Swiss glass engineering company Bucher Emhart Glass saw a gradual recovery in demand in the third quarter of this year.

It reported that demand in China also seems to have bottomed out, after declining markedly since mid-2019. It is hopeful project negotiations will resume soon.

In its third quarter financial report, the Cham, Switzerland-based company said order intake during the period fell by almost half versus the extraordinarily high prior-year figure, but the decline was less pro­nounced than in the first half of 2020.

Sales also recovered, as installations and onsite service became at least partially possible again.

It expects demand to improve further over the remainder of the year. Sales should continue to recover but will be significantly lower year on year.

Net sales for the January September period this year were CHF 285 million ($310 million) compared to CHF 372 million ($405 million) in the same reporting period the year before.

Bucher Emhart Glass is a container glass equipment supplier, focused on the forming and inspection processes in manufacturing.