Coopers has raised the curtain on its new $16.5 million bottling line at the company's Regency Park brewery in South Australia.
The second bottling line is a key part of a broader $20 million capital expansion program undertaken by Coopers to increase the flexibility of the brewery and position Coopers for further sales growth.
“Having a second bottling line will reduce down-time and provide Coopers with the additional capacity it requires to handle increasing demand,” Coopers' managing director, Dr Tim Cooper, said.
“Our staff and contractors have worked exceptionally hard to complete the installation and have the line up and running in time for the Christmas and the summer season.”
Packaging engineering firm, KHS, supplied the equipment and its CEO, Professor Dr Matthias Niemeyer, attended the event along with the Governor of South Australia, His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce AC CSC RANR.
The new line has a capacity of 1200 bottles a minute and is being dedicated to Coopers’ traditional products including Pale Ale, Sparkling Ale, Mild Ale and Stout, which make up more than 70 per cent of bottle volume.
The existing bottling line will be used for the other beers produced at Coopers, including the international brands Sapporo and Carlsberg, as well as other packaging formats.
Cooper said the expansion took place as Coopers was enjoying one of the longest periods of growth in the company’s history.
“Our beer sales volume has grown by an average of 9.8 per cent per year for the past 20 years,” he said.
“In the first five months of this financial year, growth in beer volume has been 4.6 per cent. We now have about 4.5 per cent of the national beer market and continue to grow, despite a period of declining beer sales nationally.
“This new line will enable us to support our ongoing growth as well as the addition of other brands in our beer and home-brew portfolios,” Cooper said.
The new line is being dedicated to Coopers’ traditional products including its Pale Ale.
