Chapter 9: The Future Great City Once More?
The past 20 years have been difficult ones for Toledo. The decline of manufacturing that began in the 1970s has continued unabated. The era of life-long employment in a factory that provided union wages, medical benefits, and a pension was gone forever. So, too, was the dream for recreating the downtown into a world-class city.
Several of the companies that had shaped the city underwent fundamental change. Libbey-Owens-Ford was purchased by the British firm Pilkington Ltd. It was split into several companies, and the glass manufacturing was purchased by Nippon Glass. Owens-Illinois went public again after its takeover by KKR, but sold Libbey Glass to raise funds. Libbey continues to make glassware in Toledo as it has since 1888, but also has expanded to factories around the world. But perhaps no manufacturer so fundamental to Toledo has gone through as many ownership changes as the producer of the Jeep. From Willys-Overland to Kaiser-Frazer to American Motors to Renault to Chrysler to Daimler-Chrysler to the Italian carmaker Fiat, the company has been on a rollercoaster for more than 50 years. But the Jeep remains a national icon with strong roots in the city.
Despite difficult times, there have also been sunny predictions about Toledo’s future from an industry with its roots in the glass manufacturers that once dominated the city’s economy—alternative energy, particularly solar power. Libbey-Owens-Ford was one of the first American corporations to experiment with solar-powered technology with its insulating glass called Thermopane in the 1940s. In 1977, L-O-F introduced high efficiency Sun Panel solar collectors.
One of the first researchers in solar technology was Harold McMaster,
known as “The Glass Genius.” After graduating from college, he went to work for L-O-F, where he was responsible for many innovations. In 1971, he founded Glasstech, Inc. with Norman Nitschke and Frank Larimer. In the early 1980s, he turned his attention to solar power, and in 1984, he founded Glasstech Solar. McMaster began coating glass panels with cadmium telluride, part of a wave of “thin film” technologies. In 1990, McMaster founded Solar Cells, Inc. and devoted the company to the production of thin film semiconductors. Nine years later, he sold the company, which became First Solar.
UT’s development of solar technology began in 1987 with Alvin Compaan. This research has picked up even more in the last decade as several new companies have emerged. In 2005, UT established a business incubator for alternative energy. One new business is Xunlight, co-founded by UT professor Xunming Deng and his wife in early 2002. In 2010, Xunlight announced that its solar panels are being used to power the first 100 percent solar-powered billboard in Times Square.
While the newest wave of solar startups has gotten off to a quick start, the push for alternative energy continues worldwide. The University of Toledo is promoting solar technology as a means of creating jobs and reducing our dependence on non-renewable energy.