Libbey's Approach to Innovation

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1. Discuss Libbey's approach to innovation (operations and marketing ties) - including ruby glass, bottles, and flat.

The Libbey family became involved in the glass business in the 1870s. Libbey became an agent for New England Glass. The Libbey family felt they could make a go of the business and convinced the directors of New England Glass to lease the properties to them. In 1880, the company changed it name to W.L. Libbey and Son, Proprietors. William L. Libbey believed in quality in products. New England Glass was well-known for its high quality (Keefe, 1968).

The Libbey family was innovative when it came to trying to make the glass products sell. When Corning Glass was shut down due to a strike in 1892, Libbey was able to gain a contract from Edison General Electric to make hand-blown light bulbs. They built a factory at Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition. From a marketing perspective, this was a good move. They began enjoying the fruits of their work. Tours were given for a price and the money they made was phenomenal.

Moving forward, Libbey created the "safe edge" tumbler with a rim that was chip resistant. This was in the 1920s. Restaurants and bars were in need of glassware and Libbey was right there ready. Libbey hired A. Douglas Nash who was a sales executive for Tiffany's. He created a unique line of stemware. The line did not sell as planned and with the depression, Libbey Glass was bought out by Owens-Illinois.
It found new growth and did promotional work for Walt Disney creating ware for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Libbey Glass was profitable with Owens-Illinois but in 1993, they decided to free Libbey. With this move, Libbey was offered publicly. Libbey wanted to take on high adventures but was only forced to pull back from many good deals.

Reference:

Keefe, John Webster. (1968). Libbey Glass: A Tradition of 150 Years, 1818-1968. Toledo Museum of Art.

2) How did Libbey organize for innovation - such as automatic bottle making?

Edward Drummond Libbey was ahead of his time. He was one of the most innovative men born. Not only was he a great glassmaker, artist, and industrialist - he was also an innovator and art collector. He knew what people would like and he wanted to do it with quality ...