KYIV. April 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Glas Trösch Group (Switzerland), one of the largest European flat glass producers, still plans to build a float glass plant worth $250 million with a projected capacity of 700 tonnes a day in Dnipropetrovsk region.
Commercial Director at Glas Trosch in Ukraine and Moldova Serhiy Sorokun announced this at a conference devoted to modern facade systems and translucent structures, their energy efficiency, durability and safety, which was held in Kyiv on April 9.
“We have plans, but the next step is by our Swiss investors-owners of business. Documents are ready, and studies have been conducted,” he told reporters.
Sorokun said that from an industrial point of view the only question on the possible realization of the project is the supply of soda required for float glass production.
Previously, Crimea Soda Plant (part of Group DF of Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash) was considered as the key supplier, he said.
At present, the key risks for the realization of the project is the political situation in Ukraine and the cost of natural gas consumed by the project, Sorokun said.
He said that the calculated gas consumption by the plant is around 120,000 cubic meters a day.
Glas Trösch entered the Ukrainian market in 2008 via the acquisition of Linewood enterprise in Artemivsk. In 2010, Glas Trösch bought nine companies of the Euroglass Group, one of the largest glass unit producers in Ukraine.
The main part of the glass units used in production by Glas Trosch Ukraine is supplied by Glas Trösch plants in France, Germany and Poland.
Glas Trosch Ukraine has nine companies, including eight in Ukraine and Crimea (Simferopol) and one in Moldova (Chisinau). As of early 2015, the total annual capacity of the enterprises was up to 6.5 million square meters.
