The Guardian Industries glass factory in Venezuela, which was seized by the country’s socialist government in July 2016, will now be operated by Venvidrio, a state-run company that was created from the takeover of O-I.
Venezuela’s Labour Ministry has given Venvidrio the responsibility for restarting operations at the plant in Monagas state.
According to the report, Venvidrio will ‘re-float’ Guardian’s operations.
It’s unclear if it will carry out repairs to the plant’s glass furnace that Guardian says are needed.
Guardian Industries said in a statement issued in September 2016 that Venezuela had used a routine maintenance shutdown of the plant’s float glass furnace as a pretext to seize it.
The Venezuelan government claimed the company “abandoned” the factory as part of a U.S.-led “economic war” against the country.
Guardian also said warned that the government could be creating a dangerous situation at the facility for employees if it continued making glass there without completing the maintenance work.
“Float glass plants operate at extremely high temperatures, continuously, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, throughout their operational life,” Guardian said in its statement.
“All float glass plants must be temporarily shut down at the end of their operational life in order to undergo major repairs requiring specialised and technical expertise.”
Source: http://www.dwmmag.com/venezuelas-guardian-plant-to-be-run-by-state-owned-firm/
