Verallia France, a subsidiary of the Verallia Group, the European leader and third-largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products, announces the completion of the renovation and restart of furnace No 2 at the Verrerie Ouvrière d’Albi, France. This investment, which is part of the Group’s industrial modernisation strategy, allows VOA to strengthen its regional presence and sustain its business serving the wine and spirits markets.
Built in 2017, furnace No 2 was shut down in July 2024 for a partial renovation midway through its operational life. This renovation is part of a desire to maintain the furnace’s performance and extend its lifespan by an additional seven years. This operation thus improves energy efficiency and continues Verallia’s commitment to a local and sustainable production model.
Equipped with two furnaces—one dedicated to extra white tinting, the other to cinnamon or dead leaf tinting—the glassworks has established itself as a leading player in the production of high-end bottles and small and medium-sized production runs, demonstrating unique industrial flexibility.
With 300 employees and 300 million bottles produced each year, the VOA actively contributes to the local economic dynamism and the influence of the French glass industry. Its expertise and capacity for innovation, particularly its expertise in custom bottle design, allow it to meet evolving market expectations while consolidating its local roots. To meet the challenges of tomorrow while preserving its expertise, VOA will need to rely on public support to increase its electrical capacity and invest in low-carbon furnaces that use more electricity to reduce its environmental footprint.
The Verallia Group’s electrification strategy to reduce its CO2 emissions by 46 percent by 2030 is taking shape through the deployment of two new furnace technologies:
- A 100 percent electric furnace for clear or extra-clear glass, reducing CO2 emissions by 60 percent. The world’s first furnace of this type for food glass was inaugurated in September 2024 at the Verallia plant in Cognac.
- A hybrid furnace (80 percent electricity and 20 percent gas or another low-carbon alternative) for coloured glass, reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent. This technology will be deployed at the end of 2025 in Zaragoza, Spain, before being implemented at the Saint-Romain-Le-Puy (Loire) plant in 2026.