By Ian Neubauer
Glass container maker O-I has invested $3.5 million at its Adelaide plant to reduce the weight of selected wine bottles by up to 28 per cent.
The investment will see the installation of Narrow Neck Press and Blow (NNPB) technology that will allow O-I to take out considerable weight, energy and water consumption from each bottle made while maintaining the proportions and premium image demanded by brand owners.
NNPB technology will enable O-I to mass produce competitively priced, environmentally friendly wine bottles, with scope for ongoing technological advances in future. It also responds to demands from local and export markets for more sustainable manufacturing and continued innovation.
O-I Asia Pacific president Greg Ridder said the investment would help defend the Australian wine industry and related businesses against overseas bulk wine export initiatives and moving bottling offshore.
“We are a New World wine country that has already demonstrated a modern, fresh and innovative approach in the total product offering,” he said. “This was demonstrated with the way in which the screw cap was successfully launched and accepted.”
Two further machine lines will also be converted to NNPB at O-I’s Adelaide plant later this year, taking the total investment in the technology to $6.5 million.
The plant has been operating for almost 100 years. It employs around 270 people.