Guala Closures unveils MAGNEX Premium spirits closure made with electromagnetic forming technology

NORTH AMERICA – Guala Closures has unveiled MAGNEX, a premium spirits closure made with electromagnetic forming technology that uses magnetic pulses to shape aluminium into detailed forms and micro-engravings impossible with standard methods.

The closure uses an aluminium outer shell shaped through electromagnetic forming (EMF), together with an internal component that can also be made from recycled plastics, supporting a decreased use of virgin materials. 

Combined with anti-refilling valves and tamper-evident systems, the closure brings together several layers of protection in one unit. 

Manufacturing is carried out at Guala Closures’ Gartcosh site in Scotland, currently the only facility in the closures sector with industrial-scale EMF lines.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Advantage

Conventional aluminium closures are formed by mechanical pressing or rolling, processes that cannot create undercuts, sharp edges, or variable-depth textures. 

EMF uses a capacitor bank to discharge electrical energy through a coil, generating a magnetic field that collapses the aluminium onto the mould at speeds measured in microseconds. 

The result is a closure that can incorporate brand-specific micro-engravings, tactile textures, and complex geometries that are physically impossible to replicate on a conventional press.

Andrea Tassisto, Guala Closures’ Group Industrial & Technical Director, explained that most anti-counterfeiting measures fight on the same technological ground as the counterfeiters, but EMF changes that equation. 

The geometries and textures achieved with MAGNEX are physically impossible to reproduce through standard embossing or metallisation, meaning the design itself becomes part of the protection mechanism.

Moving Beyond Holograms

The launch comes against a backdrop of growing limits in conventional protection tools such as holograms, seals, and tamper-evident systems. 

As similar technologies remain widely available, counterfeiters have been able to copy them with increasing precision, leading to a greater focus on the closure as part of product protection. 

A hologram can be photographed and reproduced; an EMF-formed closure with undercut micro-textures cannot be duplicated without the same electromagnetic forming equipment, which is not commercially available for small-scale counterfeiting operations. 

For premium spirits brands where a single bottle may retail for hundreds or thousands of dollars, the cost of the closure is justified by the brand protection it provides.

Sustainability Integration

The internal component can also be made from recycled plastics, supporting a decreased use of virgin materials. 

Unlike mechanical forming, which often requires lubricants that must be cleaned off after production, EMF is a clean, dry process with no consumables. 

The Gartcosh facility operates the only industrial-scale EMF lines in the closures sector, giving Guala a manufacturing moat that competitors cannot easily cross.

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