A new 30,000 cans/per hour capacity canning line is scheduled to go live at its Horsham, West Sussex brewery in August this year.
This investment will be led by founder and managing director Andy Hepworth, who is stepping down from day-to-day operations to become chairman.
The canning line will enable the brewer to launch new beers specifically for the craft can sector. It will also offer a canning service to other brewers to make use of the significant capacity offered by the new line.
‘Logical move’
Hepworth said: “Given our many years of successful contract bottling, the logical move was to bring canning in house, which gives us complete control over the quality of our canned beers and means we can go to our contract customers with a new service.
“The thirst for canned beers looks set to continue growing so we're confident there will be demand from brewers who know Hepworth's as a trusted contractor.”
This autumn will also see Hepworth’s install a ‘CO2 reclaim project’ with plans to make the business 85% carbon neutral by 2025.
“One hundred per-cent [carbon neutral] is simply not achievable within that time frame, but we will get there,” Hepworth added.
‘Sustainability chaimpion’
"I am personally excited about becoming the company's full-time sustainability champion and passing the day-to-day running of the brewing operation over to the very capable hands of Ed."
Ed Wray, who has been with Hepworth's for three years as assistant head brewer, moves up to the head brewer role.
Meanwhile, Clearly Drinks, the Sunderland based soft drinks manufacturer, is expecting to double revenue this year after investing £6m into a new canning line.
The investment into the Sunderland plant was part of a wider investment programme which has seen it expand into new markets and launch new product lines.
