The world’s largest glass bottle manufacturer, Owens-Illinois (O-I) has announced significant investment in two of its global glass plants.
Firstly, the British Glass member has announced a $60million expansion of its plant in Gironcourt, France, to increase the number of furnaces at the facility to three.
The development will be completed in early 2020 and will focus on the emerging premium beer sector, which offers a number of unique bottle shapes.
O-I CEO Andres Lopez, said:
"Our customers recognise that glass brings brand building capabilities. It delivers what consumers want - premium, healthy and sustainable packaging.
“The expansion at Gironcourt is an important part of O-I's investment strategy to support the growing demand for glass in premium segments.”
The glass giant also confirmed it had re-started operations at its Vitória de Santo Antão plant in Pernambuco, Brazil,
At least 100 new jobs have been created at the plant, which will now produce up to 300 million glass bottles a year after its production capacity was increased.
Rildo Lima, president of O-I South America, said:
“The Vitória de Santo Antão unit adds to the other O-I plants and will be an important manufacturing hub for the north and northeast, as well as providing packaging to other regions."
