Our Glass Packaging Roots and Our Global Future

The Verallia UK story began in 1874, in a small town named Knottingley in the heart of West Yorkshire. Three glassblowers and a blacksmith formed a partnership to craft glass packaging for the region and beyond. Today, Verallia UK is a region of an industry giant, being a part of the world’s third largest producer of glass packaging, which produced 16 billion bottles and jars in 2023 alone.

 

Our Heritage at Verallia

Verallia is steeped in history, for over 200 years we have curated premium glass packaging that has been enjoyed across Europe. But getting to this point has been no small feat, and our heritage and international expertise have been a crucial component of our success.

Verallia is a culmination of companies coming together, sharing their knowledge and experience to excel in the glass packaging industry, to deliver unique, complex projects.

Each region brings years of industry expertise and between them have built specialisms that deliver something distinctive to the market. Since 1920, Verallia UK has been forging innovation in the UK spirits market, producing bottles from the Leeds factory on Clarence Road which remains to this day. Over the years our company and our dedicated employees have honed a specialism in bespoke spirit bottle creations. We have become masters in crafting distinctive bottles that are manifestations of the elegant and renowned brands we collaborate with.

Crafting Glass Packaging Since the 19^th Century

Verallia Group similar to us has grown through many milestones of the business in the 200 years it has been in operation. Each of these years has contributed to specialisms being developed and perfected, with the knowledge of our engineers being passed down through each generation of employees through dedicated training. Through the expertise that has been built, and the processes that have been consistently refined to deliver the highest-quality, premium glass packaging, Verallia has become a world-leading manufacturer of food and drink glass bottles and jars. As the company continued to expand and grow, the skillset established was not only passed through generations but also shared amongst regions, as our employees share gained knowledge and experiences, so we can excel together.

The combination of the regions and the expertise that has been brought together means we can service an array of industries and deliver unparalleled levels of service and quality.

Together we are redefining glass packaging.

 

Our Common Purpose

Whilst the origins of our companies may differ, we share a common purpose ‘Re-imagining glass for a sustainable future’.

We come together to innovate our practices to be less carbon-intensive and harmful to the environment.

Aligning with this goal, Verallia UK has introduced ECOVA to the portfolio of off-the-shelf glass packaging, that was first introduced in France. This range champions our purpose and the decarbonisation of glass packaging by prioritising the incorporation of high-quality external cullet and reducing the weight.

The ECOVA spirits range comprises four bottle types that have been designed with sustainability in mind.

 

But, What’s Next for Verallia?

The story of Verallia has demonstrated longevity and this will continue well into the future. For the coming years, our priorities at Verallia UK will encompass the following:

• Circular glass packaging
• Driving continuous quality improvement
• Expanding our product portfolio

When discussing the future of the business with our Quality Director, David Kirk for our latest Meet the Maker series, he said the following:

“I think Verallia will continue to develop as a whole and introduce new products that we have not produced before, and even enter into new categories. I think there will be more emphasis on categories such as wines and sparkling wines bottles that historically we have not produced in the UK in large volumes, but the other regions of Verallia do. To summarise, there will be a diverse range of products that we design and manufacture, which will be exciting.”

With a clear and cohesive strategy for the Group going forward, we are excited to continue to innovate and transform the glass packaging for a sustainable future.

If you are interested in leveraging our heritage and the associated expertise for your premium glass packaging project, then speak to our experts today.