O-I Glass produces glass bottles and jars for food and beverage brands. Credit: Clem Onojeghuo / Unsplash.

US-based container glass manufacturer O-I Glass has announced it will expand one of its facilities in Colombia with an investment of around $75m.

The company will add another furnace to its Zipaquirá facility in the Department of Cundinamarca, one of four facilities it operates in the country.

With this expansion, the company is planning to produce around 500 million bottles a year at the plant and add to the capacity of its Americas segment by almost 2%.

The project is due to be completed by the end of next year.

This investment comes in response to increasing customer demand for sustainable glass packaging.

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O-I CEO Andres Lopez said: “Our customers recognise the strong brand building characteristics and superior sustainability profile that make glass the preferred packaging substrate. In particular, strong market growth and affinity for glass is fuelling significant demand for glass packaging in the Andean market.

“Building on our highly successful expansion at the Zipaquirá facility in 2019, we are excited to add a fourth furnace with an attractive return on investment to support market growth. As a result, the facility will be one of O-I’s largest and most cost-effective plants in the global network.”

To support the Zipaquirá investment and maintain its debt reduction targets, O-I has expanded its total divestiture target to $1.15bn or higher by the end of next year.

The company has so far divested around $900m, with proceeds intended to reduce debt.

In July, O-I agreed to divest its Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) business unit to Australia-based packaging company Visy Industries.

Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio, O-I currently operates 72 facilities in 20 countries, employing more than 25,000 people.

Last year, the company registered revenues of $6.1bn.