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Article by Nampak 1 August 2011
Nampak Wiegand Glass shows that lightweight is the right weight
In 2008/2009, Nampak Wiegand Glass introduced the lightweight 750ml wine bottle to the South African market. Weighing just 370g - compared to the standard 450g bottle - the lightweight bottle brought a significant material reduction to increasingly environmentally conscious brands and their equally mindful consumers.
Now comes Nampak Wiegand Glass’s crowning achievement, in the form of the 340g 750ml bottle - the lightest of all glass 750ml wine bottles made in South Africa yet.
The further lightweighting of the 750ml glass wine bottle brings both commercial and environmental benefits. Through leading packaging design and production methods, Nampak Wiegand Glass has not only optimised the wine bottle’s weight, but also taken into account the requirements of all stakeholders in the supply chain, including brand owners, fillers, retailers, consumers and of course the environment.
Nampak Wiegand Glass started by developing its lighter wine bottle to meet the same strict quality standards of its heavier weight counterparts. It is sometimes assumed that lighter weight bottles will suffer higher rates of failure, as it is thought that they have thinner walls. However, Nampak Wiegand Glass has demonstrated that modern manufacturing processes produce bottles that have even glass distribution, which more than compensates for the weight reduction.
The 340g lightweight bottles are formed using a ‘Narrow Neck Press and Blow’ process, which results in a more even glass distribution than heavier bottles made using ‘Blow and Blow’ technology. As a result, lightweight bottles are just as strong.
As an additional plus, the raw materials used in Nampak Wiegand Glass’s manufacturing process are complimented - and reduced - by using up to, and sometimes more than 45% cullet (recovered waste glass collected from recycling initiatives, [Status]). This adds a further saving for the environment in terms of minimising natural resource and energy consumption, not to mention increasing the recycling of waste glass.
Nampak Wiegand Glass estimates annual volumes to the general trade for the first year at a modest two million units for the 340g bottle – a rough saving of 60 tons of raw material, equivalent to two interlink trucks loaded to capacity. These volumes are expected to more than double in 2012.
They may not be the biggest player on the glass market, but Nampak Wiegand Glass has demonstrated the benefits of the intimate working relationship provided by a supplier of its size, working very closely with their trusting customers, one of whom has become the first in South Africa to reap the 340g bottle’s environmental and supply chain benefits. As such, the 340g bottle comes to life for consumers via Douglas Green Bellingham’s (DGB, [Status]) high volume Culemborg range. Culemborg is one of DGB’s biggest export lines and for this reason, the range was selected for the ultra lightweight bottles.
“We are the first to bottle in Nampak Wiegand Glass’s new ultra lightweight 750 ml glass bottle,” says General Manager of DGB Operations Pieter Marais. “To illustrate the significance of this achievement, consider that this brand was previously offered in the standard 450g bottle. The lightweighting therefore represents a 24% weight reduction in glass and the reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions on this brand alone are estimated to be over 100 tons per year. Not only is it the lightest weight 750ml glass wine bottle; it looks good too,” he said.
At 340g, the offering is currently the lightest wine bottle available in South Africa and one of the lightest bottles worldwide, with options that help customers realise increased environmental and supply chain savings, while retaining the strength and premium image for which glass is famous.
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Now comes Nampak Wiegand Glass’s crowning achievement, in the form of the 340g 750ml bottle - the lightest of all glass 750ml wine bottles made in South Africa yet.
The further lightweighting of the 750ml glass wine bottle brings both commercial and environmental benefits. Through leading packaging design and production methods, Nampak Wiegand Glass has not only optimised the wine bottle’s weight, but also taken into account the requirements of all stakeholders in the supply chain, including brand owners, fillers, retailers, consumers and of course the environment.
Nampak Wiegand Glass started by developing its lighter wine bottle to meet the same strict quality standards of its heavier weight counterparts. It is sometimes assumed that lighter weight bottles will suffer higher rates of failure, as it is thought that they have thinner walls. However, Nampak Wiegand Glass has demonstrated that modern manufacturing processes produce bottles that have even glass distribution, which more than compensates for the weight reduction.
The 340g lightweight bottles are formed using a ‘Narrow Neck Press and Blow’ process, which results in a more even glass distribution than heavier bottles made using ‘Blow and Blow’ technology. As a result, lightweight bottles are just as strong.
As an additional plus, the raw materials used in Nampak Wiegand Glass’s manufacturing process are complimented - and reduced - by using up to, and sometimes more than 45% cullet (recovered waste glass collected from recycling initiatives, [Status]). This adds a further saving for the environment in terms of minimising natural resource and energy consumption, not to mention increasing the recycling of waste glass.
Nampak Wiegand Glass estimates annual volumes to the general trade for the first year at a modest two million units for the 340g bottle – a rough saving of 60 tons of raw material, equivalent to two interlink trucks loaded to capacity. These volumes are expected to more than double in 2012.
They may not be the biggest player on the glass market, but Nampak Wiegand Glass has demonstrated the benefits of the intimate working relationship provided by a supplier of its size, working very closely with their trusting customers, one of whom has become the first in South Africa to reap the 340g bottle’s environmental and supply chain benefits. As such, the 340g bottle comes to life for consumers via Douglas Green Bellingham’s (DGB, [Status]) high volume Culemborg range. Culemborg is one of DGB’s biggest export lines and for this reason, the range was selected for the ultra lightweight bottles.
“We are the first to bottle in Nampak Wiegand Glass’s new ultra lightweight 750 ml glass bottle,” says General Manager of DGB Operations Pieter Marais. “To illustrate the significance of this achievement, consider that this brand was previously offered in the standard 450g bottle. The lightweighting therefore represents a 24% weight reduction in glass and the reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions on this brand alone are estimated to be over 100 tons per year. Not only is it the lightest weight 750ml glass wine bottle; it looks good too,” he said.
At 340g, the offering is currently the lightest wine bottle available in South Africa and one of the lightest bottles worldwide, with options that help customers realise increased environmental and supply chain savings, while retaining the strength and premium image for which glass is famous.
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