Coca-Cola European Partners Germany (CCEP DE) is investing €15 million to expand the beverage filling capacity of its Karlsruhe production plant, according to a report in the online publication rundschau.de.
The expansion project, which will create 60 new jobs, should be largely completed by the end of the year.
Karlsruhe Site Expansion
CCEP plans on filling more beverages in Karlsruhe in the future and is significantly expanding its Neureuter plant in production, production-related supply areas, and logistics to match these ambitions.
Last week, the facility received its largest machines in the PET filling line from another plant, including a 30-tonne filler and the 22-tonne blow moulding machine for PET bottles, the report said.
The largest individual components of the production line for 1.25-litre PET one-way returnable bottles were also transported from the Coca-Cola location in Liederbach to Karlsruhe.
The company has extended the production times on the existing can filling line.
Additional Jobs Created
The PET filling line is scheduled to go into operation by the end of this year and fill up to 36,000 bottles per hour, with beverages such as Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, and their sugar-free variants.
For the operation of the new production line, 35 jobs will be created at the Karlsruhe location from September, with 26 in production, seven in the warehouse, and two in other areas.
Since 30 May 2021, CCEP DE has also expanded production times in can filling, with 25 additional jobs already created across its production, maintenance and quality assurance departments, and warehouse.
The reason for the expansion of the production volume is the increasing demand for canned beverages, the report noted.
This includes soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and Fanta as well as energy drinks that CCEP DE fills on behalf of Monster Energy Limited.
