Feldspar Glass Company

The Feldspar Glass Company, Limited commenced operations in Oshawa in September 1921. The Feldspar Glass Company was located at 265 Ritson Road North, in a building that had a floor space of approximately fifteen thousand square feet. The Feldspar Glass Company was one of the first of its kind. The uniqueness of this industry was mainly due to the strategy taken in their innovative approach in which their product was created and manufactured. The company had developed a new process to fabricate glass, using an original technique and claimed to be the pioneer of their creation.

At that time, the product was new, and methods required for production were different from any other substance manufactured. The glass was created from feldspar instead of using silica sand. The company is considered to have been the first of its kind in the world to have used this substance to produce glass. This procedure required two machines, and the Feldspar Glass Company was on its way into the futuristic use of industrialization.

There were two main procedures to produce the glass. The initial requirement was the melting process. The second procedure was the refinery process which was only possible with the aid of an electric machine. These machines enabled the company to produce thirty-two bottles a minute. The glass bottles were then inspected packed and shipped. With only 25-35 employees, the company was able to produce a daily output of 60,000 bottles.

Although the business helped to put the area of Oshawa on the map, and the company created an industrial sector of economic upswing for the area, it was to last for only a short time. The closure of the company had absolutely nothing to do with the actual product. Unfortunately, the scientists and creators of the new glass were not businessmen. It was poor business management that led to the continuous decline in business and high level of debt.

The company that had once employed up to 35 people would later be unable to pay wages which were owed to them. Their lack of funds was mainly due to the fact that the company had not received payment for many of the goods that had already been sent out to its customers. This financial situation affected both the integrity and reputation of the company. It led to a court battle which subjected the company to complete and total disaster.

Five employees had to take the company to court in order to claim the wages that had been owed to them. In 1930, an article appeared in the Oshawa Daily Times that was entitled ‘Glass Co. Must Pay Employees’. The company was shattered, and the Feldspar Glass Company went out of business.