From:Packaging Europe News

Ardagh Group has developed an ultra-lightweight 275ml bottle for Beck’s and Beck’s Blue , reducing the original from 185gms to 165gms. The 11 per cent weight reduction on 130 million bottles will save 2,642 tonnes of glass, the equivalent weight of over 200 modern double decker buses. The new lighter bottle will mean 1,940 tonnes of CO2 are removed from the manufacturing process at Ardagh’s glass plant in Nienburg, Germany, where the bottles were produced.

Ardagh’s use of advanced analytical design tools enabled the 20g per bottle weight reduction to be achieved whilst maintaining the strength of the original container.  Designers were also able to provide additional value through the incorporation of a label panel, whilst retaining the outline bottle shape and neck profile of the previous design.

Fabienne Rollot, marketing director, at Beck’s Western Europe, said: “Beck’s is a pioneering brand at the forefront of independent thinking, always looking for ways to innovate. This change is just one of the ways in which we are improving our environmental performance and making our iconic green bottles even greener.”
Inge Plochaet, president, at AB InBev UK & Ireland, said: “The lighter Beck’s bottles will make a tangible contribution to this effort and represent another significant step towards realising our ambition to become the Best Beer Company in a Better World.”