Britvic invests £100m in Rugby soft drinks manufacturing facility

Britvic has invested more than £100m to re-develop its soft drinks manufacturing facility in Rugby.

The funds are part of a £240m three-year programme, which saw the company install three new polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottling lines and a new on-site warehouse.

A new aseptic line was also added to manufacture preservative-free drinks, improve the company’s logistics planning, and help the firm reduce its carbon footprint.

In addition, the facility is equipped with three new can lines, which have the capacity to produce up to 6,000 cans per minute.

Earlier this year, the company created 80 new jobs at the site, including technical operators, engineers and team leaders.

Britvic production director Jeremy Howard said: “It is a proud moment for the team here and for all our partners who have supported us in our ambition to create a world-class manufacturing site.

“Sustainability remains at the heart of our business and this project. Through our GB investment programme, we are investing for the future and remain committed to continuing to make a positive difference to our communities and to the world around us, helping to make it healthier, happier and more sustainable.”

The investment was first announced in 2015. The company aimed to enhance the speed and flexibility of its production lines while delivering environmental benefits through greater efficiencies.

This year, Britvic converted all of its steel can formats to aluminium cans to reduce the amount of metal by 8,000t a year.