Glass Manufacturers in Italy: Figures, Production Process and Selection Criteria

In 2024 Italy overtook Germany in glass production capacity, becoming Europe's leading glass producer. Behind this achievement lies a dense network of manufacturers, some specialising in container glass — used mainly for bottles — and others in flat glass, used for products such as sliding glass walls.

In this article we look at the figures on glass manufacturers in Italy, the glass production process and the criteria for choosing the manufacturer best suited to your project.

Glass manufacturers in Italy: the figures and clusters behind a European leader

Italy's glass industry comprises 111 production sites spread across the country and more than 16,500 employees, making it a sector with significant economic impact. Italy is also the European leader in glass production, with an output capacity of 6.5 million tonnes a year, against 5.5–5.7 million for Germany.

Almost half of all production is concentrated between the North and Abruzzo. The main hubs are:

• Veneto: the leading production district, with Murano, a world leader in artistic glass, and Portogruaro, specialising in flat glass;
• Tuscany: a long tradition in container glass, particularly in Empoli;
• Abruzzo: home to the Vastese industrial district;
• Other significant regions: Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli and Piedmont.

The main market segments in Italy

National production is split into two main branches with very different applications.

Container glass is by far the larger segment, with 4.4 million tonnes produced in 2024. It includes glass bottles — the predominant share of this segment — as well as food jars and cosmetic and pharmaceutical containers.

Flat glass production, which reached 1 million tonnes in 2024, mainly serves the construction and furnishing sectors, where it has numerous applications including windows, curtain walls, doors and glazed enclosures. It is also used in the automotive industry and in the rail, marine and aerospace sectors. This is the branch that supplies the panes used for sliding glass walls.

How glass manufacturers work: the process step by step

Glass production follows a precise sequence that is common to every manufacturer.

Batch: raw materials and recycled cullet

It all starts with the batch. Cullet — recovered from production offcuts and kerbside recycling — is combined with virgin raw materials: silica sand, sodium carbonate and calcium carbonate.

Furnace melting and forming: float or moulding

The batch enters the furnace and is heated to around 1,500 °C for roughly 24 hours, until a perfectly homogeneous molten glass is obtained. At this point the process diverges according to the final product:

• Float process (flat glass): the molten glass is floated on a bath of liquid tin. As it floats, it spreads into a layer of uniform thickness and is then drawn off as a sheet. This is the basis of all glazing.
• Moulding and blowing (container glass): the molten glass is poured into moulds and blown, taking on its final shape.

Annealing, cutting and quality control

The glass sheets and objects pass through the annealing lehr, where they are cooled slowly and under controlled conditions. This stage removes internal stresses and makes the glass stable. Flat glass is then cut to the required dimensions and, before dispatch, undergoes quality control using dedicated instrumentation.