Pulpex opens first commercial fibre bottle factory in Glasgow

Scottish facility moves fibre bottles from innovation to industrial reality, creating 39 skilled jobs and establishing the global reference model for manufacture under licence.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND — 8 OCTOBER 2026 — Pulpex, the UK packaging technology company behind one of the world's leading fibre bottle platforms, today opened its first commercial manufacturing facility near Glasgow. Fitted for an initial capacity of up to 40 million units per annum and creating approximately 39 skilled manufacturing jobs, the plant is the first step on a roadmap to one billion units a year and the working reference model for Pulpex's global Manufacture Under Licence network. The development has been supported by investment from the UK's National Wealth Fund and the Scottish National Investment Bank.

The opening confirms that fibre bottle technology has moved beyond pilot and development phases into industrial reality. For brand owners, investors, manufacturing partners and policymakers, Glasgow provides a tangible platform for the next generation of renewable packaging and a demonstration that a lower-carbon alternative to glass and plastic can be produced at commercial scale, to commercial standards, today.

“The opening of our Glasgow facility marks the moment Pulpex moves from proving the technology to proving the industrial model. We have developed and industrialised a breakthrough packaging technology in the United Kingdom, and Glasgow is where partners and brand owners can now see it running. Every Manufacture Under Licence conversation we have from today is a conversation about a working plant rather than a prototype enabling the start of a material impact on our environment by reducing CO2 emissions and critically, removing plastic waste on land and in our oceans..”

Sandy Westwater, Chief Executive Officer, Pulpex

Technology built for adoption, not just for sustainability

Pulpex's patent-protected fibre bottle platform is made from sustainably sourced wood pulp, is free from hidden plastic, and is designed to be recycled through normal household paper and card streams using existing paper and board recycling facilities. Independent of any new infrastructure, the bottle returns through the system consumers already use.

That compatibility is a decisive advantage for brand owners responding to tightening packaging and recyclability requirements, including those arising under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the UK's Extended Producer Responsibility regime. It is enabled by Pulpex's approach to delivering the barrier performance packaged products require while preserving the bottle's compatibility with fibre recycling systems.

The commercial case is equally practical. The bottle is engineered for compatibility with existing filling infrastructure, allowing adoption without costly production-line modifications, while direct-to-shape decoration delivers genuine brand differentiation on shelf.

Ease of adoption extends upstream into the supply chain. Pulpex bottles are produced from non-specialist commodity pulp sourced through established global markets rather than a proprietary or single-source feedstock, removing one of the common barriers to industrialising a new packaging format. Pulpex also supplies licensed manufacturers with the full validated supply chain of consumables required for production, so partners adopt a qualified and tested system rather than assembling and proving one themselves. The result is a renewable, recyclable, lower-carbon format that can be adopted without compromising product performance, manufacturing efficiency or brand identity.

Commercial demand established before opening

Glasgow opens with commercial demand already in place. More than 90% of the site's initial available capacity for the current financial year has been sold, with customers committed across both food-grade and non-food categories.

Purely Scottish Natural Mineral Water will be among the first brands to take commercial volumes from the site, launching what is set to be the UK's first natural mineral water in a paper bottle following an 18-month collaboration with Pulpex. smol, the fast-growing household cleaning brand, is introducing Pulpex fibre bottles into the liquid laundry category providing an alternative to conventional plastic packaging in a sector that has historically struggled to move beyond plastic dependence.

Further announcements concerning launches with major international consumer brands across food and beverage, home care and personal care are expected in the coming months.

Together these commitments demonstrate the versatility of the platform across categories, and validate its ability to deliver commercial solutions in multiple consumer markets.

Scaling through manufacturing partnerships

Glasgow is the reference model for a growing network of Manufacture Under Licence partners, which Pulpex anticipates will be composed principally of established packaging converters producing fibre bottles close to regional and brand-owner demand. This partner-led approach allows Pulpex to scale internationally without requiring brand owners to become manufacturers, while keeping production aligned with local recycling infrastructure.

In Europe, Perlen Industrieholding AG, the Swiss paper and packaging group, became Pulpex's first Manufacture Under Licence partner, holding manufacturing exclusivity across Switzerland, Austria, Italy and southern Germany, and has already announced its PerlenBottle in market. As a paper manufacturer and recycler in its own right, Perlen also exemplifies how Pulpex bottles are designed to return through existing paper and board recycling systems.

In Asia, Pulpex has granted Alternicq, India's largest rigid packaging manufacturer, exclusive rights to develop the market across India and the Gulf Cooperation Council as the precursor to a full Manufacture Under Licence agreement opening a route for brand owners in one of the world's largest consumer markets, and a leading export hub for the Gulf, to access fibre bottle technology at commercial scale.

Together, these partnerships demonstrate the network taking shape across multiple regions as the practical engine of the 40 million to one billion unit roadmap.

Delivering the UK's Industrial Strategy in practice

The Glasgow opening comes as the UK prioritises advanced manufacturing, clean growth and regional economic development. Pulpex offers a clear example of that ambition in action: UK-developed intellectual property commercialised through domestic manufacturing capability, backed by public and private investment, and exported globally through a licensing-led business model that retains technology leadership and IP ownership in the UK.

The facility provides initial capacity for commercial launches and scaled trials with Pulpex's growing portfolio of brand customers, while international partners prepare to bring additional licensed capacity to market. Glasgow therefore serves both as a launch platform for customer adoption and as the reference model for international expansion.

“With an initial capacity of 40 million units a year, Glasgow is the first step on our path to one billion units globally. It is exactly the kind of innovation-led manufacturing the UK's Industrial Strategy champions: high-value UK intellectual property, advanced production, skilled jobs in Scotland, and a practical solution for a lower-carbon economy.”

Scott Winston, Managing Director & Chief Science and Sustainability Officer, Pulpex

A platform built for every stakeholder.

For investors, Glasgow converts years of technology development and intellectual property into a fully operational commercial asset, with the pathway from 40 million to one billion units delivered through a global licensing network. For brand owners, it provides access to renewable, lower-carbon packaging at commercial volume without fundamental changes to existing filling operations, alongside compatibility with established paper and board recycling infrastructure as recyclability requirements tighten. For future Manufacture Under Licence partners, it offers a working reference plant, a validated consumables supply chain and a proven blueprint for scaling production globally. For local communities, it creates skilled manufacturing employment and anchors Scotland's position in the transition to a low-carbon industrial economy.

A foundation for global growth

The Glasgow site has been engineered as the reference facility for Pulpex's international expansion. Combined with an active pipeline of brand opportunities, it demonstrates how licensed manufacturing can be deployed globally while UK leadership in technology development and intellectual property is maintained. The route to one billion units is a licensing-led scale-up strategy, built by transferring the Glasgow model to established packaging converters rather than requiring brand owners to become manufacturers.

The facility marks a milestone not only for Pulpex but for the wider sustainable packaging sector. By combining commercial-scale production, proven technology, filling-line compatibility, recyclability through established paper and board infrastructure, strong environmental credentials and a scalable global licensing model, Pulpex has established the platform from which fibre bottles can move from niche innovation to mainstream packaging.

With Glasgow now operational, Pulpex enters a new phase of growth — defined not by proving what is possible, but by delivering it at scale.