an in - line bottling plant essentially comprising a unit for producing containers , particularly bottles , from a thermoplastic material , a unit for filling the containers , and a unit for conveying freshly produced containers , the conveying unit being arranged between an outlet of the container producing unit and an inlet of the container filling unit . the container producing unit and filling unit are arranged as close together as possible and the conveying unit is short and conveys the containers one after the other substantially without bumping them , particularly against one another . the in - line bottling plant preferably further comprises a unit for temporarily retaining the containers , which unit is selectively connectable to the conveying unit for receiving and retaining a number of containers .