The Burgos manufacturing plant has the capacity to produce 600 million glass bottles annually
Image: Verallia intends to boost its bottle production capacity in Spain. Photo: courtesy of Alexander Lesnitsky from Pixabay.
Glass packaging company Verallia has invested €33m ($36.3m) to modernise one of the two furnaces at its Burgos manufacturing plant in Spain.
The furnace, following reconstruction, has become one of the largest of its kind in Europe, the firm said.
Verallia noted that the plant, featuring two furnaces, has the capacity to produce 600 million glass bottles annually, mainly for the wine and spirits markets.
Verallia seeks to increase bottle production capacity
The investment is a part of Verallia’s effort to increase the production capacity of the plant from 560 to 600 million bottles per year, in a bid to meet the growing demand for glass packaging in Spain.
The plant comprises seven production lines that are capable of simultaneously manufacturing up to eight different models, either standard or customised.
Verallia Spain and Portugal general manager Paulo Pinto said that the modernisation makes it possible to offer “more quickly, tailor-made solutions to our customers”.
The firm, in a statement, said: “The export capacity of Verallia’s Spanish customers and the growing sensitivity of consumers to glass make Spain a strategic country for the Group.
“For this reason and because of the site’s proximity to one of the largest wine-growing regions (Castile and Leon, La Rioja and Castilla-La Mancha), the Burgos plant is perfectly positioned to serve the many vineyards that are increasing their production.”
As part of the reconstruction, the plant has been equipped with the latest technologies and materials to improve energy efficiency and environmental impact.
Verallia chairman and CEO Michel Giannuzzi said: “With this new furnace, the Burgos plant has state-of-the-art technology for the manufacture of glass bottles mainly for the wine and spirits markets.
“Our policy of sustained investment in Spain and in all our plants enables us to improve the operational excellence of our industrial facilities in order to become the preferred supplier of glass packaging.”
The company is planned to make an additional investment of €10m ($11m) to upgrade the second furnace at Burgos plant in 2020.