Owens-Illinois Inc. is now the co-owner of a Mexican plant that makes bottles for some popular beers exported to the United States.
Perrysburg’s O-I and Constellation Brands Inc. bought the plant in the city of Nava from Anheuser-Busch InBev for an undisclosed price. The two companies will own and operate it as a 50-50 joint venture.
The facility, which opened earlier this year, has about 250 employees. It is next door to a Constellation Brands brewery that makes Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, and Pacifico for export to the United States.
Nava is in northern Mexico, about 25 miles from the Texas border.
Work has begun to expand the capacity of the plant from one to four furnaces over the next few years.
Constellation officials said that employment could increase to 800 when the work is completed.
Constellation said it expects the plant eventually to supply more than half of the glass needed for the company’s U.S. beer business.
O-I also has signed a deal with Constellation Brands to supply additional bottles to the brewery, starting in late 2015.
“This is an exciting and promising venture for us,” O-I Chairman and CEO Al Stroucken said in a statement. “We are pleased to support Constellation's growth in a way that allows both partners to optimize their expertise and capabilities. Through the joint venture and the long-term supply agreement, we can participate in the outstanding growth these brands are experiencing in the U.S.”
Corona Extra was the best-selling imported beer in the United States in 2013. Modelo Especial was third, Corona Light fourth, and Pacifico 11th.
While Constellation Brands brews it for the U.S. market, Grupo Modelo makes it for Mexico and the rest of the world.
That agreement resulted from an antitrust suit brought in the United States when Anheuser-Busch InBev bought Grupo Modelo in 2012.
Constellation, in Victor, N.Y., is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of wine, beer, and spirits. Its wine brands include Robert Mondavi, Arbor Mist, and Blackstone.
It also distributes brands of tequila, whiskey, vodka, and brandy.
Owens-Illinois also has joint ventures in China, Italy, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
O-I has had plastics operations in Mexico, the most recent of which were sold with the company’s plastics business in 2007.
The Fortune 500 company has 22,500 employees and 77 plants in 21 countries.
O-I stock rose 6.7 percent Thursday to close at $26.28 a share. It spent most of the year above $30 a share before falling in mid-September.
First Published December 19, 2014, 5:00 a.m.
