Rockware's Knottingley site enjoyed a visit from the Duke of York on March 4th as it celebrated 50 years of production, during which 30BN beverage bottles have rolled off its lines. The Duke congratulated staff on gaining a 2003 Queen's Enterprise Award: Sustainable Development for their work in raising glass recycling by 75%, and witnessed the start of a £35M investment programme which will see two furnaces rebuilt and new emissions reduction technology installed that Rockware says will far exceed stringent EU requirements to be introduced in 2007. The UK's first 10-section OI quadruple gob machine will make lightweight bottles at high outputs. Rockware is also investing £7mM in a second cullet treatment plant alongside its Doncaster factory, creating 30 new jobs.
