FDBusiness.com

Heineken is to invest £58 million in expanding capacity at its HP Bulmer cider production site at Hereford in England. The site will also take on a packaging role.

However, the changes will entail transferring production and packaging activities from Heineken’s Universal Beverages site at Ledbury – a move that will impact 97 people presently employed at the facility. The consolidation of production and packaging functions atHerefordis expected to be completed by the end of 2015. The Ledbury site will then operate as a fruit milling site, employing 16 staff.

Expanding the Hereford site will create at least 50 job opportunities. According to Heineken, the investment at Hereford demonstrates the global brewing group’s “commitment to securing Herfordshire for the long term as the global home of cider.”

Heineken first entered the cider market in 2008 following its acquisition of the UK operations of Scottish & Newcastle, including HP Bulmer.

Universal Beverages was originally formed in 2008 as a joint venture involving Scottish & Newcastle. Heineken UK took full control of the site in 2009.

Univeral Beverages was designed as a large-scale fruit milling and beverage production and packaging facility. It currently produces and packages an impressive range of international, national and regional beverage products for Heineken and some of the leading drinks producers in the UK. The fruit milling facility can run 12 months a year, if required, and has the ability to mill and press a wide variety of fruit and vegetables at a rate of over 15,000 tonnes/week.

CAPTION:

The can line at Universal Beverages.