Reflecting one of the most ambitious transformations in its 102-year history, the world's largest manufacturer of glass packaging, Owens-Illinois, Inc., (NYSE: OI) will begin doing business globally as O-I.
With the name change, the company's 22 subsidiaries, including AVIR S.p.A., in Italy; United Glass Limited, in the U.K.; ACI Packaging Services Pty. Ltd. in Asia Pacific, and the recently acquired BSN Glasspack, S.A. in Europe, will be branded O-I. Legal entities around the world will remain unchanged, for now.
The new name heralds a transformation strategy that began in 2004 to refocus the company's business and culture to leverage global capabilities, broaden market base and focus on fundamentals to better compete, grow and profit in the global packaging industry.
"The technologies and capabilities of O-I are known by our industry and customers throughout the world," said Steve McCracken, chairman and chief executive officer. "It is our intent that this symbolic change reinforces our historical strengths, and be linked to real actions that our markets have been asking us for: an increased focus on innovation, greater availability of our global product lines, investment in developing markets, and a heightened focus on core market segments."
|
