Rezon goes into series production: Vetropack now manufactures innovative lightweight glass bottle on an industrial scale

10.11.2026: The Vetropack Group, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of glass packaging, has successfully moved its thermally strengthened lightweight glass bottle Rezon from the pilot phase into industrial series production. Since late summer, the new large-scale plant at the Austrian site in Pöchlarn has been operating smoothly and around twice as fast as the previous pilot plant – with the same workforce. The bottles are produced using a thermal strengthening process developed by Vetropack. As a particularly sustainable reusable solution, they are being adopted more and more widely.

During the ramp-up phase that began in spring, Vetropack trained around 30 employees and produced more than 300,000 test bottles. Rezon bottles are now produced exclusively at the new large-scale plant. “We have shown that we can produce Rezon reliably on an industrial scale – in larger volumes and at a level of quality we had not achieved before,” says Guido Stebner, Chief Technology Officer of the Vetropack Group. “This has been made possible by, among other things, optimised process steps, automation and digitalisation. All three are also key elements of our Strategy 2035.”

From innovation to scalable market solution
In 2019, Vetropack launched the world's first thermally strengthened lightweight glass bottle. Up to 30 percent lighter while also highly resistant and durable, the bottle quickly met with a positive market response. Since then, more than 35 million bottles have been brought to market.

In Austria, a 0.33-litre reusable bottle based on Rezon has been available to the brewing industry as a standard solution since early 2024, helping to meet the national reusable quota. Brands such as Gösser and Rieder have already introduced the bottle successfully. Several awards, including most recently the Circular Innovation Award Austria, two WorldStar Awards, the Austrian State Prize for Smart Packaging and the Swiss Packaging Award, also confirm the performance of the technology. 

Added value across the entire life cycle
The innovation is the result of years of research and development and offers beverage producers tangible ecological and economic benefits: the thermally strengthened bottles are up to 30 percent lighter than conventional reusable bottles while achieving up to 60 percent more use cycles. The thermal strengthening process increases resistance to scuffing and ensures that the bottles retain their premium appearance over the long term.

The combination of lower weight and longer service life enables beverage producers to significantly reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a bottle over its life cycle. At the same time, the optimised bottle and crate geometry increases pallet capacity by up to 33 percent, improving transport logistics. These benefits also contribute to a better environmental footprint: compared with single-use bottles, Rezon reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 70 percent over its entire life cycle. In addition, Rezon bottles can be fitted with a Data Matrix code that allows each bottle to be uniquely identified and traced.

Rezon thus also exemplifies one of the growth drivers of the Strategy 2035 presented in August: expanding solutions that support customers beyond the packaging itself. “Our customers expect more from us than just high-quality glass packaging. Rezon shows how we create measurable added value: less weight, more use cycles, more efficient logistics and a significantly better carbon footprint,” says Evan Williams, Chief Commercial Officer of the Vetropack Group. “With industrial production, we can now increase the scope and scale of supply of Rezon. This investment demonstrates our commitment to the product and the technology and represents the next step in our leadership in reusable packaging.”

Next expansion step in 2027
In total, more than 35 million Rezon bottles are already on the market. Vetropack has already planned the next expansion step: a second large-scale plant for Rezon is scheduled to go into operation in Pöchlarn in 2027. “We expect significant market growth over the next two years,” says Armelle Dupont, Commercial and Programme Director at Vetropack. “Market momentum is clearly picking up.” In the medium term, Vetropack therefore intends to extend Rezon production to other Group sites.

Vetropack is presenting Rezon at BrauBeviale in Nuremberg from 10 to 12 November 2026 (Hall 7A, Stand 7A-339). Further information on the trade fair presence is available on the Vetropack website.