Production halted at Anchor Hocking plants
EveryWare Global said it is temporarily halting production at its two U.S. plants, including the Anchor Hocking plant in Monaca, Pa., in order to preserve cash while the Lancaster, Ohio company negotiates with creditors over a loan default. Halting production will also work off existing inventory, which will be used to fill orders, the company said.
Unions at Bormioli Rocco strike, fear fate of Fidenza factory
The trade unions inside the Bormioli Rocco Fidenza have declared a strike involving all factories of the Italian group. The move follows Bormioli’s recent decision to separate the company into four different entities (Bormioli Rocco parent company, Pharmaceutical Glass, Pharmaceutical, and Plastic Tableware, Food & Beverage) expected to be registered by 2015. Workers are concerned primarily about the future of the glass factory in Fidenza (Parma, Italy), which employs more than 800 people.
Owens-Illinois switches focus at Harlow plant
Owens-Illinois plans to invest more than £24.5m in its Harlow factory as it switches its focus to the lucrative bottled beer market. American-owned O-I told its workforce and employee representatives hat it plans to build a new furnace, replace two others, and install “cutting edge” equipment at the Edinburgh Way plant, but warned that up to 47 employees would be affected by the changes.
NSG Group develops new composition of thin glass
NSG Group has developed a new composition of thin glass that can be chemically tempered for protective-cover glass applications for tablets, PCs, and other electronic devices.
RHI Monofrax to recall workers at New York plant
RHI Monofrax is preparing to bring back 74 workers who were laid off from its Falconer, New York plant by the first week of June. In late March The Buffalo News reported on the layoffs, which were attributed to a slowdown in business and the impact of foreign competition. The U.S. Department of Energy has committed to awarding a $1.5-million contract to RHI Monofrax this summer and the company has also secured a private-sector contract with a California company that is generating new work.
Vesuvius PLC releases outlook ahead of annual meeting
Ahead of its annual meeting, Vesuvius PLC said market conditions remain broadly the same since it announced its 2013 results. Additionally, trading performance for the first four months of the year has been in line with Board expectations. The company, which makes technology used by the steel and foundry casting industries, said that global steel production was 2.5 percent higher in the first quarter than in the same period last year, according to the World Steel Association, with particular improvements in Europe, which has shown a 5.9 percent increase in production volumes.