Packaging Vetropack closes plant in St-Prex earlier than planned

The bottle and glass packaging manufacturer Vetropack is already initiating the closure of glass production in St-Prex. The closure comes two months earlier than originally planned, which the company justifies with safety concerns.

The move is "irreversible", Vetropack announced in a press release on Wednesday. Due to the poor condition of the furnace and low staffing levels, safe operation of the plant could no longer be guaranteed.

The furnace would have had to be replaced soon due to its age. This and the lack of profitability were the reasons why Vetropack announced the closure of the last Swiss glass packaging production plant at the end of August in the spring.

During the strikes in May, the cooling technology was temporarily overloaded, Vetropack explained further. According to an external expert, the furnace could in principle continue to be operated, but only if the production process ran "absolutely smoothly and continuously".

"However, we are currently experiencing an unusually high number of sick days in St-Prex and therefore no longer have enough specialist staff to ensure glass production," explained CEO Johann Reiter in the press release. Production will therefore have to be stopped earlier than planned.

The relocation of production to other plants within the Group is already in full swing, the statement continued. Vetropack is confident that it will be able to largely avoid supply bottlenecks during the transition phase.

SDA