As a result of the approval received from the EU for its takeover of France“s BSN Glasspack, Owens-Illinois will sell the BSN plant in Castellar del Valls (Barcelona) in the next few months. The fact…
As a result of the approval received from the EU for its takeover of France“s BSN Glasspack, Owens-Illinois will sell the BSN plant in Castellar del Valls (Barcelona) in the next few months. The factory employs 360 and specializes in the production of bottles for beer, cava, soft drinks and spirits, with a total output of 190,000 tonnes a year. The EU approved the Owens-Illinois acquisition of BSN on 10 June 2004 on condition that the US glass packaging giant disposed of certain production facilities. The takeover makes Owens-Illinois the world leader in glass packaging for foods, ahead of Saint-Gobain. To avoid problems of a lack of competition, Brussels is obliging Owens-Illinois to dispose of its plant at Corsico, near Milan, Italy, and one of the two factories in the Barcelona area. Owens-Illinois has decided to sell the plant inherited from BSN in Castellar and to keep the plant in Zona Franca, which produces bottles exclusively for wine and cava. Owens-Illinois operates in Spain through its Vidrier“a Rovira subsidiary, which posted turnover of EUR 60 million in 2003. The subsidiary will practically quadruple in size with the integration of the other Spanish plant of BSN Glasspack, located in Seville.