Glass bottle factory to close in Pennsylvania

Modern Brewery Age, Nov 29, 2004

A 109-year-old glass factory in Shaler, PA, is preparing to close its doors, even as managers sought a last-minute buyer.

The closure of the Glenshaw Glass Co., which makes beer bottles for D.G. Yuengling and Pittsburgh Brewing Co., would put 300 people out of work.

Workers last week were draining the plant's furnaces of molten glass, the last step prior to final shut-down.

Meridian Group, a local management consultant, took over the plant on November 8th for creditor PNC Financial Services Group, and immediately announced a decision to close down.

The factory had been damaged by flooding in September, and the company was unable to get a timely settlement from its insurance company. Damage from the floods was estimated at $27 million. In a statement, PNC said that the closure was due to a downturn in the glass market, and the costly damage to the factory. Meridian Group has said that there are five potential buyers for the plant, but a union spokesperson said that that list had narrowed to one local group of investors.

Glenshaw was a primary bottle supplier to the Pittsburgh Brewing Co., and cochairman Joseph Piccirilli told the Pittsburgh News Tribune that the brewery would hold off signing a new supplier until the plant closure was certain.

David Casinelli, COO at D.G.Yuengling in Pottsville, PA, told the News Tribune that the news was disappointing. "The glass industry is consolidating," he said, "which makes it much more difficult to have a dependable source of supply.We don't get the time and attention the Budweisers and Millers can control. When those guys are buying millions and millions of bottles, how are Pittsburgh Brewing, or Yuengling or Straub going to get any preference?"