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Author to speak on Michael Owens, glass industry March 7 |
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Krista M. Hayes |
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Mar 5, 2007 |
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The University of Toledo’s Canaday Center for Special Collections will host a presentation on Toledo native Michael Owens and his contributions to the glass industry by author Dr. Quentin Skrabec Jr. Wednesday, March 7, at 3 p.m.
According to Barbara Floyd, UT director of the Canaday Center, Skrabec will discuss his book, Michael Owens and the Glass Industry (2006), which is a biography of the late entrepreneur.
“Michael Owens came to Toledo in 1888 to work for the Libbey Glass Co.,” Floyd said. “While he was largely unschooled, he had a great deal of practical experience in the glass industry, having started work in the industry at the age of 10. In 1903, he patented a machine that automatically produced glass bottles. Prior to that time, all glass bottles were produced by hand, and the industry employed a lot of young boys to make bottles. The Owens bottle machine not only made bottle production faster, but it also eliminated the need for child labor.”
His company later became Owens-Illinois Inc., one of Toledo’s largest corporations, according to Floyd. Owens also was part of the formation of the Libbey-Owens-Ford Co., now Pilkington Glass, and Owens Corning Inc.
“The reason the Canaday Center is holding the lecture is because we preserve the historical records of Owens-Illinois, and Dr. Skrabec used our collection in writing his book,” Floyd said.
Skrabec is an adjunct associate professor of business at Findlay University, where he has been teaching since 1998.
He has written more than 50 articles and five books on history, industrial history and business. Among his books are The Metallurgic Age: The Victorian Flowering of Invention and Industrial Science (2005), Ironic Lessons in Operations Management (2005) and The Boys of Braddock: The Genealogy of a Town That Changed Industrial History (2004).
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| Skrabec |
The Maumee resident received a doctorate from UT in 1999.
“The ubiquitous glass container is an afterthought in modern life,” Skrabec said. “Today’s marketing focus is on the beverage inside the bottle and the snappy jingle or ad that clamors for consumer attention. But before the bottle was filled, it had to be made. Prior to the automated machines invented by Michael Owens, child labor was the backbone in producing inconsistent and unsanitary containers for foods, beverages and machines.
“His automated inventions were vital to electric lighting, food and beverage packaging, advanced optics and automotive safety,” Skrabec said. “The reduction of child labor was a direct and significant outcome of his inventions. With nine companies and 49 patents bearing his name, Michael J. Owens ultimately became known as the father of project management.”
For more information on the free, public lecture on Main Campus, contact Floyd at 419.530.2170 or at barbara.floyd@utoledo.edu.
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