Vince Cable backs new £50M Coca-Cola investment
Cable said the new proposals were a major boost to the economy and the manufacturing industry in the UK.
He said: “I welcome Coca-Cola’s new £50M investment programme in green technology and their ambitions to grow UK production. This investment is a major signal of confidence in the British economy.”
A new automated warehouse at CCE’s Wakefield bottling facility will receive £30M of the funding that will more than double the site’s storage capacity.
The firm said a further £15M will go towards a new canning line at its Sidcup site, which will boost production by an additional 20M cases a year.
Carbon footprint
Innovations on the modern line will reduce water consumption by 20% and trim 610t off the site’s total carbon footprint by 2012.
CCE’s East Kilbride site will receive £5.4M, which is set to cover a number of projects including a new energy-efficient bottle blowing facility.
The new equipment is capable of producing lighter polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles that require fewer raw materials, the firm revealed.
The site will also receive a new packaging machine that removes the need to use cardboard in the packaging of multi-pack products.
Simon Baldry, md of CCE, said: “We are committed to manufacturing in this country and are proud that 95% of what we sell is made in Great Britain.
“The £50M investment is crucial to developing our business in line with our fundamental objective to grow more, while minimising our impact on the environment.”
