Schweppes Australia has announced its Tullamarine manufacturing site will undergo a $17.4 million expansion, boosting productivity and creating 10 new highly skilled jobs.
The plastic bottle manufacturing facility is expected to enhance capacity and capability as the new line introduces ‘stretch blow fill’ bottling technology.
Schweppes Australia is part of the Asahi Beverages group which employs about 1000 employees in Victoria across its facilities in Tullamarine and Laverton, its corporate offices in South Melbourne, as well as its Sales team and Service Technicians.
Minister for Manufacturing David Hodgett (left) and David Beguely, Chief Executive Officer, Asahi Beverages
Minister for Manufacturing David Hodgett announced the expansion late last week, saying that “Food and beverage manufacturing is one of Victoria’s strengths and the Napthine Government will continue to work with local businesses to identify other positive opportunities to stimulate further jobs growth.
“Schweppes is a renowned company and their decision to invest and expand in Victoria is a show of confidence in our state’s economy and our skilled workforce.
“I congratulate Schweppes on this expansion and look forward to working with the company to ensure it continues to prosper here in Victoria,” Mr Hodgett said.
Wayne Angus, General Manager Manufacturing, Asahi Beverages said, “We are delighted to be installing this exciting new technology, which means that we ‘blow’ our bottles on site, and fill them in the same process. As a result there are fewer trucks on the road transporting empty bottles, which is a great thing for our environment.
“This technology also allows us to manufacture our own recycled PET bottles, using old bottles which have been collected, cleaned and ground down. We can now manufacture bottles with up to 100% recycled PET content.”
“Introducing new technology means that we have the opportunity to invest in our dedicated team, helping them to develop new skills and capabilities.”