Wolverhampton-based Carlsberg Marston's brewing group invests £10m in upgrading equipment

It will further increase capacity for producing its innovative Snap Pack packaging and reducing its water usage.

The investments will see three significant upgrades realised, with all three set to go live in the first quarter of next year.

A machine for packaging cans in Snap Pack is being installed, alongside a new laser can encoder and an improved can filler and seamer.

Paul Davies, chief executive of Wolverhampton-based CMBC, said: “We take our responsibility as a brewer very seriously and ensuring we reduce our impact on the planet is a hugely important part of this. This major investment of more than £10m in Northampton demonstrates our clear commitments to eliminating packaging waste, reducing water waste, and improving efficiency at our breweries.

“By taking ambitious action now, we can deliver on our sustainability goals and enable even more of our innovative Snap Pack multipacks to make their way to consumers.”

First launched in 2018, Snap Pack uses innovative glue dot technology to hold cans together, removing the need for plastic rings and making multipacks more sustainable. Snap Pack was co-developed by Carlsberg Group and KHS, an international manufacturer of filling and packaging equipment. This ground-breaking technology has been used across some of the best-known and most popular beers in CMBC’s extensive portfolio, including Carlsberg Danish Pilsner, San Miguel, Birrificio Angelo Poretti and Brooklyn Pilsner.

By the end of 2022, Snap Pack was used for 65 per cent of the four- and six-can multipacks produced at the brewery. The new second-generation Snap Pack machine will allow double the number of Snap Pack multipacks to be produced.

By eliminating plastic rings from packaging, once fully rolled out across four- and six-can multipacks it is estimated that Snap Pack will reduce CMBC’s plastic usage by up to 76 per cent, compared to previous multipacks.