VETROPACK MORAVIA GLASS increased its turnover in 2007 thanks to the growing demand for glass containers

According to the concern's accounting procedures the company's revenues rose year-on-year by 3.9 % to 2.246 billion crowns and the company sold almost 900 million glass containers. VETROPACK MORAVIA GLASS exported about 42 % of its production abroad.



"The demand for container glass has been growing steadily for more than two years now throughout Europe. This trend has also been positively reflected in the economic activity of our glassworks. Thanks to the full use of the production capacities and cooperation with other glassworks in the group we have managed to meet all the requirements of our customers," stated Marcello Montisci, chairman of the board of directors of VETROPACK MORAVIA GLASS. Positive economic results in 2007 have also been achieved in the further improved efficiency of production when special attention was devoted to production planning in order to improve the use of production equipment. The detailed programme of maintaining expenses was also completed to compensate for the growth in expense items, particularly electricity the price of which rose by 16.1 %.



The glassworks sold a total of 897 million glass containers in 2007, which was 3.2 % more than the previous year. The greatest growth on the home market was shown in the wine and beer segment. Among the most important customers are traditionally the beer groups Heineken and SABMiller in which Vetropack significantly contributed to projects for the total modification of beer bottles. VETROPACK MORAVIA GLASS also managed in the area of bottles for non-alcoholic beverages and juices, which are produced mainly for the sector of gastronomy, to extend its position built in past years in cooperating with key players such as Coca Cola, Kofola and Karlovarské minerální vody. The segment of beer and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 47 % of the sales. The share of preserve jars, which includes jars for baby food, coffee, mayonnaise and yogurts as well as ordinary preserve products, fell slightly to 41 %. A considerable part was produced for the companies Hamé and Unilever.



VETROPACK MORAVIA GLASS produces about 300 kinds of glass containers while the biggest customers of the Kyjov glassworks are Plzeňský Prazdroj, Starobrno, Coca-Cola, Kofola, Karlovarské minerální vody, Stock Plzeň-Božkov, Rudolf Jelínek, as well as winemakers such as Moravské vinařské závody, Bohemia Sekt, Vinium, Znovín, Vinné sklepy Valtice, České vinařské závody and the important food companies Hamé, Unilever, Agrola, Delphi, Seliko and Alibona. Among the most important export markets are Poland, Russia and Romania.



VETROPACK MORAVIA GLASS, where 429 people worked at the end of 2007, is a subsidiary of the Swiss group Vetropack Holding AG, a leading producer of glass containers in Europe. The group showed record results in 2007. In 2007 its turnover exceeded the value of the previous years by 17.6 % and reached almost 700 million Swiss francs. The group sold 4.3 billion glass containers, almost 9 % more than in 2006. Its consolidated profit rose by 133 % to 100.9 million Swiss francs. The reason for the positive trend was the constant growth in demand, ability to fully exploit the capacity and also the addition of a new glassworks in Ukraine to the consolidated results. In 2007 Vetropack invested a total of 87 million francs in equipment and to improve the efficiency of production.



Vetropack holds an excellent position in the rapidly growing east European market with its production plants in Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. At the end of 2007 the group employed 3 099 workers.