Visy has produced the first glass bottles at its new recycling and manufacturing facility in Yatala, Queensland, where annual capacity is expected to reach up to one billion bottles and jars once fully operational.
The first bottles rolling off the line follow the start of commissioning of the first of two oxygen-fuelled furnaces at the site. Visy says the facility will manufacture glass packaging with an average of 70 per cent recycled content when fully operational.
Visy chief executive officer Mark De Wit said the first glass production followed nearly four years of construction and implementation.
“You spend years looking at drawings, construction schedules and progress reports. Seeing the first glass come out of the furnace is the moment it all becomes real,” De Wit said.
“It’s a proud day for everyone who helped bring this project to life.”
The facility combines oxygen-fuelled furnaces with technology that pre-heats recycled glass. Visy says this will enable it to produce new glass packaging using less energy than traditional glass manufacturing facilities.
The project has created more than 600 construction jobs and is expected to support around 200 ongoing operational jobs once fully commissioned.
