Yamamura Glass Co has merged with Nippon Glass Co to form Hihon Yamamura Glass Co Ltd, the biggest glass container manufacturer in Japan. After marking the highest ever annual production of 2.4m tonnes in 1990, Japan's glass industry has seen a serious recession caused by a big gap in supply and demand due to an upsurge in the production of cans and the new entry of small-sized PET bottles into the container industry in recent years. Reorganisation within the Japanese glass industry is urgently required. As a result, Yamamura, which was the leading glassmaker and Nippon, which ranked third, decided that a merger was the best option for both to continue their operations. The new company has a market share of around 40% and now expects to be able to improve its producitivity by reducing colour change and job change frequency, and finally, inventory levels.
