Piramal Glass invests Rs.3bn in new furnace

G l a s s b o t t l e a n d container manufacturer Piramal Glass Ceylon PLC, a unit of India’s Piramal Group, has invested Rs.3 billion to install a bigger furnace to expand its production, after reaching the lifespan of its current furnace. “Consequent to the completion of the life of the existing furnace, we have embarked on a major expansion project along with relining of the furnace,” Piramal Glass Ceylon Chairman Vijay Shah said.

Th e ex p a n s i o n i s slated to be completed by September 2016, with planning and execution b e i n g d o n e b y t h e Corporate Project Team from Piramal Glass India. Shah said that t h e expansion would increase the capaci ty of glass production to 300 tonnes per day from the current 250 tonnes per day. N o t i n g t h a t t h e government has a ‘myopic view’ with regards to furnace oil using industries by keeping furnace oil prices at 200 percent of the international levels, Shah noted that the new furnace would be dual fired.

“The new furnace would be a dual fired furnace (furnace oil/liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)) keeping in mind the current dynamic energy pricing scenario,” he said. Shah added that bottle forming machines and other downstream equipment capacity too would be enhanced, especially for specialty colour bottles for liquor and wine, to facilitate the incremental melting capacity of glass. He said that there were unforeseen interruptions in production due to the ageing furnace, but the company was able to meet the increased domestic demand by importing Rs.1 billion worth of glass.