Glaverbel invests in new production unit for fire-resistant glass

Keeping in line with demand and becoming competitive once moreThe new investment of € 22 million will make it possible to produce fire-resistant glass in large dimensions, more in keeping with current architectural demand.This fully automated unit will incorporate the latest technological advances and will benefit from the experience already gained at the sister plant in Olovi (CZ). As such it will increase the competitiveness of the Seneffe plant, which is now threatened by the arrival of new entrants on the market and the resulting strong pressure on prices. "We welcome the improvement in the climate of industrial relations, as a determining factor in the choice of Seneffe for the location of the new plant," says Arthur Ulens, CEO of Glaverbel.

Start-up planned for the end of 2006
The shutdown of the old unit, planned since 2003, is being carried out in stages until the start-up of the new plant, which should be operational by the end of 2006. This will be accompanied by an innovative social programme under which the workforce will be reduced by 99 people over this same three-year period. The programme has been negotiated with the trade unions, and so far all the personnel made redundant have found other work through a re-employment unit.
Once the new plant is operational, Glaverbel Seneffe will employ about 170 people for all its activities (fire-resistant glass and glass for shipbuilding and railway carriages).