PRESS GLASS, a Polish manufacturer of glass products, has announced plans to establish a new factory in Lithuania. The new plant at Kaunas Free Economic Zone is scheduled to begin production in 2022/23, with PRESS GLASS planning to recruit 240 qualified specialists over the next three years.
PRESS GLASS is the European leader in glass processing for the construction industry, supporting producers of window and door joinery, façades, glazing and internal structures, as well as acoustic screens.
The company produces nearly 9 million square metres of insulating glass units (IGUs) globally each year, and works with several hundred regular customers in Europe and other continents. Its new facility in Lithuania will produce IGUs for the company’s residential division.
Aušrinė Armonaitė, the Lithuanian Minister of Economy and Innovation, emphasised the importance of manufacturing to the country’s economy: “In the first quarter of 2021, our manufacturing sector grew by almost 10%, and our strong manufacturing capabilities were one of the reasons why Lithuania came out of 2020 less impacted than other European economies. I am more than sure that PRESS GLASS will become a strong addition to our manufacturing landscape.”
With a planned capacity of 1.2 million square metres of double and triple IGUs, the new plant will be based around a fully automated and optimised factory layout that includes all key production processes, including tempering, lamination and integration.
“PRESS GLASS decision to locate its new factory in Lithuania will significantly improve our ability to service clients from Scandinavia, the north of Poland and the Baltic states – optimising delivery times and transportation costs, as well as increasing the company’s overall production capacity across Europe,” Tomasz John, CEO at PRESS GLASS UAB says.
According to Tomasz John, Lithuania was a natural choice thanks to the country’s well-developed infrastructure and stable, business-friendly environment – including simplified and streamlined construction procedures and favourable tax incentives for foreign investors. Lithuania provides access to a skilled pool of talent that is perfectly suited to the company’s needs, in a still-unsaturated market.
„PRESS GLASS is the very first Polish capital company to join Kaunas FEZ business community. We are delighted that Kaunas FEZ can offer an environment that is attractive for and meets the high standards of global investors. Additionally, PRESS GLASS decision to locate their technologically advanced glass maufacturing plant here in Kaunas FEZ presupposes that Lithuania, and Kaunas in particular, has exceptional talent pool of specialists with high qualifications“ , says Vytautas Petružis, director at Kaunas FEZ.
Welcoming the announcement, Gediminas Koryzna, Acting General Manager at Invest Lithuania, says: “We are delighted to welcome PRESS GLASS to Lithuania, and we look forward to continuing our fruitful collaboration in the future. The company’s decision to expand its production network to Lithuania is a huge endorsement for our country’s thriving manufacturing sector. Our strong skills base – founded on Lithuania’s longstanding manufacturing heritage – combines seamlessly with expertise in cutting-edge technologies, to create a manufacturing sector that is truly fit for the 21st century.”
Founded in 1991, PRESS GLASS is the European leader in glass processing for the construction industry, using approximately 20 million square metres of base glass annually for the production of all of its products. PRESS GLASS was started by Polish businessman Arkadiusz Muś, who remains its sole shareholder. The company’s facility in Lithuania joins its existing network of 14 production plants across Europe and North America, with a combined area of 191,000 square metres. PRESS GLASS employs around 4,700 workers worldwide at factories in Poland, Croatia, the UK and US.
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