Record Investment for O-I Glass in France: €95 Million to Upgrade Plants in Gironcourt and Reims

Major advances in sustainability, flexibility, and productivity

€55 million for the plant in Gironcourt-sur-Vraine; €40 million for Reims

PERRYSBURG, OH and VAULX-EN-VELIN, FRANCE / ACCESSWIRE / February 21, 2024 / O-I Glass, Inc. O-I Glass, Inc (NYSE:OI) announced today the company is investing €95 million into two of its French glass packaging production facilities. As a continuation of its modernization investment program, these significant investments aim to upgrade the sustainability, flexibility, and productivity of its operations in Gironcourt-sur-Vraine and Reims. This investment is consistent with O-I's recently updated ESG roadmap which is aligned with our previously announced capital spending plan.

In Gironcourt, where the plant recently marked its 120th anniversary, €55 million will be invested in close cooperation with one of its key customers to rebuild a furnace and equip it with innovative GOAT technology (Gas Oxy Advanced Technology).

This innovative approach - already successfully implemented last year at the O-I plant in Vayres (France) - uses a mix of gas and oxygen to heat the furnace. In combination with a newly installed heat recovery system to pre-heat raw materials and recycled glass, the new installation is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 18%.

In addition to the furnace upgrade, a production line at the plant will be modernized to further increase flexibility and capacity. An average of about 80% of the plant's raw materials is comprised of scrap and locally recycled glass, underlining the circular and local nature of glass packaging.

The majority of the glass bottles produced in Gironcourt are supplied to customers by rail, reducing the number of trucks per week by about 250. The new expenditure into Gironcourt will increase the total investment into the site to almost €120 million since 2019 when O-I established an all-new third furnace in Gironcourt. The plant produces approximately 1.9 billion bottles a year, primarily for the beer market.

In Reims, O-I completed a €40 million investment for a major upgrade including the full renovation of one of the plant's two furnaces and a production line, as well as the installation of all-new equipment. On top of multiple operational benefits, this also resulted in an overall energy reduction of about 5%.

In total, O-I has invested €90 million into the Reims site since 2019, when its other furnace was rebuilt-contributing to making it one of the most modern plants within O-I's global footprint.