The Board of Directors of Cristalerías de Chile unanimously made the decision to begin a process of selecting locations, to promote the construction of a new glass container production plant.
Eduardo Carvallo, general manager of CristalChile, said that this would be their third plant, which is intended to complement those in Llay Llay (north of Santiago, in the Valparaíso region) and Padre Hurtado (Metropolitan Region). The company has been expanding their two factories with investments totaling about 340 million USD in the last decade.
Eduardo added that they have not yet defined the place where they are going to do the new development, but they are assessing locations in the Metropolitan Region and nearby regions, which have logistical feasibility, such as access to roads and environmental issues. Without defined deadlines, he estimated that the first stage of the future plant will be in operation within four years, as after having selected the right location, it will be necessary to obtain permits and advance through a series of stages toward proper development.
Recycling rise
One of the reasons behind the decision to build a new plant is the growing demand for glass containers “In Chile we have had a sustained recycling campaign for more than twenty-five years, which has been growing year on year. We have seen how people have taken an interest in this, which is also complemented by the implementation of the REP Law, which we believe will give great strength to glass recycling in the coming years.”
Demand was also driven by the pandemic. Eduardo mentioned how the company could see that people began to carry out more activities at home, promoting a change in habits, which has increased demand for more products packaged in glass. “This has had an impact on glass consumption, not only in Chile, but almost all over the world.”
He added that although not all of these phenomena will be permanent over time, it is clear that the rise in use of these glass products will be.