A modern computer-controlled furnace with a capacity of 200 tonnes a day has been unveiled today at the Chisinau Glass Factory, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Factory's director Valeriu Mesca said the new furnace was a 132 million lei investment, partly covered by a bank loan, and besides the equipment proper, it also included a feasibility study and necessary renovations. “This will enable us to reduce energy consumption by 15% and increase our capacity to 54,000 tonnes a year. We made this investment, with the support of the government, because we have come to understand, in light of the fierce competition both locally and internationally, that there's no progress without radical changes. We are all very glad that everybody – the government as a stockholder, the management and the workers of the Factory – has realized the need for these changes”, said Valeriu Mesca. Attending the launch ceremony, Economy Minister Valeriu Lazar remarked that the investment and the subsequent cut in energy consumption would make the company more competitive. “The quality and price of the recipients produced by the Glass Factory also impacts on the competitiveness of products from other areas of Moldova's food industry, such as canning or the wine industry”, noted the Minister. Valeriu Lazar admitted that few stated-owned companies benefited from investment. “But we analyze the potential outcome of this investment and therefore it will be further made available to those companies which are lucrative. In respect of the others, the government will decide and offer some of them for privatization”. The Chisinau Glass Factory was founded in 1970. Today it produces roughly 300 types of recipients with volumes ranging from 0.1 to 1.7 liter. The recent investment enables the Factory to add to its range recipients of up to 2.5 liters, which until today have been imported from Bulgaria and Ukraine. The Factory covers 40% of the domestic demand and exports its production to 22 countries.