Glassmaking in an unstable world: Some factories close, while others rise from the ashes

Glass factories are closing in some countries, including Greece, while Turkey is pushing its products into European markets. In Serbia, the glass factory in Paraćin is trying to withstand the pressure through modernization and plans for more efficient energy use.

The factory, the only one left on Serbia’s domestic market, was in poor condition after two failed privatizations. Swiss Vaider Group took it out of bankruptcy in 2022. Since then, the group has invested about 100 million euros in modernizing the plant. Vaider also owns Slovenia’s Steklarna Hrastnik.

Paraćin has installed latest-generation AIS production machines capable of making more than 400 bottles per minute with high precision. It has also invested in advanced inspection lines that use learning artificial intelligence. The system sets its own parameters for removing defective products after assessing the first item placed on the line.

“With the new technology, we produce up to 270 tonnes of glass batch a day, which amounts to nearly 100,000 tonnes of products a year,” Igor Antić, Vaider’s director of executive operations at the Serbian Glass Factory, told Biznis i finansije. Production mainly consists of container glass. The factory’s former handmade products, including glasses and optical glass, ended long ago. The machines could produce more, he said, but demand determines the volume and product mix.

“

With the new technology, we produce up to 270 tonnes of glass batch a day, which amounts to nearly 100,000 tonnes of products a year.

The company currently covers about 20 percent of the Serbian market. Its share once stood much higher, but unreliable production in previous years pushed many customers toward suppliers in Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and, more recently, Hungary.

The factory could broaden its range, but the energy crisis and other effects of geopolitical tensions make it difficult to compete on price with Chinese and Turkish producers. “For glass packaging, because of the product’s weight and the high share of transport in costs, local factories have an advantage when they are within 500 kilometres of the customer,” Antić said. Paraćin has partly moved beyond that limit, supplying some manufacturers across Europe and exporting several products to the United States.

Glass can be recycled repeatedly without losing weight or changing its chemical composition. However, the amount of recycled glass in the final product depends largely on customers. The source text ends while discussing the demands attached to higher-quality products that Paraćin began making late last year.

“

For glass packaging, because of the product’s weight and the high share of transport in costs, local factories have an advantage when they are within 500 kilometres of the customer.