Vetropack prepares industrial-scale production of lightweight glass bottles
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Vetropack Group, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of glass packaging, aims to significantly increase the production of lightweight, thermally hardened glass bottles in Austria, starting in the second quarter of 2026. These bottles, produced using a method developed by Vetropack, are increasingly being adopted as a particularly sustainable and reusable solution.
“The Board of Directors has approved the plan to significantly increase the production capacity of tempered lightweight glass bottles in Austria. This means that the financial resources for setting up an industrial plant are now available,” explains Guido Stebner, Chief Technical Officer at Vetropack. At its site in Pöchlarn, the company has spent several years to develop an innovative process that makes glass bottles extremely resistant through thermal hardening, while also reducing their weight. The thermally tempered bottles are up to 30 percent lighter than traditional reusable bottles and offer optimised performance. This makes them ideal for reuse, impressing in terms of sustainability, stability, and simplified logistics. At the beginning of last year, the Vetropack Group, together with the Austrian Brewers Association, presented the innovative 0.33-litre reusable bottle as a standard solution for the entire Austrian brewing industry.
The multiple awards reflect the research and development behind the technology of the innovative bottles: Vetropack’s thermally hardened, lightweight, reusable glass bottles were already honoured with the Austrian State Prize for Smart Packaging and a Swiss Packaging Award in 2024. At the end of May, the innovative glass bottle was honoured with the World Packaging Organisation’s (WPO) prestigious WorldStar Award for the second time. This time, the bottle won in the “Alcoholic Beverages” category and the Special Award in the “Sustainability” category.
Industrial plant set for commissioning in 2026
Vetropack is currently preparing the infrastructure in Pöchlarn for the installation of a large-scale machine. The equipment is scheduled to go into operation in summer 2026. For the development, design and manufacture of the first industrial production plant, Vetropack is working closely with Iprotec, a global expert in specialised machine construction based in Zwiesel. “We expect a steadily rising demand for the popular lightweight glass bottles, which are currently being produced exclusively in Pöchlarn. In the medium to long term, it is conceivable that we will expand production to other sites using the same technology,” concludes Guido Stebner.
