Welcome back to “Innovators & Insights,” an interview series hosted by Chris Strohsahl, President & CEO of Drummond Scientific, where leading minds in the life sciences industry share the latest industry trends, groundbreaking innovations, and pivotal stories from their professional journeys. In this installment, Chris sits down with Matt B. Moore, President of Accu-Glass, to discuss the hidden role precision glass plays in critical technologies, the manufacturing innovations that have fueled the company’s success, and how service, quality, and responsiveness have helped Accu-Glass build lasting customer relationships. Together, they explore the future of manufacturing, the growing impact of automation and AI, and the leadership principles that drive sustainable growth.
Chris Strohsahl: Let’s jump right in. Tell me about your professional journey.
Matt B. Moore: I’ve always been drawn to STEM. I graduated from college with a degree in chemical engineering, then spent nine years in the Navy before attending business school. Eventually, after leaving McKinsey & Company to join Union Pacific, I co-founded a company that develops glass-fiber composite rail ties.
About four years ago, I was introduced to the opportunity at Accu-Glass through Madison Industries. The company’s commitment to innovation and long-term value creation immediately resonated with me, and it’s been an exciting opportunity to help advance technologies that support critical applications across the life sciences industry.
CS: For those who may not be familiar with Accu-Glass, can you tell us about the company?
MM: Accu-Glass manufactures precision glass components that are integrated into a wide range of devices and systems across multiple industries. What sets Accu-Glass apart is our ability to produce highly precise glass parts efficiently and at scale. We start with a solid glass rod and transform it into precision tubes, cylinders, and other specialized components that serve critical functions in a variety of applications.
Many people encounter products containing Accu-Glass components without ever realizing it.
CS: Most people think of glass as something visible and tangible, but it’s often hidden inside the products and technologies we rely on every day. In many cases, it’s what makes those technologies possible.
MM: A great example is the flow restrictors we manufacture for elastomeric pumps used to deliver chemotherapy treatments, pain medication, and other therapies. These devices can often be worn for days at a time between refills, and the flow restrictor is the component responsible for delivering medication at a precise, controlled rate.
The part itself is incredibly small, but it’s the component that makes the entire system work. What makes Accu-Glass unique isn’t just our ability to manufacture precision glass components. We also have deep expertise in the fluid dynamics that govern how those components perform in real-world applications.
CS: Accu-Glass has been in business for decades, and many of its customer relationships have lasted just as long. What do you think has enabled the company to sustain that level of operational excellence and customer loyalty over time?
MM: Over the past several years, we’ve distilled our value proposition into three core principles: service, quality, and responsiveness. First and foremost, we want to be a company our customers can rely on. When we commit to an objective or a delivery date, we take that commitment seriously, and our customers know they can count on us to follow through.
Quality is equally important. We strive to deliver exactly what we promise: consistency and reliability. Finally, responsiveness is a key part of how we do business. When customers have questions, concerns, or changing needs, we make ourselves available and respond quickly. We believe strong communication is fundamental to building trust.
CS: Delivering that level of service, quality, and precision naturally comes at a higher cost. But I imagine one of the challenges is overcoming the perception that components like these are commodities. How do you help customers understand that a higher upfront cost can deliver greater value over the long term?
MM: Where our value becomes most apparent is in the performance of the finished product. Whether a customer is integrating our flow restrictors into an elastomeric pump or evaluating alternative components, we encourage them to consider metrics such as scrap rates, product performance, and consistency. That’s where the benefits of our service, quality, and responsiveness become clear.
Customers know that the parts they receive will be consistent, reliable, and manufactured within the required tolerances. They know future deliveries will meet the same standards. And if an issue does arise, they know we’ll respond quickly and work to make it right. That reliability has real value.
CS: Precision glass manufacturing is incredibly challenging, yet Accu-Glass does it as well, if not better, than anyone. What enables that level of performance?
MM: One of our most significant innovations has been our ability to take a glass rod, melt it in a very small crucible, and draw it into highly precise shapes. The concept of drawing glass has existed for thousands of years, but we’ve made that process exceptionally precise, controllable, and efficient.
Our manufacturing approach allows us to start up, shut down, and transition between products much more quickly than traditional glass operations. Rather than relying on massive furnaces that run continuously for years, we can change shapes, specifications, and product lines within hours.
CS: How has manufacturing evolved over the course of your career?
MM: Over the past several decades, one of the most significant shifts has been the rise of automation. Moving from manual processes to increasingly automated systems has transformed manufacturing, improving consistency, efficiency, and productivity across the industry.
Looking ahead, I think artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to be just as transformative, creating opportunities to identify patterns, uncover inefficiencies, and reduce waste in ways that weren’t previously possible. It can help manufacturers better understand their operations and make more informed decisions based on data.
CS: How will AI continue to play a transformative role for Accu-Glass?
MM: One of the areas we’re most excited about is applying AI to our glass drawing process, which has been a core capability of Accu-Glass for decades. Glass drawing is incredibly complex. You’re managing a dynamic system involving temperature, viscosity, surface tension, and other physical properties as the material moves from a solid state to a molten state and ultimately into a finished component.
AI gives us the opportunity to analyze those variables in real time, identify patterns that may be difficult for humans to detect, and make faster, more precise adjustments throughout the manufacturing process.
CS: What excites you most about the partnership between Accu-Glass and Drummond?
Accu-Glass has spent decades investing in manufacturing expertise, developing proprietary technologies, and advancing the science behind precision glass production. Drummond brings a different but highly complementary strength to the table. Over the years, Drummond Scientific has built an outstanding reputation in the market and established a brand that is recognized and trusted around the world. Customers know the company by name, and that reputation has been earned through decades of delivering quality products and service.
What excites me most is the opportunity to combine those strengths. Accu-Glass can continue to develop and manufacture precision glass components while leveraging Drummond’s market presence and customer relationships to bring those capabilities to a broader audience.
CS: You’ve built companies from the ground up and you’ve led established organizations. How do those experiences differ?
MM: Startups fly more like helicopters than airplanes: they stay in the air only as long as you’re continuously providing the energy and direction to keep them moving forward. In the early days of a startup, there’s very little momentum, very little margin for error, and tremendous weight on every choice you make.
Leading an established company like Accu-Glass is very different. We have decades of institutional knowledge, experienced people with diverse perspectives, and a strong foundation to build upon. That allows us to approach decisions more thoughtfully and draw on a broader range of expertise.
CS: As a leader, how do you approach decision-making when you’re gathering input from people with different perspectives?
MM: I think about decisions along two dimensions: whether they’re reversible or irreversible, and whether they’re low-impact or high-impact. If a decision is relatively inexpensive and easy to reverse, it’s an opportunity to explore and learn. The decisions that require the most scrutiny are the ones that are both expensive and difficult to reverse. In those cases, we spend a great deal of time evaluating scenarios, understanding potential outcomes, and assessing the consequences if things don’t go as planned.
Ultimately, my responsibility is to help the company grow and succeed while minimizing unnecessary risk. That doesn’t mean avoiding risk altogether. It means being thoughtful about the risks we take and making sure the potential rewards justify the downside.
CS: What advice would you give to someone looking to build a business with staying power?
MM: Focus on culture from the very beginning. A business may start with one person or a small team, but anything that achieves lasting commercial significance will eventually depend on a much larger group of people. And whenever you bring people together, a culture will develop whether you intentionally shape it or not.
The most successful organizations create an environment where people feel respected, valued, and motivated to do their best work. When employees find purpose and satisfaction in what they do, they become invested not only in the company’s success but also in the success of their teammates and the customers they serve.
CS: Finally, what’s one book that changed the way you see the world?
MM: Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. It’s a timeless story that shows you just how far people will go to support someone they care about.
