Glass packaging holds a dominant position within the Polish glass products industry. Bottles and jars made of colourless glass (almost 80% of production) are the most popular. Food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical glass packaging are also manufactured in the country. Situated in the heart of Austria, Stölzle- Oberglas has manufactured glass for more than 200 years, with four production sites in Austria, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Poland. The company is a manufacturer of glass containers for the prestige and beauty market,healthcare, glass tableware and consumer markets. The Polish plant is located in Czestochowa, which is regarded as a lucrative market location and a good place to invest as it enables exports to major and emerging markets. With more than 400 employees, it mainly produces spirit bottles for export, but has also seen an increase in domestic sales. The company has recently invested several million Euros in the Polish facility, resulting in the expansion of a second furnace for white flint glass in 2011. The company regards the future of the Polish glass industry as good. It believes the potential for glass growth remains, as on average Poles use approximately half of the glass containers produced per year compared to consumption in Western Europe. Polish producers of alcohol (mostly vodka) have started to search for ways to make their products more individual with different shapes and designs to differentiate from competitors. As Polish society becomes more affluent, there are now more glass bottles not of the standard shape they used to be - most Polish vodka producers used the same round bottles. Stölzle specialises in this kind of glass packaging and offers a range of decoration, which means a product can be individualised. This gives the company the potential for further development in the Polish glass market.
