June 19 (SeeNews) - Slovenia's Steklarna Hrastnik increased its capacity for production of packaging glass by more than 20%, following a 4.2 million euro ($4.9 million) investment in a new machine, the glass producer said.
The purchase is part of the company's 12.7 million euro investment programme for 2018, Steklarna Hrastnik said in a statement last week.
The remainder of the planned investment will focus on automation, robotization and digitization of production.
The Slovenian glass maker aims to increase its competitiveness this year, as it consolidates its top position in glass packaging production after abandoning production of glass for lighting fixtures at the end of last year.
In December last year, Steklarna Hrastnik explained that the lighting glass business is no longer profitable with demand down since the 2008 crisis. The company also faces sharp price competition fuelled by cheaper imports from China.
Conversely, the market of special glass packaging and perfume and cosmetic packaging has proven to be an opportunity for expansion.
($=0.865744 euro)