The sale of Rexam’s Barnsley-based glass business to Dublin-based Ardagh Glass is being provoked by the “difficult outlook” for the UK glass industry, Rexam’s chief executive Lars Emilson said.
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“After reviewing our options, we felt that, as the number three player in the UK glass industry, divestment in this case was the best course of action.” –– Lars Emilson, Rexam
Mr Emilson explained: “The UK glassmarket is facing a difficult outlook and new capacity coming on-stream will only exacerbate the situation. After reviewing our options, we felt that, as the number three player in the UK glass industry, divestment in this case was the best course of action.”
Mr Emilson said Rexam would focus on developing its glass business in northern continental Europe where the company had a “solid market position”, and in the fast-growing markets of eastern Europe.
Competition
Competition in the UK glass-making scene is hotting up with the construction of a massive new glass plant at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, by Irish firm Quinn Glass. The £120 million Quinn plant is currently locked in a legal challenge concerning its integrated pollution prevention and control permit – in a case brought by Rockware Glass.
The £50 million buy-out of Rexam’s glass business will hand it an operation that was operating a 3 million profit on 101 million worth of sales in 2004 – handing it a boost in the battle with Quinn Glass.
Rockware spokesperson Sharon Crayton said it would be “business as usual” for Rexam’s glass reprocessing facility and its collection arm, Glass Recycling UK. She said it was “early days” to comment on what the acquisition would mean for the company and its 700 staff. But, Ms Crayton told letsrecycle.com that Rockware and the Rexam UK glass business would eventually be merged “creating a bigger, stronger, more integrated company”.
 Wheatley opening: (left to right): Rockware Glass CEO David Currie, John Gummer MP, Rockware operations director Alasdair Rattray and John Roberts, Reuse chairman. |
Plant
News of the acquisition came to light on the day a new glass recycling plant was officially opened to provide material for Rockware’s Wheatley plant in Doncaster.
The 7.5 million plant, operated by Rockware’s partner company Berryman Glass, has been designed to improve the quality of collected glass before it is melted for container production. The plant has the capacity to process about 225,000 tonnes of glass each year.
Malcolm Vernon, Rockware’s director of commerce and logistics, said the plant would initially process waste glass from container production until more glass came from the household waste stream. He said he hoped a forthcoming consultation on packaging waste producer responsibility targets would encourage more glass recycling in the UK.
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