PLANS for a new glass bottle factory in Blaenau Gwent, which it is claimed could create 600 new jobs, have opened to consultation.

And the company behind the plans, CiNER Glass, revealed more information in a webinar this afternoon.

Here's what we learned:

  • £350 million total

The company is investing £350 into the project, which it said is planned to be just the start of its expansion into the UK.

  • The team are excited to invest in South Wales

CiNER Glass said they want to develop a good relationship with the people of Gwent, politicians as well as universities.

Didem Ciner, executive board member, said: "Our vision is to build a centre of engineering excellence in glass technology in Wales, which can compete with the best in the world for generations to come."

Mrs Ciner added: "South Wales is well positioned to serve the existing UK operations of our customers. Good access to road and port infrastructure and a skilled local workforce makes Wales an obvious choice for CiNER’s expansion. Our intention is to get as close to our customers as possible to cut the economic and environmental costs of transporting glass."

  • The plant will be operational for a minimum of 60 years

If this is realised, it will still be operating into the 2080s. Vice-president Kursat Goktan said the company want to make a commitment to their staff, that they look forward to working with future staff and are creating long-term jobs and careers for workers.

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Selcuk Kucukseyhan said: "As a company we are looking to expand further in Europe as well as Turkey and now the UK. We have plans to invest in Belgium and we considering other countries we want to target in southern Europe."

  • Billions of bottles

The plant will produce approximately 1.5 billion beer bottles and 750 million wine bottles a year.

  • Hundreds of highly skilled jobs will be available

Throughout the progress of construction in 2022, as many as 450 workers will be employed. When the facility is operational, 600 jobs will be available. One third of permanent staff will receive nine months of training before starting.

  • There will be plenty of outdoor space

The site area is 21.5 hectares with the buildings totalling 131,000 sqm and external totalling 41,150. The large outdoor space will be used to maintain staff welfare and for ecology benefits. There has been an extensive team of specialists working on an environmental impact project - which is more than 300 pages long.

  • They say they are one of the best in the business

The company describes itself as "not the oldest, not the biggest, but one of the best." The glass bottle manufacturing company said they are known for quality as well as quantity and plan to develop the world's lightest beer bottle. They plan on becoming the biggest glass bottle company in the world, not just in the UK or Europe.

A spokesman for CiNER Glass told the Argus: "There is a high level of interest in our project.  We are currently consulting on our proposals to construct and operate a glass container manufacturing facility which uses recycled glass located within the Rassau Industrial Estate, Ebbw Vale."