Moldova-based Glass Container Company (GCC) has secured €17m funding to upgrade its existing production facilities.
Image: Glass Container Company has received €17m to upgrade existing production facilities. Photo: courtesy of bugtiger / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
GCC has received financing from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Mobiabanca – Groupe Société Générale under European Investment Bank’s Filière du Vin project. They have committed to provide €12.5m in loans.
The financing is said to be supported by a guarantee and technical assistance program funded by the European Union.
GCC has planned the project to complete in two phases to increase the capacity of its furnace from 50 to 80 thousand tons per year.
The project will help GCC and its sister-organization Glass Container Prim (GCP) to increase total pull capacity from the current 100 thousand tons, to 160 thousand tons per year and the number of production sections from 36 to 56.
The project includes the full reconstruction of existing GCC furnace, equipping two modern 10 section IS machines, energy saving LEHRS, quality control and packaging equipment.
Major industry suppliers such as Techglass, Refel, Bottero, Antonini, Emmeti, Thimon, Tiama, Iris, Garden Denver and Vidromecanica will provide the required technology, as part of the project.
GCC will also deploy NNPB technology, as well as single, double and triple gob functionality, enabling to produce small format jars, large containers and light beer bottles.
GCC CEO Oleg Baban said: “This is truly a transformational project for GCC, which will enable us to significantly upgrade our capacity to meet growing customer demand, while also delivering high quality products and maximizing operational efficiency.
“The shortage of glass container capacity in Europe is evident. As consumers increasingly shift away from plastic packaging, the glass market has seen a robust growth over the last years, which is expected to continue in the mid to long term.”
GCC provides glass container solutions to the customers in Romania, Moldova, Italy, France, Hungary, Greece, Ukraine, Georgia and other CEE and Western European markets.
With over 200 container types, the company’s solutions are mostly used in wine, spirits and beer segments.