As part of its restructuring plan for greater international competitivity, Italian glass maker Bormioli Rocco shut down the last furnace at its plant in Parma on 5 May/04. Workers from the Parma plant will be transferred to new facilities in Fedenza and Castelguelfo. The site occupied by the plant will be redeveloped for residential use. A glass industry school and museum is planned for the former site of the works. Bormioli's preliminary turnover for 2003 stood at EUR 561.6M. Bormioli also plans to sell its tableware plants in the Loire Valley to Luxembourg-based Sif Investment. Sif is headed by Pierre-Andre Froger, previously a member of the management team of Bormioli's French subsidiary, Bormioli Rocco SAS. The Italian company's French operations will now focus on glass containers for the perfume industry.
