Glass manufacturer Nampak Glass has increased its manufacturing capacity by 56% through the addition of a new R1.2-billion third furnace at its Germiston-based manufacturing facility.
Nampak Glass CEO André de Ruyter said earlier this month that the addition of the new furnace, which had the capacity to produce up to 1 700 glass bottles a day, or 300-million bottles a year, increased the manufacturer’s production capacity from 195 000 t/y to 315 000 t/y.
Speaking at the launch of the furnace and a celebration of Nampak Glass’s thirtieth anniversary, De Ruyter said glass manufacturing was a capital-intensive business, with continu- ous investment being required to keep up with technological innovation and market demand.
“Because glass is predominately manufactured in three major colours – clear, green and amber – we were always constrained in our ability to meet demand from the market by virtue of the fact that we only had two furnaces.
“So a third furnace gives us a huge increase, not only in capacity but also in efficiency to better meet market demand for the product,” he told Engineering News.
He added that the furnace was also already 15% more energy efficient than the other two furnaces, with an additional 12% to 15% efficiency improvement expected to be achieved once the furnace’s preheating technology had been activated later this year.
New technology in terms of wastewater harvesting also reduced the facility’s water requirements to one-tenth of its previous needs.
Construction on the furnace started in August last year, with the first bottle produced in August this year.
During peak construction, 2 600 people were employed at the project, with the new furnace also having created 140 direct long-term jobs, De Ruyter pointed out.
“As a member of South African business, we understand the challenges faced by the nation and [we are] committed to continuously invest- ing in South Africa and in employment creation,” he said.
Also speaking at the launch, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies stated that manufacturing sector growth and investment were pivotal if South Africa wanted to place its economy on a new and sustainable growth path.
He said the growth path the South African economy was currently on had run out of steam and that now was the time to move up the value chain.
Meanwhile, De Ruyter also noted that, with this investment, Nampak had benefited from the Department of Trade and Industry’s Section 12I tax incentive, which was aimed at facilitating greater energy efficiency and skills development in the manufacturing sector.
Davies said that, under the Section 12I incentive, the construction of the third furnace had received a R550-million investment allowance, as well as a R1.5-million training allowance.
He added that it was encouraging that Nampak was working with small businesses for the collection of glass.
He pointed out that active supplier development and the involvement of small business would be an important element in terms of achieving a better black economic-empowerment scorecard from May next year onwards.