Africa's largest glass manufacturer Consol will build a new R1,9-billion glass factory in Nigel, boosting its yearly output by 25%, the group announced on Monday.

The new glass factory would increase the group's yearly production by 220 000 t to over one-million tons, which is more than four-billion glass containers, said MD Mike Arnold.

While current production capacity exceeds demand, Arnold said that the expansion would ensure there was sufficient production capacity to meet foreseeable market growth expectations.

The new glass factory would be designed initially to be a two-furnace operation, each with an output of 400 t/d and would be built in two phases.

The first phase, costing R1,3-billion, would consist of all the factory infrastructure development, the production service equipment and the first of two furnaces, which would be commissioned by September 2011.

The installation of the second phase, costing R600-million, would be dependent and driven by market growth and demand. As all the infrastructure and services would already be in place, the lead time for installation and commissioning of the second furnace would be less than nine months.

In addition to the Nigel expansion, production capacity in the Western Cape would be increased by a further 10%, or 30 000 t/y.

This expansion would take place during the Consol Bellville No 4 furnace rebuild in late 2011 or early 2012, increasing the manufacturer's production capacity of glass containers to 1,1-million tons a year.

"In addition to this already sizeable investment, our future capital expenditure plans also include the provision of a new cullet processing plant at our Wadeville and Bellville sites. This will ensure that we are in a position to maximise glass recycling in South Africa," Arnold concluded.