According to this editorial column from Greg Morris of Glass International, this year has seen several acquisitions in the hollow glass arena with some of the largest the sector has ever known. The largest of these have been the capture of Mexican glassmakers. February this year saw the conformation of Heineken's sale of its Empaque Mexican packaging business to Crown Holdings. The deal, worth US$ 1.225BN, included Empaque's glass bottle making business Sivesa, based in Veracruz, in the south of the country. More recently, O-I announced its intention to buy Mexico's largest container glassmaker, Vitro, for US$ 2.15BN. The deal includes its five food and beverage glass plants in Mexico, as well as its Bolivian plant. O-I described the Mexican glass packaging market as"attractive and growing" and it is hard not to see why. The influx of Mexican beers and spirits, namely tequila, into European bars and restaurants recently is testament to the success of the Mexican beverage market. This all falls in place to the Glassman Latin America exhibition and conference which is based in Guadalajara on 22-23 September. Over 75 of the world's technology suppliers to the hollow glass industry will be exhibiting their latest developments, ranging from raw materials to furnace emission reduction technology. The parallel conference, which is free to attend, will include presentations from a mixture of glassmakers and equipment suppliers. The theme of the conference is "Future Solutions in the Container and Hollow Glass Industries." Topics to be discussed vary, but include preheating technology, environmental solutions and inspection methods. To see a full programme, please visit: www.glassmanevents.com/latin-america/conference.
