Molson Coors £25m packaging equipment investment
The drinks firm has welcomed the delivery of a new high-speed filler for its canning line, part of a long-line of improvements at the site over the past 10 years.
Weighing more than 24.5 tonnes with a diameter of about 5.2m, the high-speed filler will fill up to 2,000 cans of beer per minute when fully installed in early 2022.
It has been designed and built to allow Molson Coors to utilise more sustainable packaging types – including the ability to transition to lightweight cans – to improve both the operational efficiency and sustainability of the canning line.
New hard seltzer line
The brewer is supplementing the new line with the addition of a new hard seltzer canning line at the site to produce drinks under the three Fold brand.
Commenting on the investment, Molson Coors operations director in western Europe Fraser Thomson said: “It’s great to see this significant piece of machinery arrive at the Burton brewery after making its way through the streets of Burton upon Trent. The new high-speed filler is a great bit of kit and will help us continue to drive efficiencies in our operations and help us towards our sustainability goals.
“We’re really proud to operate our biggest brewery in Burton and with this new equipment we are continuing to cement the town’s role as the home of British brewing and the wider drinks industry.”
Decade of investment
Molson Coors has invested more than £100m in its Burton brewery over the past decade and employs more than 1,000 people at the site. The brewery boasts a number of green credentials, including self-sufficiency in CO2 production since 2018 and sourcing all of its electricity from renewable sources.
Meanwhile, Dalziel Ingredients has invested £1m at its Felling, Gateshead factory to create a new product development (NPD) centre.
The new 660m2 facility will comprise presentation and development kitchens, sample preparation areas, a dedicated sauce making facility, video conferencing facilities, a meat preparation room and freezer facilities. Work on the NPD centre was expected to finished by spring 2022.
