By Jill Park

Australian wine-maker Banrock Station has become the first brand to adopt glass manufacturer Owens-Illinois' new lightweight wine bottle.

 

The bottle weighs up to 28% less than its predecessor and is estimated to save 20,000 tonnes of glass per annum.

 

O-I has invested AUD$3.5m (£1.8m) in adapting one of its six bottling lines at its Adelaide factory to manufacture the new lightweight bottle and test it through the line.

 

The company plans to convert another two lines to the narrow neck press and blow technology (NNPB), used to manufacture the bottles, by the end of the year.

 

"Customers who take this bottle up will have to make changes to their filling lines," said O-I Asia Pacific communications manager Dieter Lehmann. "They will have to weigh up the benefits."

 

These benefits include the fact that these bottles are cheaper to buy, lighter to transport and the amount of water used in their production is 12% less than their predecessors.

 

"The bottles give customers a much lighter bottle and they do not lose the premium look and feel of the product," added Lehmann.

 

Constellation Wines-owned Banrock station has adopted the O-I bottle for its claret and burgundy wines.

From: packagingnews.co.uk