The new plant is located at Los Cardales in the state of Buenos Aires in Argentina and operated by Vidriería Argentina S.A. (VASA), a joint venture subsidiary in Argentina, with a history of over 80 years.
The investment was decided in 2018 to meet the growing demand for architectural and automotive glass in Argentina and to supply South American markets, where the market continues to grow as well. The initial plan was to start operations in early 2020, but due to the turmoil in the global economy, including the spread of COVID-19 infection, the start of operations has been postponed.
After the construction work has been successfully completed, the furnace has been warmed up, and the glass production started on 8 October.
Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, demand continues to outpace supply for glass due to still growing construction activity. NSG Group believes that the region is a promising market where it can continue to demonstrate our business strength.
NSG Group is promoting "Expansion of Value-added Business" and "Transformation into more profitable business portfolio" as ones of the measures listed in the medium-term management plan "Revival Plan 24 (RP24)". The announcement to operate a new float line as one of our strategic investments in Argentina and South America, where the Group has established a strong position for many years is part of this strategy, that will also allow to continue supporting our customers in order to change our surrounding and improve our world by creating people-friendly surroundings and a living space that is pleasant, safe and healthy and also lowering the usage of air-conditioning and heating with adequate glass solutions.
The Group will continue its efforts to realize its Medium-Term Vision to be "A global glass supplier contributing to the world with high value-added glass products and services".
You can watch the video here from the start of the construction of the float line to the production launch.