Nampak opens third furnace at South African plant
Nampak’s new energy-efficient glass furnace was officially opened in Roodekop, Gauteng, South Africa. The R1,2 billion furnace, which is the third at Nampak Glass, will increase the plant’s capacity to 295,000 tons per annum and create about 140 direct jobs.
First flat glass plant planned in Azerbaijan
Government officials from Azerbaijan announced plans for a flat glass plant. While several container glass manufacturers operate facilities in the country, there are, so far, no flat glass plants in Azerbaijan.
Xinyi signs agreement to purchase PKNM (pdf)
On November 28, a land acquisition agreement was entered into between Xinyi (Malaysia) and PKNM. PKNM has agreed to sell, and Xinyi (Malaysia) has agreed to purchase land for a total purchase price of MYR33.32 million, or HK$77.31 million. The group plans to use the land for the construction of a glass production plant in Malacca, Malaysia.
Forecast: China to lead gains in flat glass market
Based on a report from The Freedonia Group, Inc., global demand for flat glass is forecast to advance 6.6 percent per annum to nearly 10 billion square meters in 2018, valued at $102 billion. The pace of gains will accelerate with the largest improvements expected in the developed countries of Western Europe and North America. However, the fastest gains are still expected in developing countries, and China is expected to continue to be the world’s fastest growing market for flat glass through 2018.