Coca-Cola Enterprises has commenced operation on a new high-speed canning line at a facility in Greater London, nearly doubling its capacity for metal can production.
The new line has cost the company £16.6m, and forms part of an overall £41m investment during the last five years in the plant in Sidcup. It will nearly double the site’s capacity for metal can production, which will rise from 57,600 cans per hour to 110,000 cans per hour.
The new production line will be used to manufacturer 150ml mini cans and 250ml slimline cans, the firm said. It also highlighted the new line’s environmental benefits, which include a 20% reduction in water usage as a result of new air-powered can rinsers, and a saving of more than 1,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
Coca-Cola Enterprises has already installed a £14.6m high-tech canning line for 330ml cans and invested £4.7m in its 500ml PET production line at the Sidcup factory. Its operations director at the facility claimed that the work would help the bottler to drive growth.
Trevor Newman said: “We are proud to be a truly local business, both through our workforce and support for the local economy and wider community. Our on-going investment forms a crucial part of our strategy to continue to grow the business, while remaining as sustainable and environmentally efficient as possible as we work towards the ultimate goal of reducing the carbon footprint of the drink in the consumers’ hand by 2020.”
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