Thinking ahead...
07/2025: Starting in the second quarter of 2026, the capacity to produce lightweight glass bottles made from thermally tempered glass is to be significantly increased in Austria. 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 developing an innovative process that makes glass bottles extremely resistant through thermal tempering, 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 and gives them outstanding sustainability and stability, as well as simplifying 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.
Award-winning research
The multiple awards reflect the research and development behind the technology of these 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 by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) with its prestigious WorldStar Award for a second time. On this occasion, the bottle won in the “Alcoholic Beverages” category and also received 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 GmbH, a global expert in specialised machine construction based in Zwiesel, Germany. “We expect 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.
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