UK: Carlsberg invests GBP 13 million in a high speed canning line

Carlsberg is to invest GBP 13 million in a high speed canning line at its Joshua Tetley brewery in Leeds in readiness for an expected surge in demand during next year's World Cup soccer tournament, Leeds Today, UK posted on June 28. The decision - which will create an extra 24 jobs at the brewery - follows continuing growth in the number of cans sold in the so-called "take home" sector.

The new canning line will complement a 60,000 bottles per hour bottling line that is being installed at the Danish brewer's city centre site. It will have the capacity to produce 90,000 cans an hour.
Carlsberg UK production director Gert Petersen said the investment was being made at a time when beer sales in western Europe were struggling and it represented a "clear message" that the UK was a strong market in which to invest.

Small pack capacity is presently only possible from Carlsberg's Northampton brewery.
With the bottling line due to complete in August, and the canning line running from early 2006, Carlsberg said it would be able to manage the extra demands made by the armchair viewers of the World Cup.

Mr Petersen added: "With more people enjoying our products at home, we need to create capacity for small pack products." The latest announcement should quash any lingering fears that the Tetley brewery in Leeds is under threat.

Doubts over its long-term viability were raised following Carlsberg's controversial announcement in March last year that it was to drop the name Tetley from its company title - then Carlsberg-Tetley. Ian Smith, head brewer at the Leeds brewery, said today: "We are delighted that our brewery in Leeds has been selected for this significant investment.

"The new canning and bottling lines will be a major focus for us over the coming months and will generate further investment in the community with the recruitment of new employees to manage and run the lines."

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