| Date: 12/07/04 MAIN CONSTRUCTION WORK BEGINS ON PILKINGTON FLOAT GLASS PLANT IN THE RAMENSKOYE DISTRICT (RUSSIA) Leading British glass manufacturer, Pilkington plc and its joint venture partners AIG Emerging Europe Infrastructure Fund L.P., today held a special signing ceremony in the Ramenskoye District of the Moscow Region to mark the laying of the foundation stone of Russia's most modern float glass plant. As part of the ceremony, a memorial 'time capsule' was buried in the foundations of the glass plant, which is scheduled to start production in 2005. Pilkington Group Chief Executive Stuart Chambers presented a "Certificate of Cooperation" to Boris Gromov, Governor of the Moscow Region, His Excellency Sir Roderic Lyne, the British Ambassador to the Russian Federation, and Vladimir Demin, Head of the Ramenskoye District. The four participants signed the Certificate, which was then placed it in a special corrosion-resistant time capsule and sealed in the foundations of the plant. Speaking at the event, Stuart Chambers said: "The start of plant construction, after many years of detailed planning and months of preparatory work on the site, is testimony to the successful and continuing cooperation between Pilkington and the authorities in the Moscow Region and the Ramenskoye District. This facility represents an important element of Pilkington's plans for future profitable growth. We are confident that this plant, which will be one of the most advanced in the world, will help the development of this important and growing market, through the local production of world quality glass." From today, construction of the project, with a capital cost of € 165 million, moves into its key active stage. When completed, the facility will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 240,000 tons of float glass. It will employ about 200 people directly and is expected to help in the creation of additional local jobs in the region as well as providing important contracts with local service providers. Marek Grabowski, Managing Director, Pilkington Russia, said: "Pilkington's
aim is the creation of a 100 per cent Russian organisation in the Ramenskoye
district within three to five years. Management of the plant will be Russian,
all raw materials will be supplied from Russian suppliers and the output
of the plant will be sold in Russia. The raw materials and the human potential
offered by the Ramenskoye District will allow us to meet Russian production
needs and to reach the highest world glass manufacturing standards. The
success of this Pilkington project will help promote the development of
a favourable economic climate in the Moscow area, and in Russia as a whole". Ends |