MOLSON Coors Beverage Company has announced plans to invest more than £100 million in its UK brewery and beverage network over the next five years.
The drink and brewing company said that the programme of significant investment and infrastructure upgrades will improve capabilities and introduce greater efficiencies across its entire UK network.
Specifically, the plan includes investments to improve brewing capacity and packaging capability at its Burton-on-Trent and Tadcaster breweries. At its Burton Brewery the programme of improvements has included the installation of a brand new 24-tonne high-speed 120,000 cans per hour filler and upgrades to the packaging Keg line at both Tadcaster Brewery and Aspall Cyder House.
Investment will also be made made at the Sharp’s Brewery in Rock, Cornwall, to support new and existing cask ale brands such as Doom Bar, Solar Wave Hazy and Twin Coast.
The organisation explained that the need for additional capacity and capability is linked to the continued ‘strong’ performance of Molson Coors’s iconic brands, with premium and world lager brands in particular seeing strong growth – most notably the rise of Madri Excepcional – alongside Carling’s continued role at the heart of the brewer’s portfolio.
The planned investment follows on from the £13 million investment in increasing capacity at the Aspall Cyder House, which concluded in 2022, a £21 million investment in a new canning line in Burton in 2021, and an ongoing £10 million investment in its Tadcaster brewery which began at the end of last year.
Fraser Thomson, chief supply chain officer at western Europe at Molson Coors Beverage Company, said, “This plan is an investment in our future, giving our people and our brands the tools to fulfil our potential in the UK market while making strong progress against our sustainability targets.
“As a business, we have continued to invest in the UK throughout the challenges caused by the pandemic and this further investment underscores our long-term commitment to the UK and the local communities where we operate.
“This is a landmark moment in our history as we evolve to meet the demands of our growing portfolio and bring new innovations in the years ahead, while continuing to reduce the impact our business has on the environment.”
