Owens-Illinois, Inc. today announced that it has acquired the business and assets of Tianjin New World Glass Containers Co. Ltd, of the People's Republic of China, for approximately $9 million USD. The new company will conduct business as O-I Tianjin Glass Co. Ltd.
This acquisition is structured to be operated as a joint venture in which O-I holds a 95 percent equity interest with the remaining five percent being held by Tianjin Shi Fa Group Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the local government's light industry bureau.
"The acquisition is an important part of O-I's growth strategy in emerging markets and reinforces our market leadership in China," said Steve McCracken, O-I Chairman and CEO. "O-I Tianjin Glass Co. Ltd. represents a low-cost manufacturing position with close proximity to major consumer markets and complements O-I's existing glass container operations in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan."
O-I Tianjin Glass Co. Ltd. operations are located in Tianjin, approximately 75 miles southeast of Beijing. The Tianjin plant, which employs 200 people and contains a single glass furnace and two glass container forming machines, has capacity for 65,000 metric tons of annual production. The plant produces containers for the beer and wine industries in northeast China.