• South African packaging company Nampak plans to double production capacity at its glassmaking unit by January next year as it seeks to become a more dominant player in South Africa. The company would add a third furnace to its existing glass production line at a cost of $112.3 million, doubling the capacity to 200,000 tons per year.
• Architectural glass manufacturer Viracon Inc. announces that it will temporarily close its St. George, Utah, facility, for approximately two years beginning in mid-April 2013. The plant closing will impact 222 employees. The temporary closure will better align overall capacity with the demand expected over the next two years, which can be served from Viracon’s two other U.S. locations.
• Horn Glass Industries has signed a contract with company Liviz Ltd. of Russia to supply a 175-square-meter end fire furnace with a capacity of 540 tons per day. The furnace, designed for a specific pull of over three tons per square meter uses electric boosting installed in the melter bottom and in front of barrier wall. Two of these furnaces have been supplied to HNG, one in Nasik and one in Neidupeta; Livitz Ltd. will then operate the largest end fire furnace in Russia.
• Nippon Electric Glass Co. has decided to make a second-phase investment in a subsidiary for manufacturing flat panel display glass substrates that is under construction in Paju City, Gyeonggi, South Korea.
• The Department of Commerce launched an anti-dumping investigation on China’s silica bricks products. In 2011, China’s exports of silica bricks to the US were worth 443.2 million; the investigation resulted from a complaint from Utah Refractories Corp., which claimed that silica bricks imported from China have hurt related industries in the US.
• Two mutual fund entities of the same group, American Funds, bought over 38.45 lakh shares of Carborundum Universal Ltd.; a major seller was found in HDFC Asset Management. Small Cap World Fund held 2.83 percent as on December 2012 and the recent buy takes its stake to 3.58 percent. HDFC held 5.05 percent through two of its mutual funds. Other major stakeholders in the company include Nalanda India Fund (8.96 percent) and Amansa Investments (2.51 percent). The company’s third quarter net profit was down 83 percent to R8 Cr.