Owens-Illinois, Inc. has announced significant investment in its Jakarta plant introducing narrow neck press and blow (NNPB) technology for efficient lightweight bottle production. O-I Jakarta’s President Director, Joseph Haddad, says the investment is a direct result of growing customer demand and the company’s confidence in the growth prospects that exist for Southeast Asia-based manufacturers
Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE: OI), the world’s largest glass container manufacturer, has announced it is making a significant investment in its Jakarta plant, and introducing an innovative technology called narrow neck press and blow (NNPB), enabling efficient lightweight bottle production.
An existing production line was also recently upgraded to increase speed and capacity, allowing the company to continue to serve Indonesia’s leading food, beverage and pharmaceutical brands, as well as the ever-expanding Southeast Asia market.
O-I Jakarta’s President Director, Joseph Haddad, says O-I’s investment is a direct result of growing customer demand and the company’s confidence in the growth prospects that exist for Southeast Asia-based manufacturers.
“The Indonesian and Southeast Asian markets represent major opportunities for our Jakarta plant, which has supplied Indonesia’s food, beverage and pharmaceutical markets with quality glass containers for the past 40 years, and is set to play an integral role in achieving O-I’s growth targets,” said Mr Haddad.
“O-I’s 2013 Asia Pacific volume gains, were driven by strong growth in Southeast Asia, a trend we expect to continue,” he added.
To better align its operations with this predicted growth, O-I Jakarta is currently installing narrow neck press and blow (NNPB) technology, whichensures consistent and precise glass wall thickness, helping to reduce bottle weight whilst maintaining design profiles and glass strength. The lightweight bottle production process is also more sustainable because it uses less glass during production. It also requires fewer raw materials, and results in lower CO2 emissions.
“The advantage of being part of a multi-national business such as ours is that we can access a range of regional and global resources. We have a great deal of expertise in lightweighting containers, and we have colleagues from around the world who are working with our team in Indonesia to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to successfully manage NNPB production,” said Mr Haddad.
O-I’s NNPB technology has been used by many of the world’s high-profile beverage companies to deliver significant environmental benefits. One example is O-I’s award-winning Australian Lean+Green® lightweight wine bottle range, which has been adopted by over 75 Australian wine brands since its launch in 2009.
In addition to its own production, O-I Jakarta has the ability to access its regional footprint to support further local growth and ensure security of supply.
“Our regional footprint gives us the ability to source glass containers that we don’t currently produce locally, and offer our Indonesian customers an extensive product portfolio,” said Mr Haddad.
“In addition to providing the latest innovations in glass bottle production, we also offer local customers valuable insights into various markets around the world. We recently hosted a major Indonesian customer in Australia to provide it with a detailed look at the local beverage industry, including a range of perspectives on glass filling set-up, techniques, distribution and marketing,” said Mr Haddad.
O-I Jakarta also encourages its customers to access additional services to support new product development. For instance, O-I Jakarta works with its regional design team to help customers develop unique glass packaging designs that differentiate their brands. They also ensure that designs are suited to manufacture, and meet customer filling-line and secondary‐packaging requirements.