UK cider maker Thatchers has commissioned its first canning line at its production facility in Somerset.
The addition means that the company is now able to press and package all of its ciders at its Myrtle Farm mill, and is the result of an £8.3 million investment.
The canning line, from KHS, can fill 30,000 cans an hour and features facilities that include an advanced automation, robotics, inspection and orientation system along with a bespoke packaging machine that offers Thatchers’ brand new pack designs as well as its traditional formats.
Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cider maker and managing director of Thatchers, said: “It has always been our intention to install a canning line and bring all our packaging, including bottling and kegging, under one roof. With the growing demand for premium cider in cans, this is an increasingly important part of our business, and so by bringing the facility in-house this is an significant development for us.”
As well as canning, Thatchers has its own bottling line, which can fill, cap and label 20,000 bottles an hour along with a keg line that produces 600 pints per minute.
“It’s always our aim to produce the highest quality cider from orchard through to consumer,” Thatcher continued. “Having our very own technical and engineering teams installing, operating and maintaining the advanced packaging equipment is a very important part of this process.
“We have kegged and bottled our ciders here at Myrtle Farm for many years, and we’re delighted to be completing our packaging capability by bringing canning back home to Myrtle Farm.”
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