Consol to build glass manufacturing unit at Nigel

Published: 03-Mar-2010

South Africa’s largest glass manufacturer Consol will construct a new ZAR1.9 billion ($248 million) glass factory in Nigel, enhancing its yearly output by 25%.

The new glass factory would boost the group's yearly production by 220 000 ton to over one million tons, which is more than four billion glass containers.

The new glass factory would be constructed initially to be a two-furnace operation, each with an output of 400 tons per day and would be built in two phases. The first phase, costing ZAR1.3 billion ($169 million), would consist of all the factory infrastructure development, the production service equipment and the first of two furnaces, which would be commissioned by September 2011.

The installation of the second phase, costing ZAR600 million ($78 million) would be dependent and driven by market growth and demand. As all the infrastructure and services would already be in place, the lead time for installation and commissioning of the second furnace is expected to be less than nine months.

Apart from Nigel expansion, production capacity in the Western Cape would be increased by a further 10%, or 30 000 tons annually. This expansion is slated for late 2011 or early 2012, increasing the manufacturer's production capacity of glass containers to 1.1 million tons a year.

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