Vetropack Group plans to significantly increase the production of lightweight, thermally tempered glass bottles in Austria from the second quarter of 2026 with a new large-scale plant at the Pöchlarn site.
At its Pöchlarn site, the company has spent several years developing an innovative process that makes glass bottles extremely resistant through thermal hardening while simultaneously reducing their weight. The thermally hardened bottles are up to 30 per cent lighter than conventional reusable bottles and offer optimised performance. They are therefore ideal for reuse and impress with their sustainability, stability and simplified logistics. At the beginning of last year, Vetropack Group, together with the Austrian Brewers' Association, presented the innovative 0.33-litre returnable bottle as the standard solution for the entire Austrian brewing industry.
„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 are now available for the construction of an industrial plant.“
Guido Stebner, Chief Technical Officer at Vetropack
Industrial plant to go into operation in 2026
Vetropack is currently preparing the infrastructure in Pöchlarn for the installation of a large system ahead. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in summer 2026. For the development, design and manufacture of the first industrial production plant Vetropack works closely with Iprotec, a globally active expert in specialised mechanical engineering based in Zwiesel. „We expect to see a steady increase in demand for the popular lightweight glass bottles that currently exclusively in Pöchlarn are produced. In the medium to long term, it is conceivable that we will expand production with the same technology to other locations,“ says Guido Stebner.
The multiple awards reflect the research and development behind the technology of the innovative bottles: The thermally hardened, lightweight returnable glass bottles from Vetropack have already been honoured with the Austrian State Prize for Intelligent Packaging and a Swiss Packaging Award 2024. At the end of May, the innovative glass bottle received the prestigious WorldStar Award from the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) for the second time. This time, the bottle won in the „Alcoholic Beverages“ category and the Special Award in the „Sustainability“ category.
Source: Vetropack
