New sustainable Glas Trösch plant in Flanders
The former Philips Emgo site in Flanders gets a new purpose: Swiss group Glas Trösch reveals its plans to build a state-of-the-art plant there for the production of flat glass, used in insulating windows and solar panels. Through the investment, the company aims to respond to the growing European demand for triple glazing.
The heart of glass
“In the context of European sustainability goals, glass plays an increasingly important role,” explains project leader Donald Eshuis. Because glass has better insulating performance, Glas Trösch even expects demand for this type of glass to grow 8 percent per year up until 2030.
"Yet at the same time, the European production capacity for glass has decreased in recent years," Donald Eshuis continues. To rely less on producers in far-away markets, the Swiss company is keen to expand local production capacity in Flanders.
The new site will bring part of the glass production back to Europe and reduce carbon emissions from transportation.
Nowhere else but here
After considering various sites, it turned out, Flanders – the city of Lommel in particular – was the ideal location for the new glass plant. The 35-hectare brownfield site offers many opportunities, and the proximity of sand quarries, the multimodal logistics network, the availability of suitable industrial sites and a well-skilled labor market complete the picture. As Mayor of Lommel, Bob Nijs is delighted that the Swiss company chose the city:
Glas Trösch strengthens Lommel's position as a glass city, with a facility that takes sustainable production to the next level.
It's all about the numbers
If all goes well, construction of the plant will start in 2024 and production is set to begin in the course of 2025. The new plant can supply over 300,000 homes a year with glass and will create 300 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs. The glass produced in Flanders is mainly destined for Belgium and its neighboring countries.
Reported by
De Tijd newspaper
