Leading technology company Siemens has supported Frugalpac in the development of a new high-speed machine that will help drinks brands take lower-carbon paper bottles from niche innovation to industrial-scale packaging and reduce emissions across the food and drink supply chain.
The Suffolk-based sustainable packaging company designs and supplies the machines that allow drinks brands, fillers and packaging partners to manufacture its Frugal Bottles, the world’s only commercially available paper bottle for wines, spirits and edible oils.
These bottles are made from 100% recycled paperboard and have a carbon footprint up to 84% lower than standard glass bottles, helping the drinks industry to meet the increased demand for lower-carbon packaging. To date, four million of these bottles have been produced by Frugalpac’s first generation machines, which have saved over 1,392 tonnes of CO₂e.
The business’s new Frugal Bottle Assembly Machine 2 (FBAM-2) is designed to remove the biggest barriers to wider adoption of paper-based bottles around the world in producing them at the speed, scale and reliability required by the drinks industry.
Siemens supplied the technology platform at the heart of the machine, including the automation architecture, drives and data transparency systems. This provides the software, electronics and motion control needed to move Frugalpac from a square-track concept to a more linear system designed for higher throughput, improved reliability and greater scalability.
With Siemens technology at its core, each FBAM-2 can produce approximately 14 million paper bottles a year, more than five times the annual capacity of its predecessor.
Siemens support has also cut manufacturing costs by up to 30%, bringing the Frugal Bottle to price parity – or better – than a labelled glass bottle for the first time.
It’s also helped to make the paper bottle 15% lighter – making it six times lighter than a glass bottle.
The machine is designed for installation directly at the point of production – like wineries or edible oil mills – allowing customers to manufacture bottles locally, closer to filling lines and reducing the need to transport empty packaging over long distances.
This is a critical step forward in meeting the rising global demand for more sustainable food and drink packaging.
Olly Gibbs, OEM Account Manager at Siemens, said: “Frugalpac is a powerful example of British innovation with a real-world purpose. The challenge was not whether paper bottles could work, but how to make them available at the scale the drinks industry needs.
“Our role has been to provide the technology that gives Frugalpac a faster, more reliable and more scalable machine platform. That matters because it gives drinks brands, fillers and packaging partners a practical way to produce their own lower-carbon bottles closer to where they are filled and sold.
“It shows how the right technology partnership can help manufacturers turn a sustainable idea into something industry can adopt at scale and deliver meaningful change.”
Malcolm Waugh, CEO of Frugalpac, added: “The FBAM-2 represents a major milestone for Frugalpac and for the wider drinks industry. Demand for lower-carbon packaging is increasing, but the industry needs production capacity to make that transition commercially viable.
“Siemens has helped us develop a faster, more efficient and more flexible machine platform that can support customers around the world as they look to manufacture Frugal Bottles closer to their own filling operations.
“Frugal Bottles are made from 100% recycled paperboard and have a carbon footprint at least 84% lower than a standard glass bottle. The FBAM-2 is about making that kind of sustainable packaging practical at scale.”
The latest real-world applications of groundbreaking technologies like this will be showcased at Transform 2026, where thousands of industry leaders, technology experts and policymakers will convene at Manchester Central to explore the future of digital and sustainable transformation. Hosted by Siemens, the free-to-attend two-day conference and exhibition will take place on July 15th and 16th.
To register for Transform, visit: https://www.siemens.com/en-us/events/transform/uk-ireland/?stc=ukcg200659
More details of all the data in the press release can be found on the Frugalpac website, here.
