The European Investment Bank (EIB), the long-term financing institution of the European Union (EU), has advanced a loan for ESP 5 billion (ECU 30.1 million) (1) to VICASA S.A. for financing construction of a new plant manufacturing glass bottles and jars for the food industry.
VICASA S.A. is a subsidiary of Cristalería Española S.A., part of the Compagnie Saint-Gobain group. The new plant to be built at Montblanc, in Tarragona province, will be fully automated and, in addition to 115 jobs at the factory site itself, will generate around 110 indirect jobs in related activities such as maintenance, transport, glass recycling and sundry services. When it reaches full capacity in the year 2001, its annual output will be 180 million small bottles, 140 million large bottles and 30 million glass jars for the food industry.
A vital addition to VICASA's network of factories in Spain, in a sector in which transport costs mean that proximity to customers is a key factor in competitiveness, the Montblanc plant will enable the company to strengthen its market share in eastern Spain (Catalonia, Aragon, the Valencia region and the Balearics) and increase its profitability. The beneficial impact for employment in the area is also likely to be considerable.
The EIB was created in 1958 by the founding treaty of the European Economic Community, the Treaty of Rome. It was set up to contribute to the integrated and balanced development of the Member States of the Union, as well as to their economic and social cohesion, by providing long-term finance for capital investment fulfilling EU objectives. Prominent among these is enhancing the competitiveness of European undertakings, which both strengthens economic and social cohesion and contributes to the creation of stable jobs, the latter a priority goal of the European Union.Owned by the EU Member States, the Bank funds the bulk of its lending requirements on the capital markets, where its bond issues are systematically rated "AAA".
(1) The conversion rates used by the EIB for statistical purposes during the current quarter are those obtaining on 31.3.1998 when 1 ECU = 40,98 BEF, 6,65 FRF, 168, 616 ESP, 0,64 GBP.