Highly flexible production line as next step towards commercialization of revolutionary glass-making technology
Mex / Holzminden, September 10, 2019 – Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE: OI), the world’s largest provider of glass packaging, announced today it is earmarking its plant in Holzminden, Germany, for installation of a new furnace with all-new glassmaking technology. The Company first announced plans for an additional furnace last month. Based on the Company’s MAGMA technology, and along with a highly flexible production line, it is planned to be situated at O-I’s existing factory in Lower Saxony.
Revealed for the first time in November last year, the MAGMA technology has been successfully operating on a pilot line at the Company’s US plant in Streator, IL. The new equipment in Holzminden represents the next step towards full commercialization by scaling up the production volume and allowing the Company to increase testing intensity and scope.
MAGMA is a breakthrough initiative to reimagine glassmaking with transformational technology and new processes. This O-I innovation will allow for ultra-flexible glass production that can be expanded rapidly and at low capital intensity. “Innovation and technology are key cornerstones of O-I’s business strategy,” said Vitaliano Torno, President of O-I Europe. “The MAGMA technology enables us to define a new way of making glass to better serve our customers and bring more options and flexibility to production.”
This investment would create new jobs, offering career opportunities to those who are eager to make sustainable products that positively impact our communities. A natural product that is infinitely and completely recyclable as well as frequently reusable, glass is the most sustainable packaging solution.
Reiner Zinnecker, manufacturing leader at O-I Germany, concluded: “It is great news that our highly flexible and technically advanced plant has been selected for such breakthrough technology. We are excited to be at the forefront of driving innovation in the glass industry. Our team of highly-skilled employees is eager to play a key role in achieving O-I’s vision for the future of glassmaking.”
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