In its 120-anniversary year, Vetropack Nemšová celebrates the success of its sustainable investment for recycling at its Slovakian site.

Vetropack Nemšová, the Slovakian subsidiary of the Vetropack Group, is celebrating a double anniversary.

The production site in Nemšová was founded 120 years ago and has been part of Vetropack for the past 20 years.

The anniversary year also marks a milestone in the on-going modernisation of the plant.

The expansion of its recycling line has increased the capacity for processing used glass, and has achieved significant savings in energy and CO2 emissions.

Plant history

The glass factory supplies Vetropack customers in Slovakia and neighbouring European countries.

Customers include the Carlsberg brewery, for whom Vetropack exclusively produces the blue bottles of the Kronenbourg wheat beer 1664 Blanc in Nemšová.

In 2002, Skloobal Nemšová, which had been run as a corporation since 1989, became part of the international Vetropack Group.

This was an important milestone for the site. Boris Sluka, Managing Director Business Unit Czech Republic and Slovakia, said: "Vetropack opened up completely new development opportunities for us.

"Regular investments in our equipment have enabled us to modernise our production processes and to grow significantly over the past two decades."

Last year, the site produced and processed around 196,000 tons of glass with two blast furnaces and a total of seven lines.

In total, Nemšová generated net sales of 63.6 million Swiss francs (CHF) in 2021.

Recycling line

To further strengthen its market position, Vetropack has invested significantly in the expansion of its recycling line for used glass in Nemšová this year.

The existing recycling line for broken glass from 2008 was converted to increase the yield of white glass considerably.

Vetropack Nemšová is currently the only processor that meets the current and future needs of the Slovak Republic in used glass recycling.

The conversion has increased the capacity of the recycling line by 50%: the line can now process around 140,000 tons of used glass per year.

The increased use of recycled glass can save 4,100 tons of raw material and reduce CO2 emissions by 550 tons.

"Projects that combine technological innovation and ecology show us the way to the future," said Mr Sluka. "They are the next chapter in the history of our site."