Spotswood Glass Works

The Spotswood Glass Works artwork by Kerrie Gottliebsen celebrates the iconic glass manufacturing plant and its incredible history.

Tucked under the Westgate Bridge, the Spotswood Glass Works has been shaping the west for more than a century. I had the pleasure of organising the O-I Glass Open Day as part of the Art and Industry Festival in 2018. Regretfully, all tours sold out before I could even book myself a spot.

Seven years later, I’ve dedicated a poster to AGM, ACI, OI and now Visy, incorporating the tanks bearing the ghost signs of the Australian Glass Manufacturers’ logo.

The celebrated Spotswood glass plant started life in 1872 as the Melbourne Glass Bottle Works Company with glass made from sand mined at Fishermans Bend.

Melbourne Glass Bottle Works Company, ACI, and Owens Illinois Inc O-I

Over the course of a century it transitioned from the Melbourne Glass Bottle Works Company, through to ACI which was acquired by Owens Illinois Inc in 1998, later changing its name to O-I. Although pure glass is made from sand, limestone and soda ash, O-I Australia’s glass products contain an average of 40% recycled glass. Stunning mountains of colour coded crushed glass line one side of the factory.

What began in the 1870s as the Melbourne Glass Bottle Works, supplying bottles to local pharmacists and food producers, soon grew into one of Victoria’s most important industries.

By the 1890s the company had shifted its main operations to Spotswood, where the distinctive clink of glass bottles rolling off the line became part of the neighbourhood’s soundtrack.

Through the early 20th century, the Spotswood site was absorbed into Australian Glass Manufacturers (AGM), later known as Australian Consolidated Industries (ACI).

Generations of locals found work here, with hundreds employed at the height of production. For families across Melbourne’s west, the glassworks wasn’t just a workplace, it was a symbol of industrial pride and security. During the war years, the factory even turned its skills toward supporting the national effort.

As markets shifted, the site weathered furnace closures and downsizing, but its place in the community endured. When global glassmaker Owens-Illinois (O-I) took ownership in the late 1990s, the factory modernised, continuing to supply bottles for everything from beer to baby food.

A New Chapter for the Spotswood Glass Works

In 2020 a new chapter began when Visy Industries acquired O-I’s glass operations across Australia and New Zealand. Today, the Spotswood Glass Works is more than a factory; it’s Victoria’s only container-glass furnace, and a vital hub in the state’s recycling loop. Every year, Visy’s glass division produces around 3.4 billion bottles and jars nationally, with Spotswood playing a key role in that enormous output.

The story of Spotswood Glass Works is, in many ways, the story of Melbourne’s west itself,  industrious, resilient, and constantly reinventing itself. From its origins in the horse-and-cart era to today’s focus on sustainability and circular economies, the factory has been a neighbour, an employer, and a landmark in our community for more than 130 years.

Spotswood Glass Works Poster

The Spotswood Glass Works artwork is available in A4, A3, A2, A1 and the super enormous A0.