OI Inc expects to close an Italian plant by the end of 2008 as it continues realigning global capacity. Production from the facility in Castel Maggiore will be transferred to other company facilities, including other Italian plants. In early September, the company said it expects to close a plant in Lavington, British Columbia, by October 31. Production will move to other plants in North America to reduce energy consumption and production costs, OI said. In July, the company said it will close a plant in Toronto on Sept 30 and expand another in New Zealand. Production from Toronto will shift to other N American plants. The $60M New Zealand expansion is expected to increase the annual output of glass container by 90,000/t, to 2.2M bottles/day and should be complete by the first quarter of 2010.
