- Significant advances in sustainability, flexibility and productivity
- Investment of approximately $120 Million
- Approximately 100 new jobs in the region
PERRYSBURG, OH/ZIPAQUIRA, COLOMBIA, April 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — O-I Glass, Inc. (“O-I Glass” or “O-I”) recently completed a major transformation of its Zipaquira, Colombia manufacturing site investing approximately $120 Million to upgrade the sustainability, flexibility, and productivity of the plant. This is consistent with O-I’s sustainability strategy, the company’s ongoing investments into plant upgrades, and aligned with its previously announced capital spending plan.
A new furnace has been installed that incorporates well-proven oxy/fuel combustion and waste heat recovery technology.
The investments are set to increase O-I’s flexibility to serve strategic customers and emerging segments in the food and beverage sector and improve energy efficiency, lowering CO2 emissions by up to 15% per ton produced on the new furnace. In addition to the decarbonization impacts, the new technologies also reduce NOX emissions by up to 50 % compared to a traditional air fuel-fired furnace and allow for higher usage of recycled glass.
“This investment exemplifies O-I’s approach of using vision and innovation to transform how glass is made.” said Randy Burns, O-I Glass Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer “It continues our practice of intelligently applying technology to move closer to the equilibrium that sustainability represents. It is part of O-I’s commitment and strategy to achieve our stated 2030 target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent.”
At the Zipaquira plant, one of the largest O-I plants in Latin America with more than 700 employees, approximately 100 new jobs were created in conjunction with the new furnace along with a larger number of indirect jobs in the region.
“We are proud of our advancements in Zipaquira, upgrading the sustainability, technology innovation, safety, quality and productivity of our plant” said Alvaro Suarez, Managing Director for O-I Andean Region. “This investment is having a positive impact on community development, aligned with our commercial strategy and the projected market growth, representing growth opportunities for our Company.”
About O-I Glass
At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass and we’re proud to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, it’s also pure, healthy, and completely recyclable, making it the most sustainable rigid packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is the preferred partner for many of the world’s leading food and beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers’ needs to create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by our diverse team of approximately 23,000 people across 68 plants in 19 countries, O-I achieved revenues of $7.1 billion in 2023. Learn more about us: o-i.com / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements related to O-I Glass, Inc. (“O-I Glass” or the “company”) within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-looking statements reflect the company’s current expectations and projections about future events at the time, and thus involve uncertainty and risk. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “may,” “plan,” “estimate,” “intend,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” and the negatives of these words and other similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements.
It is possible that the Company’s future financial performance may differ from expectations due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to the following: (1) the general political, economic and competitive conditions in markets and countries where the Company has operations, including uncertainties related to economic and social conditions, trade disputes, disruptions in the supply chain, competitive pricing pressures, inflation or deflation, changes in tax rates and laws, war, civil disturbance or acts of terrorism, natural disasters, public health issues and weather, (2) cost and availability of raw materials, labor, energy and transportation (including impacts related to the current Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts and disruptions in supply of raw materials caused by transportation delays), (3) competitive pressures, consumer preferences for alternative forms of packaging or consolidation among competitors and customers, (4) changes in consumer preferences or customer inventory management practices, (5) the continuing consolidation of the Company’s customer base, (6) the Company’s ability to improve its glass melting technology, known as the MAGMA program, and implement it within the timeframe expected, (7) unanticipated supply chain and operational disruptions, including higher capital spending, (8) seasonability of customer demand, (9) the failure of the Company’s joint venture partners to meet their obligations or commit additional capital to the joint venture, (10) labor shortages, labor cost increases or strikes, (11) the Company’s ability to acquire or divest businesses, acquire and expand plants, integrate operations of acquired businesses and achieve expected benefits from acquisitions, divestitures or expansions, (12) the Company’s ability to generate sufficient future cash flows to ensure the Company’s goodwill is not impaired, (13) any increases in the underfunded status of the Company’s pension plans, (14) any failure or disruption of the Company’s information technology, or those of third parties on which the Company relies, or any cybersecurity or data privacy incidents affecting the Company or its third-party service providers, (15) risks related to the Company’s indebtedness or changes in capital availability or cost, including interest rate fluctuations and the ability of the Company to generate cash to service indebtedness and refinance debt on favorable terms, (16) risks associated with operating in foreign countries, (17) foreign currency fluctuations relative to the U.S. dollar, (18) changes in tax laws or U.S. trade policies, (19) the Company’s ability to comply with various environmental legal requirements, (20) risks related to recycling and recycled content laws and regulations, (21) risks related to climate-change and air emissions, including related laws or regulations and increased ESG scrutiny and changing expectations from stakeholders and the other risk factors discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It is not possible to foresee or identify all such factors. Any forward-looking statements in this document are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments, and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from expectations. While the Company continually reviews trends and uncertainties affecting the Company’s results of operations and financial condition, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or supplement any particular forward-looking statements contained in this document.
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