FDBusiness.com

Coca-Cola Enterprises recently welcomed Vince Cable to its manufacturing facility in Wakefield, allowing the UK Business Secretary to witness first-hand the work being carried out at Europe’s largest soft drinks plant. As part of his first visit to the facility, Vince Cable was given a full tour of the factory floor, taking in the production lines, capable of producing 6,000 cans and 3,200 bottles of soft drink every minute.

The Business Secretary received an overview of the recent investments made by CCE to develop the site, including a new £30 million automated warehouse currently under construction and the dedicated on-site Education Centre. He also met with a number of apprentices currently working for the company in Wakefield.

As well as its significance to manufacturing output in Great Britain, employing over 500 people, CCE’s Wakefield factory is one of the most environmentally efficient bottling plants of its kind in Europe. The visit provided insight into the ‘eco’ credentials of the site, which has sent zero waste to landfill since 2009

Vince Cable comments: “Generating over £76 billion for the economy and employing around 400,000 people, the food and drink sector is an important part of our manufacturing base. With so much activity taking place on Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Wakefield site, including the creation of an education centre for local secondary and further education students, I’m pleased that the company is continuing to focus on limiting its carbon footprint and reducing waste.”

Ian Johnson, operations director at Coca-Cola Enterprises Wakefield, says: “At CCE it is our philosophy to grow more while using less, delivering our products to the market in a responsible and sustainable way. We pride ourselves on operating as one of the country’s leading manufacturers, while continuing to set and achieve ambitious sustainability goals. Wakefield is a fantastic example of CCE’s efforts to bring value to both the economy and the local area where we operate.”

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Pictured (from left to right): Roman Manthey, group operations director at CCE; Ian Johnson, operations director at CCE Wakefield; Vince Cable, Business Secretary; and CCE apprentices Dave Sellers and Richard Dawson.