Portuguese glass group Barbosa & Almeida (BA), is planning to invest EUR 7 million in the modernisation of furnaces in one of its Spanish plants in the northern province of Len. BA acquired 57.4% of t…
Portuguese glass group Barbosa & Almeida (BA), is planning to invest EUR 7 million in the modernisation of furnaces in one of its Spanish plants in the northern province of Len. BA acquired 57.4% of the plant in 1999, and also owns a factory in the southwestern province of Badajoz. In total, BA“s Spanish plants employ 500. BA intends to seek alliances with Spanish companies interested in possible mergers or acquisitions. Its objective is to increase its presence in the Spanish glass market. BA management had considered the possibility of building a new factory in Spain but moves by the Portuguese Government and the newly created Portuguese Investment Agency have led the company to turn its attention to upgrading its factory at Marinha Grande in central Portugal. Spain is the main market for BA group. According to the companies 2002 annual results, Spain accounted for 59% of group sales, followed by Portugal (29%) and the American and African markets (12%). For 2003, the company hopes to increase exports, in spite of economic uncertainty and low levels of consumer confidence in Europe.