Glass container manufacturer company Arglass announced it has secured over $230 million in capital to build a second furnace on its campus in Valdosta, Georgia. And Arglass raised a combination of structured equity and debt to finance the construction.
Projected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025, the new facility is expected to produce over 350 million sustainable glass containers annually. This manufacturing plant will embody the future of glass with a fully integrated production network driven by AI-integrated real-time data monitoring, predictive modeling, and fully automated closed-loop production and quality assurance systems.
The advances will enable the new facility to produce up to eight different glass container types simultaneously for maximum flexibility, allowing for smaller production runs, faster reaction to market demands, lower inventory levels, and reduced mold investment.
These capabilities are planned to be backed by some of the world’s most extensive sustainability infrastructure of any glass manufacturing plant. The plant is expected to be powered by a hybrid gas, electric, and hydrogen oxy-fuel furnace capable of melting 490 metric tons of glass daily. A solar power installation will provide an additional five megawatts of power.
Other sustainability measures include using green hydrogen to reduce CO2 emissions, a closed-loop water system to minimize industrial waste and an on-site post-consumer glass recycling plant. The recycling plant will provide a post-consumer glass cullet for use in producing new containers. Abd Arglass also produces glass using its proprietary Arglass Biogenic glass composition – which replaces traditionally mined material with a naturally renewing, carbon-negative biogenic component gently harvested from the ocean.
The construction, expected to begin as soon as possible, will be supported by the Valdosta Lowndes Development Authority and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Arglass plans to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new plant on Valdosta’s campus.
Investment bank Jefferies acted as financial advisor for Arglass. And Orion Infrastructure Capital (OIC) and several other major institutional investors provided funding.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our new furnace will aim to further establish Arglass as the most innovative, flexible and sustainable glass manufacturer in North America. Glass is already the most sustainable, recyclable and healthy packaging material, and the only packaging material classified as ‘generally recognized as safe’ by the FDA. I am incredibly proud to be leading the industry to new heights in sustainability.”
– Arglass Chairman and CEO José de Diego Arozamena
“In addition to the industry advancements this new facility will create, we also Intend to bring 150 new jobs to the Valdosta area. I look forward to working with the community at large to keep integrating with the beautiful tapestry of Georgia.”
– Tony Krznâr, Arglass vice president of operations
“Our newly formed capital partnership will accelerate Arglass’s innovative growth and transformation of the glass industry in North America while also representing OIC’s continued investment conviction in sustainable domestic packaging infrastructure.”
– Chris Leary, investment partner and head of infra equity at OIC
