Record Investment for O-I Glass in France: €95 Million to Upgrade Plants in Gironcourt and Reims - Seite 2

The Reims plant, which celebrated its 150 years anniversary in 2023, is a model for O-I's overall sustainability efforts. An average of about 90% of its raw material consists of scrap and locally recycled glass ("cullet"). The high cullet rate is a major contributor in reducing the plant's CO₂ emissions by about 60% and fine particle emissions by about 80%. Since the 2019 investment, waste heat from glass packaging production has been recovered to be used in domestic homes in the local community.

The O-I plant in Reims is ideally located in the heart of the Champagne vineyards minimizing delivery routes and time to the wineries. The plant delivers champagne bottles to nearby customers with trucks powered by grapeseed and fryer oil resulting in about a 60% CO₂ emission reduction compared to diesel fuel and about 80% less fine particles emissions.

The plant serves a highly diverse customer base serving more than 1,000 customers in France. It is able to produce bottles in three colors and in sizes ranging from 0.2l to Magnum. It produces 300 million bottles a year for the Champagne, Burgundy, Loire Valley, and Alsace markets.

For Walter Ferrer, Managing Director of O-I Glass for Southwest Europe, "these very significant investments are perfectly in line with the global approach adopted by O-I to reinforce our commitment to sustainable development, increase the energy efficiency of our equipment, create more resilient supply chains and constantly seek to improve the working conditions of our teams. They also demonstrate the confidence we have in our facilities in France, and our full commitment to serving our customers, our teams, and the planet."

ABOUT O-I

At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass and we're proud to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, it's also pure and completely recyclable, making it the most sustainable rigid packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is the preferred partner for many of the world's leading food and beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers' needs to create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by our diverse team of more than 23,000 people across 68 plants in 19 countries, O-I achieved net sales of $7.1 billion in 2023.