Irish glass packaging giant, Ardagh Group is claiming to have made packaging history with the recent launch of the world’s first truly limited edition spirit bottle.
Ardagh has created almost four million uniquely designed and individually decorated bottles for long-time client, Absolut, developing a computerised valve and control system to continually change colours and spray patterns on the bottles, as well as a system which adds "colour splashes" at random during the coating process. The individual 'Absolut Unique' bottles are due to go on sale this month, initially through the global retail sector.
Each of the colourful bottles carries a a different colour coating and pattern as well as its own unique label number, which the company says offers customers a "truly personalised" product.
The bottles were created at Ardagh's glass plant in Limmared, Sweden, under Fredrik Källqvist, Development Manager Glass Sweden & Denmark. He explained the process, “We further introduced new functionality on the screen printing machine for randomising the print start for each printing station in the machine. We also created a screen and colour changing scheme for the screen printing process balancing variation and productivity, and established systems to mix the bottles during and in between the process steps to further increase variation.
Jonas Tåhlin, VP global marketing at Absolut described the project as "daring", saying, "Anyone can do one or two unique products but we’re making close to four million." He added, WMaking it happen was the hard part. Along the way we doubted whether this would be at all possible. Well, guess what? It is.”
Check out our profile 'Amazing Astonishing Ardagh' on page 65 of the current issue, available here: ESM September/October. (15 Oct)
© 2012 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
