Glass bottle goes lightweight below the magic 200g mark
By Canadian Packaging Staff
General Ardagh Glass Coca-Cola glass bottles glass containers lightweighting Coca-Cola glass bottles lightweighting glass bottlesThanks to Ardagh's lightweigthing expertise, Coca-Cola's iconic glass bottle weighs only 190g.
Ongoing investing in design technology coupled with carefully targeted changes in the glass forming process have enabled the design team at Ardagh’s UK glass container manufacturing operation to take the weight of the 330ml Coca Cola bottle below the 200g level for the first time with a new 190g bottle.
This achievement is the result of a series of incremental improvements, which have seen the 330ml version of the iconic contour bottle reduced in weight from 240g in 2005 to its current weight of 190g. During this process, Ardagh has been able to retain all the bottle’s trademark dimensions, and maintain quality and strength while improving environmental performance.
The lightweighting project also involves 330ml Sprite and Fanta bottles, in addition to the smaller sized 200ml Coca Cola bottle, which is sometimes referred to as the ‘mixer’ bottle. The 200ml container has had its weight reduced in three stages during the same timeframe, from 170g in 2002 to its current weight of 140g.
Carsten Berkau, Design Manager for Glass Europe at Ardagh Group, says : “Lightweighting is an ongoing process through well-established design and manufacturing techniques. Our task is keep the brand shape, whilst determining the stress points and the optimum weight of a glass bottle. State of the art technology ensures that when we are challenged, we can respond with even greater precision.”
Ardagh is also working with Coca Cola on a number of other innovative sustainability projects with a view of reducing energy and CO2 emissions. The installation of heat exchangers in a pilot project at Ardagh’s Dongen glass plant in the Netherlands transfers recovered energy in the form of hot water from the glass plant to Coca Cola’s nearby bottling plant.
Advertisement
