With prospects looking good for 2010, the glass industry is maintaining its good performance, and expects to grow 10% in line with the rise in exports. Companies anticipate a 10% increase in demand, m…
With prospects looking good for 2010, the glass industry is maintaining its good performance, and expects to grow 10% in line with the rise in exports. Companies anticipate a 10% increase in demand, mainly from the wine business. During the first four months of the year, value of Argentinian exports increased 20%, with positive results also from volume with an 11% increase. The main destinations for Argentinian wines were the US, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK and Brazil. Despite having dropped to the fifth place, Brazil was the country with the best performance, with a 53% increase in value, followed by Canada with 35% growth. As a result of the crisis, there was a fall in demand in 2009. This year, however, we can see a rebound in orders, and we believe there will be a market increase of around 10%, stated Walter Formica, general manager of Verallia (Saint-Gobain). Saint-Gobain has invested USD 60 million in a new furnace due to the increasing demand the industry is facing, and, according to Formica, the new furnace should be operational in 2012. With this new plant, the company will increase its capacity by 70%. We are currently manufacturing around 400 million bottles a year and, with this new furnace, we expect to reach a production of 680 million bottles, Formica highlighted. With regards to Owens-Illinois (O-I), which took over Cristaleras Rosario in March 2010, general manager Gustavo Caillaux explained that he hopes the activity will pick up and return to the growth path of the years before the crisis, with levels above 6%. According to Caillaux, O-I decided to settle in Argentina because this is the third glass container market in Latin America. It also has potential for growth, a strong presence and a preference for glass containers. However, the company is still relatively small in relation to the size of the market with regards to its capacity, and currently produces about 80 million containers a year, but plans to increase production gradually in the next 5 to 18 months. We started investing in the plant on the very same day the purchase was closed. The plan is to spend several million dollars, and about 80% of the investment will be completed in the second and third periods of 2010. We have a very detailed execution plan to take the operation of Owens-Illinois Argentina – at its Rosario plant – to the levels that Owens-Illinois offers worldwide, not only in relation to equipment but more specifically to processes, declared Caillaux. Pablo Carbone, from Vetri Speciali, said that 2010 started with a high demand, and that the growth outlook for 2010 is very encouraging. We believe that growth in Argentina will be over 8%, particularly if we take into account the rise in exports. That is why we have finished a new furnace in one of our three glassware factories (in Pergine, Trento, Italy, where the company headquarters is located) increasing current production to the utmost capacity, he remarked.