Ceylon Glass gets major Indian contract

Ceylon Glass Co Ltd (CGCL) says it has secured orders for screw cap wine bottles from major wineries in India competing against big multi-national companies in the field.

In a statement this week, the company reported a 19 percent hike in profits growth for the 2006/07 year. Revenue for the year was Rs. 1,857 million, up from Rs.1,555 million.

During the year, CGCL launched seven new products, which were successfully commercialized which included the new category of “Light Weight” one-way bottles, which is the current trend in the packing industry.

On the exports front, CGCL registered a growth of 212% over the previous year, reflected by the initial benefits realized by the company from its strategy of focusing on international market, along with increasing its product range in the domestic market.

“The major contributor to this exports growth was the launch of different shades of coloured wine bottles. The company has recently launched a new version of “Screw Cap” bottles for the wine industry, and has secured approval from International Packaging Companies. The recent trend from cork finish cap bottle to screw cap bottles is a major shift in the wine industry,” a company statement said.

Ceylon Glass is doubling its capacity for making coloured bottles in different shapes and sizes. It is setting-up a new production facility at Horana at a capital expenditure of over Rs. 2.5 billion. After commissioning of the Horana facility, CGCL said it will be able to export larger volumes of different coloured and shaped wine bottles in niche wine bottle markets, in all major wine manufacturing countries.