted in the United States has been put up for sale by its longtime owner, Corning Inc.. The crystal business launched by Frederick Carder in 1903 has been unprofitable for a decade, has lost USD 30 million over the last five years and will be diposed of most likely in 2008, even if that means closing it down, company officials said 6 March 2008. “This is a very difficult decision and has been under consideration for several years”, said Corning“s chief financial officer, James Flaws. “We do not have a deadline for a sale. We would hope to reach an agreement with a new owner by the end of this year”. “If we conclude that we cannot find a buyer”, Mr. Flaws added, “we will consider other strategic options, which could include closing the business and the factory”. Carder“s richly colored creations turned the English designer into a giant of the glass arts scene alongside Louis Comfort Tiffany and Rene Lalique. Corning bought out the business in 1918 and, as popular taste turned toward less ornate forms, formulated a clear, highly refractive, heavy lead crystal that has distinguished Steuben since the Depression era. Steuben Glass creates ornamental works of art that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Its wine glasses start from USD 120 each. Corning, based in a small western New York city of the same name, became the world“s biggest maker of optical fiber and cable in the 1990s and now dominates the global market for LCD substrate glass. Steuben Glass has lately generated about USD 25 million in annual revenue and employs 150 people, Mr. Flaws said. While crystal has not always contributed to profits, its value rested in the status it conferred on its owner and the potential of contributing new glass-making technologies. But sales of pure-lead crystal have been steadily declining, and Steuben Glass posted a USD 5.7 million loss in 2007, Mr. Flaws said. He said Corning might consider selling just the brand name and keep operating the factory, an option favored by the United Steelworkers of America, which represents 85 employees. “It appears that it“s just not a fashionable product anymore” and that “it“s gotten to the end of the generation it appeals to”, said the union local“s president, Mike Walker. Corning “made a lot of attempts at new products – our people would have made whatever would have worked, be in color glass or whatever”, Mr. Walker said. “Perhaps somebody else can come in and figure out how to get this beautiful product reintroduced into the marketplace and make it successful”.