CTT-Refractory and glass news

CTT-Refractory and glass news

  • Owens-Illinois second quarter profits were down 0.8 percent from the same period last year due mainly to a decline in beer sales. Global volumes were down 1 percent, and any gains resulting from increased wine sales were offset by lower beer markets, the company says. Operating profits in Europe and Asia Pacific were higher, primarily driven by an optimization program.
  • The US Federal Trade Commission is seeking to block Ardagh Group’s planned acquisition of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain’s glass-bottle operations, saying the purchase would violate antitrust laws. FTC says the deal would reduce competition and result in the merged company and rival Owens-Illinois Inc. controlling more than 75 percent of the US markets for glass containers for beer and liquor. The agency is seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on the deal pending an administrative trial.
  • Not even a record-setting second quarter overall was enough to mask the frustration of PPG Industries chairman Charles E. Bunch with his company’s lower than expected glass sales. Second-quarter financial figures showed glass sales totaled $269 million, down $4 million from the previous year despite higher flat glass pricing, the company says. PPG says the decline was due to lower sales of both fiberglass and flat glass. Segment earnings were $8 million, a decrease of $15 million from the prior-year quarter.
  • Technical problems during causter loading at a new fusion plant in Norway are expected to adversely impact financial results in the coming months, according to refractories supplier RHI AG. For the full year 2013, the company still expects revenues to remain at 2012 levels.
  • TRIMET Aluminium SE, one of Germany’s leading aluminum manufacturers, has submitted a binding offer to acquire two production plants from Rio Tinto Alcan in France.
  • Saudi International Insulation Manufacturing Company, a 50-50 joint venture owned by Alghanim Industries and Saint-Gobain, has signed an agreement with the Yanbu Royal Commission to lease a 65,000 m2 site at Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah, Saudi Arabia. The 30-year lease will allow development of a new plant using Saint-Gobain’s proprietary technology to produce stone wool, widely used as insulation in many parts of the construction industry.
  • Canada Carbon Inc., a Toronto-based mining exploration company, says it has found very high-purity samples of graphite during surface and trenching operations at the old Miller quarry deposit near Grenville, Quebec, 70 km west of Montreal.

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