Rugby MP Mark Pawsey has had an inside look at the investment taking place in soft drinks manufacturer Britvic’s Rugby site, bringing 80 new jobs to the area.
Shown around by Director of Production Jeremy Howard, Mark saw how Britvic’s iconic brands are produced in Rugby and how their investment will secure the future of this site, which has served Rugby for over 30 years.
Britvic is investing more than £100milllion in their Rugby site as part of a broader £240m three-year investment programme in the UK. The investment, announced by the company in 2015, is designed to improve the speed and flexibility of its production lines whilst delivering environmental benefits through greater efficiencies.
As part of the investment in Rugby, Britvic has installed three new PET bottling lines, a new on-site warehouse and an aseptic line to manufacture preservative-free drinks, which will improve logistics planning and reduce road miles, helping the company to reduce its carbon footprint. In addition, the company has introduced three new can lines which are amongst the fastest in the Europe, collectively producing up to 6,000 cans per minute. The improvements also mean that waste is reduced at the site and Britvic is now using aluminium rather than steel in many of its lines, reducing the amount of metal used by over 8,000 tonnes.
After touring Britvic’s redeveloped factory, Mark commented:
“I was delighted to join Jeremy and his colleagues today at Britvic’s redeveloped site in the heart of Rugby. Britvic has been a major employer in the constituency for many years and I was very interested to find out more about how their investment is helping to reduce the amount of material they use when manufacturing their world famous brands.”
Mark continued:
“One of the areas which I was most impressed to hear about was Britvic’s commitment to supporting healthier lifestyles by reducing the sugar content in many of their drinks. This goes hand in hand with their work to ensure that their plastic bottles are 100% recyclable and is a great way of showing how Britvic are working to try and make every aspect of their product healthier and better for the environment.”
Jeremy Howard, Director of Production at Britvic, added:
“We were delighted to welcome Mark to our Rugby site today to see our new state-of-the-art manufacturing and logistics capability. 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.”