New production plant of Ceylon Glass to double capacity

The new production plant of Ceylon Glass Company Limited (CGCL) with an investment of Rs. 3.7 billion will be completed in the third quarter of the current financial year.

The manufacturing operations will be relocated at the 26-acre site obtained on a 30-year lease from the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI).

Managing Director Sanjay Tiwari said with the completion of the new production facility the capacity to manufacture coloured bottles will be doubled.

"The new plant will help increase the export volume expanding the customer base and meet the growing demand for different coloured and shaped wine bottles in wine producing countries", he said.

The company's manufacturing facility at Ratmalana has a rated furnace capacity of manufacturing 100 tons of glasses per day. The plant has been operating at an augmented capacity of 120 tons per day over the past three years.

The new manufacturing facility will have a rated furnace capacity of 205 tons of glasses per day which can be augmented to around 250 tons of glasses per day. The production lines will be increased from 3 to 5.

He said the Horana operations will have greater flexibility to produce a wide range of coloured and shaped bottles from 50ml to 2.5 litres for industries such as pharmaceutical, liquor, carbonated drinks, food and beverage and cosmetics.

The CGCL opted to relocate its production plant due to the substantial growth potential for the glass industry in Sri Lanka and the world over. The demand for all categories of glasses in the world is growing at 10 percent annually.

"Many companies in Europe and the USA are reducing the manufacturing capacity due to economies of scale and CGCL will benefit as a result of the good distribution network in Europe", Tiwari said.

The world market for food and beverage glasses is around US$ 12 billion and is growing at 12 percent per annum.

CGCL has been turned into a profit making venture after the takeover by Gujarat Glass Company in 2000.The company's sales performance for the second quarter of the current financial year has grown by 20 percent.

CGCL incorporated in 1955 as a Private Limited Liability Company under the Company Ordinance No. 51 of 1938 became a Public Liability Company in 1994.

LF