Ardagh group could build glass plant in Ireland

The Packaging Giant is moving ahead with plans to return to manufacturing in the Republic.

The Group ended manufacturing in Ireland in 2002 when it closed the Irish Glass Bottle plant at Ringsend, the site of which was later sold for €412 million in what turned out to be one of the property boom’s most worst deals.

Earlier this year, chief executive Paul Coulson and his colleague, chief financial officer Niall Wall, said the group is considering building a new glass manufacturing plant in the Republic.

Since then, the company is understood to have had talks with Enterprise Ireland and looked at possible sites, although it has not made a final decision on returning to manufacturing in the Republic – or a location.

A number of Ardagh’s key customers in the drinks business, including Heineken and Pernod Ricard, have operations here. Those customers include various distillers, and demand for spirits is growing in international markets.