Upon completion by the end of 2022, the project is expected to add nearly 2 percent of capacity to the company’s Americas segment and produce about 500 million bottles annually
O-I Glass announces expansion in Andean market to serve growing demand for sustainable glass packaging. (Credit: Petra Blahoutová from Pixabay)
O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI) today announced a significant investment to support strong customer demand for highly sustainable glass packaging. O-I will invest approximately $75 million in an expansion at its Zipaquirá, Colombia facility.
Upon completion by the end of 2022, the project is expected to add nearly 2 percent of capacity to the company’s Americas segment and produce about 500 million bottles annually.
“Our customers recognize the strong brand building characteristics and superior sustainability profile that make glass the preferred packaging substrate. In particular, strong market growth and affinity for glass is fueling significant demand for glass packaging in the Andean market. Building on our highly successful expansion at the Zipaquirá facility in 2019, we are excited to add a fourth furnace with an attractive return on investment to support market growth. As a result, the facility will be one of O-I’s largest and most cost effective plants in the global network,” said Andres Lopez, O-I CEO.
“Working with our customers, we aim to enable profitable growth in attractive markets such as this new furnace at Zipaquirá and last year’s expansion at Gironcourt, France. At the same time, we are fully committed to reducing debt and optimizing our business portfolio supported by our tactical and strategic divestiture program. To date, we have completed approximately $900 million of divestitures with proceeds directed to reduce debt. To support the Zipaquirá expansion and maintain our debt reduction targets, we have expanded our total divestiture target to $1.15 billion or higher by the end of 2022. As we strive to increase shareholder value, we believe these actions will generate profitable growth, higher margins, enhance our business portfolio and strengthen our balance sheet,” concluded Lopez.
At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass and we’re proud to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, it’s also pure and completely recyclable, making it the most sustainable rigid packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is the preferred partner for many of the world’s leading food and beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers’ needs to create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by our diverse team of more than 25,000 people across 72 plants in 20 countries, O-I achieved revenues of $6.1 billion in 2020.
Source: Company Press Release