The plant replaces an older installation and has been in operation since the beginning of November. A total of £18M has been invested by CCEP at the factory.
The new plant will allow more efficient water recovery from the site’s four manufacturing lines, saving an estimated 9M litres of water a year, according to CCEP.
CCEP’s investment in Kilbride was part of a wider £56M investment across its six manufacturing sites in Britain this year.
‘Truly local business’
Director of supply chain operations at CCEP East Kilbride John McCafferty said: “With a long standing legacy of over 50 years in the region, we pride ourselves on being a truly local business here in East Kilbride and in Scotland as a whole.
“This latest investment demonstrates our continued commitment to the future of manufacturing in Scotland as well as local employment and skills development through our growing apprentice programme here on site.”
During a visit to the factory this week (November 23), East Kilbride MP Lisa Cameron said CCEP had contributed hugely to the local economy.
East Kilbride employs over 150 people from the region and produces more than 16M cases of product a year.
16M cases of product
It was the first of CCEP’s factories to install an automated storage and retrieval system in its warehouse and is its only site to produce the Appletiser brand in the UK.
Meanwhile, Trevor Newman, CCEP operations director of Europe’s largest soft drinks plant at Wakefield, has won the inaugural Me & my factory – editor’s choice award in the food and drink manufacturing industry’s Oscars, the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards.
Newman impressed the judging panel with his dedication to making efficiency improvements and inspired leadership and staff motivation.