Superfest

Superfest, also called CV-Glas[1] or Ceverit[2] until 1980, was a brand of drinking glasses in the GDR. Due to being made of chemically strengthened glass, they were notably strong. The Superfest glasses were produced between 1980 and 1990 in what was then state-owned Sachsenglas Schwepnitz.[2]

The GDR regarded the product as a key potential export and gave it priority for development. However, foreign sales were not secured, as potential buyers regarded the idea of long-life glassware as detrimental to their ability to sell replacements.[3] As state employees in a state owned industry, the inventors did not receive significant financial rewards or royalties, but were honoured for their achievements.

Around 120 million glasses were sold by the end of production in 1990, mostly to food and drink establishments within the GDR. Designs included many glass sizes and ice cream cups.

History

In the mid-1970s, attempts began in the GDR to make conventional thin-walled commercial glass stronger and more heat-resistant. The Glass Structure Research Department,[1] founded in 1973 by the Central Institute for Organic Chemistry, investigated chemical strengthening by ion exchange. The technology was invented by Steven Kistler ca. 1962,[4] further developed[5][6] and soon commercialized by Corning.[7] In an additional processing step, smaller sodium ions in the surface layer of the glass are replaced by larger potassium ions, which increases the tension in the glass surface, making it stronger.[8]

Examples

See also

• Pyrex
• Jena glass
• Duralex

External links