Ciner Glass – who we are and our vision for South Wales

This year promises to be a significant year for Ciner Glass as we embark on our most expansive year to date. In 2021, we celebrated our ten-year anniversary, and it is amazing to see how much we have grown.

Our glass journey started in 2011 with the acquisition of the Park Cam San site and a dream of building a new glass headquarters. Our Boyüzük Plant started production with a capacity of 500 tons per day in 2013, increasing to 1,000 tons per day in 2015. We are now the second-largest producer in Turkey, producing 330,000 tons and providing container glass to 22 per cent of the Turkish beverage market.

In 2018, Ciner Glass decided to expand its operations worldwide, establishing a new headquarters in London to help achieve our annual production target of 2,500,000 tons of container glass by 2026.

As part of our plans, we want to build a new leading UK glass bottle manufacturing facility in the UK to help meet the country’s demands. Located in the heart of the Gwent Valleys, the proposed development would build on the area’s proud industrial heritage, whilst also creating a sustainable industry for future generations.

The facility has the potential to produce millions of recyclable glass bottles each year. It also promises to bring almost 600 new highly skilled jobs to Blaenau Gwent, along with significant supply chain opportunities right across Wales.

As a UK company, we provide beer and wine bottles to the food and drink industry across Europe – producing 16 billion bottles since 2013 – helping to shape the future of the Container Glass Industry.

Our goal is to be the world’s leading glass production centre, using the latest and most advanced technology, with an economic development model that values its people. We plan to play an integral role in the future prosperity of Wales by providing recyclable glass cullet to reduce the requirement for local, regional and national resources helping bring carbon savings and contribute towards the country’s vision for a circular economy.

Although we are not one of the oldest or the biggest glass companies, we believe our modern and forward-thinking approach makes us one of the best. Our vision is global, but our approach will always remain local.

We believe the most successful way of helping local, regional and national economies bounce back from the pandemic and create high-growth renewable sectors is by investing in communities for the long term.

Our investment in Blaenau Gwent will create long-lasting partnerships across the area for decades to come. We are a family business and believe in the importance of investing in the local community. From suppliers, to sponsors, to apprenticeship schemes, we hope to become a proud asset to a community and county that we can call home.

As a company, we also want to help greatly reduce the mileage glass has to be transported across Wales and the rest of the UK. Wales currently brings in all its container glass from outside of the country – unsustainable in the modern age. By harnessing our existing technology developed in Turkey, which has helped create the world’s lightest glass bottle, we can replicate this success.

We hope this investment will be the start of a strong relationship between the people of Blaenau Gwent and Ciner Glass – one that will continue for decades to come. We are committed to making a real contribution to the future prosperity of Wales and look forward to engaging with the local community as we develop our plans.