Owens-Illinois“ new lightweight wine bottle, which weighs up to 28% less than its predecessor, now has its first user. Australian wine-maker Banrock Station has become the first brand to adopt the bo…
Owens-Illinois“ new lightweight wine bottle, which weighs up to 28% less than its predecessor, now has its first user. Australian wine-maker Banrock Station has become the first brand to adopt the bottle, which is estimated to save 20,000 tonnes of glass per annum. O-I has adapted one of its six bottling lines at its Adelaide factory to manufacture the new lightweight bottle and test it through the line, thanks to an investment of AUD 3.5 million (GBP 1.8 million). Company plans are to convert a further two lines to the narrow neck press and blow technology (NNPB) used to manufacture the bottles by the end of 2009. “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.” The benefits of these bottles include the fact that they are cheaper to buy, lighter to transport and use 12% less water in their production 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. Banrock Station, owned by Constellation Wines, has adopted the O-I bottle for its claret and burgundy wines.