O-I Glass
An American manufacturer focused primarily on glass containers for food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and other consumer products.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
O-I Glass, legally Owens-Illinois, Inc., is an American packaging manufacturer whose principal business is the production of glass containers. The company supplies bottles and jars used across beverage, food, pharmaceutical, beer, wine, spirits, and other packaged-goods categories. Its manufacturing footprint spans North America, South America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, making it one of the largest global producers of container glass and, according to the referenced company history, the largest manufacturer of glass containers in North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe after its acquisition of BSN Glasspack. The company's origins lie in the Owens Bottle Company, founded in 1903 by Michael Joseph Owens and Edward Drummond Libbey. Owens's development of an automated bottle-making machine helped transform glass-container production from a largely manual craft into an industrial process capable of producing standardized bottles at scale. In 1929, Owens Bottle merged with Illinois Glass Company, creating Owens-Illinois, Inc. The combined business developed a broad industrial identity around glass technology, packaging, and related materials. Owens-Illinois subsequently diversified beyond container glass. In 1935 it entered a working partnership with Corning Incorporated; that relationship became Owens Corning Fiberglass Company in 1938. During the 1970s through the mid-1990s, the company also partnered with Nippon Electric Glass to manufacture television screens at facilities in Columbus, Ohio, and Pittston, Pennsylvania. In 1971, it produced an early commercial plasma display known as the Digivue. The company also operated a substantial plastics-packaging business, making containers, closures, and prescription containers, until selling that entire business to Rexam in July 2007. The corporation changed its trade name to O-I in 2005. The change was intended to give its international operations a shorter name that could be used more consistently across languages and cultures, while the legal corporate name remained Owens-Illinois, Inc. Its headquarters moved from One SeaGate in Toledo, Ohio, to the Levis Commons complex in Perrysburg, Ohio, in late 2006. The company expanded its international glass position through the 2004 acquisition of BSN Glasspack and through its 2015 purchase of Vitro's food and beverage glass-container business. O-I agreed to buy the Vitro business for $2.15 billion in May 2015, with the transaction closing in September of that year. O-I has also had a complicated corporate and legal history. It was part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1959 until 1987 and has had several periods of inclusion and removal from the S&P 500. A Venezuelan subsidiary was expropriated by the government of Hugo Chávez in 2010. The company has faced asbestos-related litigation connected to KAYLO thermal pipe insulation, which it manufactured and distributed from 1948 to 1958, although it has not made asbestos-containing materials since 1958. In 2020, subsidiary Paddock Enterprises entered bankruptcy proceedings so that asbestos-related claims could be addressed separately from O-I's glass operations. More recent regulatory matters have included environmental penalties involving the company's Oregon plant and a 2023 Federal Trade Commission penalty related to unlawful non-compete restrictions imposed on former employees. O-I's current identity is centered on container glass, with its brand positioned around industrial scale, packaging expertise, manufacturing technology, and the recyclability and reuse potential associated with glass packaging.
History
O-I Glass traces its history to the Owens Bottle Company, founded in 1903 by Michael Joseph Owens and Edward Drummond Libbey. Owens's automated bottle-making technology was a major step in the industrialization of glass packaging. It enabled manufacturers to make standardized bottles in much larger quantities than traditional hand-forming methods allowed. In 1929, Owens Bottle merged with Illinois Glass Company and became Owens-Illinois, Inc. The company expanded its activities during the twentieth century. In 1935 it formed a working partnership with Corning Incorporated, which developed into Owens Corning Fiberglass Company in 1938. Although container glass remained central to the business, Owens-Illinois also pursued adjacent technologies. In 1971 it produced the Digivue, an early commercial plasma display. It later partnered with Nippon Electric Glass to manufacture television screens at plants in Columbus, Ohio, and Pittston, Pennsylvania; those operations continued from the 1970s into the mid-1990s before being transferred to Techneglas. Owens-Illinois also operated in plastics packaging, producing containers, closures, and prescription containers in several regions. That diversification ended in July 2007, when the company completed the sale of its plastics-packaging business to Rexam. The disposal sharpened the company's focus on glass packaging. The corporate headquarters had previously been located at One SeaGate in Toledo, Ohio. In late 2006, the headquarters moved to the Levis Commons complex in nearby Perrysburg. The company adopted O-I as its trade name in 2005. The shorter identity was designed for use across different languages and national markets, while Owens-Illinois, Inc. continued as the legal corporate name. International expansion strengthened the company's position in container glass. The acquisition of BSN Glasspack in 2004 made O-I a leading producer across Europe and other major regions. In 2015, O-I pursued further expansion in Mexico by offering $2.15 billion for Vitro's food and beverage glass-container business; the purchase closed in September of that year. O-I's corporate history also includes periods of major-market-index membership. It was an original S&P 500 company in 1957, joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1959, and remained in that index until 1987. Its S&P 500 status changed several times, including removal in 1987 after a purchase by KKR, reinstatement in 1991, and another removal in 2000; it was added again in January 2009 before later leaving the index. The company's history includes significant legal and environmental exposure. Owens-Illinois invented, tested, manufactured, and distributed KAYLO asbestos-containing thermal pipe insulation from 1948 to 1958, and asbestos litigation continued even though the company stopped making asbestos-containing materials after 1958. In 2020, Paddock Enterprises, an O-I subsidiary, entered bankruptcy in connection with asbestos claims, separating those matters from the company's glass-making operations. In Venezuela, Owens-Illinois Venezuela C.A. was expropriated by the government of Hugo Chávez in 2010. More recent issues included an Oregon environmental penalty in 2023 concerning repeated emissions violations and a Federal Trade Commission penalty over unlawful non-compete provisions affecting former employees. Today, O-I Glass is principally identified with global container-glass manufacturing for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and other packaged-product markets.
- 2020
Paddock Enterprises enters bankruptcy
[1]The subsidiary entered bankruptcy proceedings in connection with asbestos-related litigation.
- 2015
Completes Vitro glass-container acquisition
[1]O-I completed its acquisition of Vitro's food and beverage glass-container business after announcing the transaction in May.
- 2010
Venezuelan subsidiary is expropriated
[1]Owens-Illinois Venezuela C.A. was expropriated by the Venezuelan government.
- 2007
Exits plastics packaging
[1]O-I completed the sale of its plastics-packaging business to Rexam.
- 2006
Moves headquarters to Perrysburg
[1]The headquarters moved from One SeaGate in Toledo to the Levis Commons complex in Perrysburg, Ohio.
- 2005
Adopts O-I as the trade name
[1]The company introduced O-I as its trade name for a more internationally consistent brand identity.
- 2004
Acquires BSN Glasspack
[1]The acquisition expanded O-I's container-glass presence in Europe and contributed to its broad international manufacturing position.
- 1971
Produces the Digivue plasma display
[1]The company produced an early commercial plasma display known as the Digivue.
- 1959
Joins the Dow Jones Industrial Average
[1]Owens-Illinois became a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- 1935
Partnership with Corning begins
[1]Owens-Illinois formed a working partnership with Corning Incorporated, which later became Owens Corning Fiberglass Company in 1938.
Products and positioning
A global, industrial-scale container-glass specialist serving branded food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and consumer-product companies. The company emphasizes manufacturing scale, packaging engineering, design capability, and glass as a recyclable packaging material.
Container glass
Food and beverage glass containers
O-I's core product family consists of glass bottles and jars for food and beverages. These containers are produced for packaged foods, sauces, preserves, drinks, and other consumer products, with formats designed around filling, storage, transport, labeling, and retail presentation requirements.
Beverage packaging
Beer, wine, and spirits bottles
The company manufactures glass bottles for alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, and spirits. The range can cover standardized high-volume formats as well as differentiated shapes and finishes used by beverage brands to communicate origin, quality, and product identity.
Healthcare packaging
Pharmaceutical glass containers
O-I has produced prescription and pharmaceutical packaging, including glass containers intended for healthcare products. Such packaging is designed around containment, product protection, filling-line compatibility, and the handling requirements of medicines and related products.
Plastics packaging
Plastics packaging
Historically, O-I operated a plastics-packaging business making containers, closures, and prescription containers in several regions. The company sold the entire business to Rexam in July 2007, so this is a discontinued historical product line rather than a current core offering.
Display materials · 1971
Television glass and display products
Through its partnership with Nippon Electric Glass, Owens-Illinois manufactured television screens at plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania from the 1970s into the mid-1990s. The company also produced the Digivue, an early commercial plasma display, in 1971. These activities are historical and no longer represent the company's principal business.
Controversies
2023
Oregon emissions violations
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined an O-I plant after a pattern of repeat emissions violations. The referenced account characterized the penalty as the facility's tenth fine.
2023
Illegal non-compete restrictions
The Federal Trade Commission penalized O-I Glass over the use of unlawful non-compete provisions imposed on former employees.
2020
Paddock Enterprises asbestos bankruptcy
Paddock Enterprises, an O-I subsidiary, entered bankruptcy after numerous asbestos lawsuits. The restructuring isolated asbestos-related claims from O-I's glass-manufacturing operations. The litigation relates to KAYLO asbestos-containing thermal pipe insulation made and distributed from 1948 to 1958.
Brand decisions
2020
Separated asbestos liabilities through subsidiary bankruptcyOtherBackground
O-I faced numerous asbestos-related claims associated with historical KAYLO insulation activities.
Action taken
Paddock Enterprises entered bankruptcy proceedings, placing asbestos-related claims within a separate subsidiary structure.
Aftermath
The structure was intended to separate asbestos litigation from O-I's operating glass business.
2015
Acquired Vitro's food and beverage glass businessM&ABackground
O-I sought to expand its food and beverage container-glass presence in Mexico and the wider Americas.
Action taken
O-I offered $2.15 billion for the business in May 2015 and completed the acquisition in September.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded O-I's regional glass-container operations.
Purchase price. $2.15 billion announced offer (2015)
2007
Sold the plastics-packaging businessStrategyBackground
Owens-Illinois had operated plastics packaging alongside its established glass business.
Action taken
The company completed the sale of its plastics-packaging operations to Rexam.
Aftermath
The transaction left container glass as the company's principal strategic focus.
2005
Adopted O-I as the global trade nameStrategyBackground
The company operated across multiple languages and national markets under the longer Owens-Illinois name.
Action taken
It adopted O-I as its trade name while retaining Owens-Illinois, Inc. as the legal corporate identity.
Aftermath
The shorter name became the common international brand for the company's glass-packaging operations.
Recent events
- 2018
Owens-Illinois changes corporate name to O-I Glass[3]
Other
The company adopted O-I Glass, Inc. as its corporate name, aligning its formal identity with the O-I brand and its focus on glass packaging.
- 2016
O-I Glass appoints Andrés López as chief executive officer[4]
Leadership change
Andrés López became chief executive officer after previously holding senior leadership roles in the company's operations and international business.
- 2015
O-I offers to acquire Vitro's food and beverage glass business[1]
M&A
O-I announced a $2.15 billion offer for the food and beverage glass-container business of Mexican company Vitro. The acquisition closed in September 2015.
- 2015
O-I offers to acquire Vitro food and beverage glass business[1]
M&A
O-I announced a $2.15 billion offer for the food and beverage glass-container business of Mexican company Vitro. The acquisition closed in September 2015.
- 2010
Venezuela expropriates an O-I subsidiary[1]
Regulation · Other
Owens-Illinois Venezuela C.A. was expropriated by the government of President Hugo Chávez.
- 2007
O-I completes the sale of its plastics-packaging business[1]
M&A
The company sold its entire plastics-packaging operation, including containers, closures, and prescription containers, to Rexam and returned its strategic emphasis to glass packaging.
- 2007
O-I completes sale of plastics-packaging business[1]
M&A
O-I completed the sale of its plastics-packaging operations to Rexam, ending its direct involvement in that major non-glass packaging segment.
- 2006
O-I moves headquarters to Perrysburg[1]
Other
The company's headquarters moved from One SeaGate in Toledo, Ohio, to the Levis Commons complex in Perrysburg, Ohio.
- 2005
O-I changes its trade name to O-I[1]
Other
Owens-Illinois adopted O-I as its trade name to present a shorter, more consistent identity for its international operations while retaining Owens-Illinois, Inc. as the legal corporate name.
Sources4 sources
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