LUNCH MEETING @ JCAT - Introduction to Essex's newest manufacturing business - GLAVEL

Ken Mincar is the Chief Operating Officer of Glavel, Inc., a Vermont-based start-up with the potential to solve a critical recycling problem - finding a use for recycled glass.  Using a method used in Europe for years, Glavel will grind and heat recycled glass to produce a lightweight material they call Foam Glass Gravel, a material similar to basalt.  You can learn more about Glavel here. 

The Town of Essex has encouraged Glavel's selection of a site at the end of Thompson Drive in Saxon Hill.  During Glavel's deliberation, several Vermont sites were under consideration.  Now, Glavel is about 2 months away from beginning operation - planned for January 2022.  

Here is how Glavel describes their remarkable product:    Foam glass gravel is a building material designed for a future where the built environment is not at odds with the natural environment. Both versatile and lightweight, foam glass gravel’s physical properties allow it to be a preferred material across the built environment. Not only is foam glass ultra-lightweight (9.8 pounds per cubic foot), its closed-cell structure gives it thermal insulation of R1.7 per compacted inch. Foam glass can be used across a variety of construction verticals, from subslab insulation, to green roof fill, and infrastructure backfill.