Unilever twists again at Gloucester site

Unilever is embarking on a major expansion of its ice-cream factory in Gloucester with the installation of two new production lines for Twister lollies and Cornetto ice creams.

The £1.4M Twister line, which will become operational by Christmas, will be capable of producing 50M lollies a year.

The £1.8M Cornetto line, which comes on-stream next April, will be able to produce 200M ice creams a year. This represented a 40% increase on current Cornetto capacity, said total productive maintenance (TPM) manager Neil Glastonbury. "The new lines will increase factory output by 8%."

Performance at the site, which cut a third of its staff between 2002 and 2003 in order to stay afloat, had improved significantly in the last five years, he said. "For the first time in a long time, we've been in a position to recruit. We've just trained 22 new operatives."

TPM had been key to raising productivity at the site, added factory general manager Cees van der Star. "Since I joined in spring 2004, efficiency has improved 8-10%; we've halved the waste and the culture has completely changed. Back then, I'd say we were at the bottom of the pile in terms of performance [compared to other Unilever ice cream sites]. Today, we are near the top."