A new $75 million canning line at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia’s (CCEP) Richlands facility in Brisbane, Queensland, has been designed to meet the growing energy drink market and support existing soft drink brands.
CCEP Australia managing director, Orlando Rodriguez, said the line can process up to 120,000 cans per hour. It will significantly increase production capacity for Monster Energy Company products – including Monster and Mother brands – and support production of other drinks including Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta.
“Richlands is our largest manufacturing site in our Australian network and now it is home to our most efficient and largest canning line to date in our global network,” Rodriguez said.
The build was completed by Wiley and took around 18 months.
Equipped with the latest advancements in manufacturing technology, the line ensures durability and efficiency. Space and workflow are optimised with the layout designed across five mezzanine levels.
The fitout includes a KHS filler and palletiser, and a palletiser from Westrock. Dematic AGV forklifts have been installed while TetraPak was the supplier for the syrup room.
“By leveraging cutting-edge technology and world-class equipment, the new line will increase production efficiency, enabling faster and more sustainable delivery of our beverages,” he said.
The new line has created 18 new full-time roles.
Water and energy savings have also been unlocked with the reverse osmosis system boosting water treatment capacity by 67 per cent.
The line can also fill cans at room temperature, which eliminates the need for energy-intensive cooling processes. That feature is expected to reduce energy consumption by approximately 23 per cent annually compared to other lines within CCEP’s network.
“Our manufacturing philosophy is centred on making it where we sell it, limiting the distance our product travels and minimising the emissions tied to it where possible. Investments like this allow us to make more of our most popular products even closer to the end-consumer. This approach not only reduces our environmental impact by minimising transportation but boosts overall efficiency, helping to keep shelves stocked,” added Rodriguez.
The company employs more than 3000 people in Australia, with 700 of those in Queensland.
CCEP Australia recently won the Outstanding Business Achievement Award in the 2025 Hive Awards for its innovation, operational excellence, and sustainability leadership.
