Austrian glassmaker Stölzle Glass Group (STO) has invested in two 3D Printer systems and installed them in its Austrian headquarters as well as in its Stölzle Flaconnage British plant.


Stölzle Flaconnage invested in a system which can be easily customised to suit the special needs. It prints by heating and extruding plastic filament (ABS/PLA or T-Glass). The Austrian headquarter invested in a more sophisticated type of 3D printer, which is able to produce translucent acrylate sample bottles. The 3D models are built in layers of acrylate around wax which after the printing process will be melted away easily in order to achieve a sample bottle which can be filled and even used for testing of closures by the customer. Due to the utmost thin layers of acrylate, the sample bottles don’t require further processing like polishing or the removal of fix supporting materials.

With the 3D printers up and running, the Stölzle Glass Group is now able to increase efficiency by producing 3D models at a low cost in a matter of hours instead of weeks. Many of STO’s customers did already appreciate the benefit of this new service. Stölzle Glass Group has five production sites across Europe and is a leader in both custom design and standard glass containers for Perfumery & Cosmetics, Prestige Spirits as well as Healthcare & Consumer markets. A variety of in-house decoration techniques like hot foil blocking and multi-colour spraying are offered to make STO’s products unique,” said the group in a release.