India's largest glass containers manufacturer, Hindustan National Glass & Industries (HNG), plans to invest around EUR 7M in its newly-acquired German subsidiary HNG Global GmbH to make it one of the most advanced production centres for glass containers in Europe. The Kolkata-based company's purchase of the assets of the insolvent German company Agenda Glas AG is an important building block in the firm's global expansion plans. A company spokesperson claims the acquisition has given the company a foothold in Europe, where the marketing opportunities are great for the wide range of glass bottles it makes for a variety of industrial uses. The spokesperson said the immediate first task is to stabilise the operations of Agenda Glas AG, which was threatened with bankruptcy. HNG will use its experience restructuring many under-performing units in India to transform its new acquisition into a profitable business. The company spokesperson expressed hope that the plant could be rehabilitated soon & that it could reach full production capacity within six months. Agenda Glas AG was founded in 2008 with an investment of around EUR 50M & began commercial production in early 2010. It has a production capacity of 320/tpd of glass bottles for the alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverage industries. However, the company filed for insolvency a year later in Feb/11 because its turnover of around EUR 10M in 2010 was far below its expectations, according to the insolvency administrator. The company spokesperson said Agenda Glas AG is a new facility with the latest technology & that it will enable HNG to enhance its technological strength & production processes in order to penetrate the EU market. Its location at the heart of Europe is ideal not only to serve the markets in Germany & neighbouring countries, but also to expand into rapidly growing markets in central & eastern Europe. The new company will keep about 120 workers of Agenda Glas AG and it will continue to be managed during the transition period by the present management team.
