The story
The company was established in 1899 after a merger between Reddick & Company, operated by Thomas Evans, and Muzzy & Company, operated by George A. Macbeth.
The Macbeth-Evans Glass Company was based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated multiple offices in the region, but the most significant glass works was located in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. It quickly absorbed the American Chimney Lamp Company to gain control of M. J. Owens's patents on the Owens glass-blowing machine, as well as Hogans-Evans Company, becoming at the time the largest lamp glass manufacturer in the world.
During World War I, most of the company's production was dedicated to producing glass for the army and navy, particularly reflectors for searchlights.
Corning
The company was bought by Corning Glass Works in 1936, and it continued to operate as the "Corning Glass Works Macbeth-Evans Division" and then later as the "Macbeth-Evans Division of Corning Glass Works in Charleroi, Pennsylvania."
The Charleroi plant functioned as one of Corelle's main glassware manufacturing sites and was the site of production for Pyrex dinnerware in the United States.
Corelle
After Corning Incorporated spun off its consumer products division in 1998, the plant was taken over by the newly formed World Kitchen, later renamed Corelle Brands.
Corelle Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 after its debts became unsustainable. The company emerged from bankruptcy after it was purchased by private equity firm Centre Lane Partners, one of the largest stockholders in Pyrex rival Anchor Hocking.
After the purchase was finalized in early 2024, Centre Lane transferred ownership of Corelle to Anchor Hocking. This arrangement came into public awareness later in the year after Anchor Hocking announced that they planned to close the former Macbeth-Evans factory in Charleroi and relocate glass production to Anchor Hocking's factory in Lancaster, Ohio. Senators Bob Casey Jr. and John Fetterman each criticized the move and demanded an explanation for how the merger of two major competitors was able to proceed without Federal Trade Commission oversight.
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A lawsuit by the State of Pennsylvania against Centre Lane Partners that attempted to halt the factory closure was dismissed by a federal judge. After months of uncertainty and multiple temporary closures, Anchor Hocking permanently closed the Charleroi factory in April 2025.
From Wikipedia’s article on Macbeth-Evans Glass Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3
