PERRYSBURG, Ohio, Dec. 13, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE: OI),
the world's largest maker of glass packaging, today announced it
had entered into an agreement to acquire the glass container
manufacturing business of Hebei Rixin Glass Group Co., Ltd. in
northern China. The deal, expected
to close before year-end, means O-I has more than doubled its
capacity in China in the past year
to more than one million tonnes (up from 440,000 tonnes), making
the company China's second largest
glass container manufacturer.
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The acquisition, located in the fast-growing Beijing/Tianjin region of China's Hebei
province, includes two plants and delivers an additional 270,000
tonnes of capacity for O-I. The Hebei province is the third largest glass
market in China and represents
approximately 10 percent of the total Chinese market. The newly
acquired plants produce glass containers predominantly for
China's rapidly growing domestic
beer market. By 2015, China's
domestic beer market is expected to reach 573 million hectoliters –
more than twice the size of the U.S. beer market, which is the
world's second largest.
"This acquisition supports our strategy of expanding in emerging
markets with strong growth and long-term earnings potential," said
O-I Chairman and CEO Al Stroucken.
"Our operations in China now
include eight glass manufacturing plants, as well as a plant in
Tianjin that produces moulds for
glass manufacturing. The newly acquired plants have lower cost
profiles than our existing operations in China, thereby enabling us to expand our reach
beyond the premium markets and into the rapidly growing mass beer
market."
Today's announcement follows recent acquisitions in China's Sichuan
Province, announced in May, and Guangdong Province, announced in October. In
addition to increasing O-I's capacity, the acquisition has
strengthened the company's customer base among China's leading breweries, such as Tsingtao,
Yanjing and CRB – owner of the world's largest beer brand, Snow.
O-I Asia Pacific President Greg
Ridder said the latest acquisition further strengthens O-I's
position in China, especially the
beer market. "This acquisition complements our existing production
in China, adding to our product
range and mix, and significantly increases our profile in the
greater Beijing/Tianjin area. Many of our customers are
targeting growth in this region, so our presence there enables us
to partner with them, as well as serve new customers," said
Ridder.
Company Profile
Millions of times a day, O-I glass containers deliver many of
the world's best-known consumer products to people all around the
world. With the leading position in Europe, North
America, Asia Pacific and
Latin America, O-I manufactures
consumer-preferred, 100-percent recyclable glass containers that
enable superior taste, purity, visual appeal and value benefits for
our customers' products. Established in 1903, the company employs
more than 24,000 people with 81 plants in 22 countries. In 2009,
net sales were $7.1 billion. For more
information, visit www.o-i.com.
SOURCE Owens-Illinois, Inc.