The hollow glass industry is faced with intensive international competition. To secure their future, manufacturing companies are developing new, innovative products and are building highly efficient energy-saving production facilities. Hollow glass for the storage of oils and ointments has been in use for a long time - with evidence dating back three and a half thousand years. The unique properties of this material were valued greatly at the time, and are still among its major quality characteristics today. Glass is made of natural raw materials, can be moulded into an infinite number of shapes, and is inert - i.e. the material does not react with its content. This means that there is virtually no interaction between the container and the product, and it is therefore an excellent packaging material - not just for food and drinks but also for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and numerous chemical products. Bottles, jars and flacons are produced by the container glass industry, which forms the hollow glass market segment together with the domestic glass sector. This article takes a look at some recent innovations and success factors of this remarkable material.
