Interviewer: Please describe the background of founding Spring Pool Glass. Did the company encounter any major challenges during the process? How did the company mitigate them, transforming the traditional glass-making industry into a sustainable business?
Interviewee:
Regarding the founding of Spring Pool Glass, the story begins in 1961 when our boss Wu Chun Chi built our company from the ground up. Wu Chun Chi was an apprentice at Hsinchu Glass –
Interviewer: Hsinchu Glass?
Interviewee: Yes, Hsinchu Glass was a famous factory at the time. After Wu Chun Chi left the apprenticeship, he realized that there were almost no companies that explored the route of recycled glass. It’s been 50 years since. Of course, in this period, the changes in the environment and the global economy reflect Wu Chun Chi’s old saying: “If you have pressure or face challenges, you must try to overcome them to survive.” At the time, Hsinchu reached its prime in glass making, where there were over 100 glass-making factories scattered around Taiwan. However, there are only a few now. For us, most of our materials are recycled, which presents a great challenge for us. Therefore, we used glass to make construction materials, including bright-colored glass, and lightweight energy-conservation glass with a fireproof timeframe of 3 hours.
Interviewer: We are here at a tourist factory right now, and I believe there is another one in Taipei. What was the main purpose of creating tourist factories? Could you share some successful examples where you promoted recyclable glass DIY and art to the wider Taiwanese audience?
Interviewee: There were a lot of successful examples. For example, we are here at a tourist factory, and I believe you have already taken a tour. What we are trying to promote here is the use of plastic in daily life. I believe you do not use glass materials much in your daily life, but in this glass studio, we are looking to combine design and art to create products that both our employees and other customers can use in their everyday lives. Also, as you mentioned, we have a tourist factory in cooperation with Muji in Taipei. From these collaborations, we have received affirmation from numerous brands for our contribution to the circular economy, with Muji as a prime example. We also collaborated with Muji three years ago, setting up a studio in Dazhi, allowing people to DIY glass products. However, DIY is just the surface-level contact with the world of glassmaking and recycling, where people can interact with the process of glass-making to acknowledge the difficulty of creating each product and fall in love with glass in the process.
Interviewer: Have you ever encountered challenges during your process of teaching the art of glass making and promoting your work?
Interviewee: We encountered the most problems in recycling and reusing glass, as opposed to teaching the art of glass making. In recent years, although Taiwan has a 90% glass recycling rate with up to 10,000 tons annually (approximately the carbon reduction ability of 500 Da’an Parks) and is known for it internationally –
Interviewer: Yes, you mentioned that.
Interviewee: The actual use of recycled glass or just glass in general in the Taiwanese market is small. If you look at convenience stores or markets, there is a low percentage of containers manufactured from glass. In almost every case, only wine, including red wine and other types of Western wine, is contained in glass, and most of these containers are imported internationally, yet Taiwan bears the burden of processing the glass waste. Therefore, what we are trying to work for is to export recycled glass and its products internationally.
Interviewer: Could you share any issues Spring Pool Glass encountered when developing the technology for recycling glass?
Interviewee: The development process was characterized by the gradual shift from manpower to machine power. As time goes on, new technologies are introduced. For example, we use the Germany-imported Glass Dial Sorting Machine. In the past, we had to hand-pick each of the pieces, which was highly inefficient. However, now, we utilize the Glass Dial Sorting Machine, which uses different light frequencies to sort differently-colored glass.
Interviewer: As you mentioned earlier in the tour, was the purpose of separating glass by color to maintain the quality of the products? Or just to control the color of each product?
Interviewee: The primary purpose of sorting by color is just to ensure we can control the final color of our products. For example, you cannot make a clear product out of a green glass bottle, because it will stay green after melting. The only way you can alter the color of glass is either to use another darker color to cover it or, if you want to make the color lighter, dilute it with large quantities of clear glass. However, the majority of the time, we select the former to maximize efficiency.
Interviewer: We saw numerous machines downstairs on the tour. Has Spring Pool Glass made any innovations in reducing carbon emissions?
Interviewee: Of course. Because we are a circular economy-related industry, we have always been working towards reducing carbon emissions by optimizing the production process and selecting the right tools.
Interviewer: Could you introduce one of Spring Pool’s most notable glass products to us?
Interviewee: It would be our energy conservation block. The block is soundproof and fireproof, making it a good construction material
Interviewer: Most people nowadays name Spring Pool as one of the leading examples in the circular economy. Does this title have a deeper meaning for the company?
Interviewee: Of course it does! When ex-president Tsai visited us in 2016 and named Spring Pool as the leading example of the circular economy, all of the employees present were very touched. This is because, to be frank, 20 to 30 years ago recycling was a job that came with a low social status. It was a job that people thought you did because no one else wanted it. However, following the rise of international acclaim regarding the circular economy and environmental conservation, Spring Pool Glass has been seen on the international stage. Ultimately, this title is a symbol of people’s recognition of our company, and we hold it with great pride.
Interviewer: Did Spring Pool Glass encounter any particular challenges during the promotion of environmental awareness in employee training or within the company? If not, were there any notable successful examples?
Interviewee: We constantly host workshops on carbon emissions for our employees so they can receive the newest information or some kind of licensing.
Interviewer: Now, many companies market their products as recycled and eco-friendly. How does Spring Pool Glass stand out among its competitors and maintain the uniqueness of the brand in the diverse market?
Interviewee: So what is the most special is our specialization, which our boss developed over 50 years ago, in glass recycling. Because the collection and recycling of glass materials generates little profit, no one is willing to do this work. This makes it so that our competition is mostly between our own company, where we try to achieve a higher rate of reusability for glass. This is our main goal.
Interviewer: As a company aligned with sustainable development, how does Spring Pool Glass balance economic profit and environmental obligations?
Interviewee: Sometimes profit and environmental conservation drive us towards opposite actions. However, Spring Pool Glass’ circular economy is to use recycled glass to acquire profit. This is one of our strengths, where we don’t have to trade one for another.
Interviewer:
So what you mean is that for many companies they must choose one, but you managed to combine environmental conservation and economic profit.
Interviewee: Yes, because our company is built on the foundation of creating profit from recycling.
Interviewer: What methods do Spring Pool Glass employ to account for the financial ability of the majority of the population, to maximize the pervasiveness of recycled glass in households?
Interviewee: To put it this way, Taiwan’s recycling industry is fantastic. Of course, our recycling industry is divided into four major parts, metal, plastic, paper, and glass. To be frank, selling 1 kg of recycled glass generates very little profit, sometimes it is only 1 and sometimes even less. So you must realize that the cost of transportation, sorting, and manufacturing far surpasses the profit gained from selling recycled glass in itself. Therefore, the government has a system where they provide financial aid for bottle recycling companies, and Spring Pool does rely on that aid.
Interviewer: How would you incentivize the consumer market, in particular the younger generation, to understand circular economy and eco-friendly glass?
Interviewee: Whether it is through our stores, our mantra, or cross-brand collaboration, Spring Pool Glass has become a prominent name in environmental conservation-related as. However, even though it is so, we still have room for improvement. We want to spread the knowledge that glass can be 100% recycled for an unlimited amount of time. It is a good material in such a way. By harnessing this quality, we can reuse the glass to create new products, instead of utilizing new, raw materials. Resources are finite, and at this pace, we will run out someday. Therefore, I believe that by utilizing such good material, we can use our factory, related news, and multi-brand collaboration to spread such information to younger generations and students like you.
Interviewer: I think your strategies, such as the Gacha, have worked quite well in attracting the younger generation. We were intrigued by that when we did our tour. This brings me to my next question. Does Spring Pool Glass have any plans to spread eco-friendly glass and glass recycling to the international market?
Interviewee: Our second-generation vice president did have that idea in mind, but the recycling industry must take into consideration the costs and profits that vary across regions. This is because we must consider the low amount of manpower we have as a company, so if we would like to expand internationally, it wouldn’t be impossible, but it would be unfavorable. To be frank, recycling is still considered a low social status job internationally, and to advance into the international market would be unlikely to yield successful outcomes for this reason.
Interviewer: Could you summarize, in one sentence, your vision for circular economy and Spring Pool Glass’ future development?
Interviewee: Spring Pool in its essence is a sustainable business. A circular economy requires some sort of profit generation to push this cycle forward. You might not achieve large amounts of profit, but at least you can even out the cost so the business can remain profitable. Of course, in this regard, through the W Spring Pool business plan we hope to utilize horizontal development to help more people and more brands to understand Spring Pool Glass’ goal and direction.
Interviewer: Got it. Thank you so much!
Interviewee: No problem, thank you!