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Gulf Glass Factory, Subsidiary of QIMC,
Announces the Establishment of a Glass Containers Project in
Qatar
December 24, 2018
Gulf Glass Factory signed EPC
contract to build the first Glass Containers Project in Qatar
with Falorni Gianfranco s.r.l. an Italian company. Qatar
Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC) owns 50% of Gulf Glass
Factory. Mr. Abdul- Rahman Abdullah Al Ansari, Chairman of Gulf
Glass Factory and CEO of QIMC and Mr. Riccardo Scarselli, CEO of
Falorni Gianfranco Srl, signed the agreement.
The project specializes in the
production of glass containers used in the packaging of water,
soft drinks, dairy products and various foodstuffs as well as
medicines and perfumes. The design capacity of the plant in the
first phase will be 200 tons / day through one furnace. A second
furnace will be built in the second phase of the project, which
will raise the production capacity to about 450 tons per day.
The total cost of the first phase of the project is estimated at
QR 238 million and is expected to reach QR 300 million at the
end of the second phase.
The project is based on melting raw sand and
some other additives in a furnace with a temperature of about
1600 °C. Natural gas is the main source of energy in this
process. The raw sand and the other raw materials are converted
into glass and is then formed in special molds before being
cooled gradually then inspected to ensure quality and conformity
to specifications. The project will be based on local sand
available from the sand washing plant of QIMC. Tests were
carried out on local sand which proved its good quality and
suitability to produce high quality glass containers. In
addition to sand, other natural materials and chemicals
additives are used to improve the quality and properties of the
glass and reduce the melting point of the sand, thus reducing
production costs. Waste glass (CULLET) can also be used if it
becomes available in the future in Qatar.
The project will have a positive impact on
the industrial sector in Qatar and will contribute to the
development of the growing food & beverage sector which
includes; mineral water, soft drinks, juices, dairy products,
packaged foods (pickles, oils, sauces, jams, honey, etc.). The
food industry is gaining special importance from the Government
and is expected to be one of the most important components of
the national economy in the near future.
The project will satisfy the local needs of
glass containers, which are currently imported from outside
sources at high costs, in addition to exporting some of its
products to neighboring Arab markets, most importantly Lebanon,
Jordan, Syria and Iraq. These countries suffer from a severe
shortage in the availability of glass containers since they do
not have any glass containers produced locally, while their
needs are very large given the size and importance of their food
industries. It is expected that the project will have a good
opportunity to compete in these countries as well as other world
markets.
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