Coca-Cola invests in Irish plant to bring vending machine to Europe

Coca-Cola has revealed plans to invest €26 million in its factory in County Mayo, Ireland, as the company prepares to bring its Freestyle touchscreen vending machines to the European marketplace.

The facility in Ballina will become the first outside of the US to produce the machines, the Irish Times newspaper reported, with Coca-Cola having installed more than 40,000 since their introduction in 2010. The move will create an additional 25 jobs over the course of the next three years.

Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent said: “We are delighted to be in a position to further invest [in Ireland] and to support the government’s job-creation and growth strategy for the economy.”

And the Irish taoiseach, Enda Kenny, welcomed the move, calling it “a significant vote of confidence” in the country’s economy.