August 19 (SeeNews) - Slovenian glass manufacturer Steklarna Hrastnik has launched a 18.5 million euro ($22.1 million) project for the overhaul of its production facility to improve efficiency, it said.
The project, which includes the construction of an oxygen furnace for the production of glass for packaging, the purchase of IS machines, and the optimisation of parallel production processes, will be completed by November, Steklarna Hrastnik said in a statement on Tuesday.
"This investment is of key importance for the existence of Steklarna Hrastnik. The B furnace in the Special unit is slowly reaching the end of its lifespan, and if anything unforeseen were to happen with this furnace, this would mean that Steklarna Hrastnik would be left without a furnace and thus without the possibility of delivering its orders," general manager Peter Cas said in the statement.
The project will allow Steklarna Hrastnik to incorporate the latest and the cleanest technologies and innovative approaches into its production, which will additionally improve the already high quality of glass, boost efficiency, and set up an even more environmentally friendly production.
In May, Slovenian media reported Steklarna Hrastnik plans to lay off 60 people engaged in tableware manufacturing by the end of September due to a drop in sales as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The company will terminate tableware production in September, the company said, adding that one of its furnaces shut down earlier in May.
($ = 0.837667 euro)