llor and local MP Ed Balls visited the plant, which celebrates its 25th anniversary. Also at the official unveiling was John Brock, chairman and chief executive of CCE.The £30m ASRS warehouse is a 34m high facility designed to hold and automatically move 30,000 pallets. According to CCE, the new facility doubles the site’s storage capacity allowing all manufactured products to be delivered to customers directly, saving approximately 500,000 road miles by HGV trucks per year.
The official opening comes as CCE prepares to invest more money on the Wakefield site. It is set for a £19m spend on a combined heat and power system.
Ian Johnson, operations director at CCCE Wakefield, said: “Our 25th anniversary demonstrates Coca-Cola Enterprises’ long-term commitment to Wakefield. We are proud to be a truly local business, both through our workforce and support for the local economy and wider community. Our latest funding pledge forms a crucial part of our strategy to continue to grow the business, while remaining as sustainable and environmentally efficient as possible.”
Brock added: “At Coca-Cola Enterprises, we are passionate about making positive contributions to the communities where we operate through social, technological or environmental investments. We are focused on driving a low-carbon, zero-waste business throughout our operations in Great Britain and across Western Europe, and Wakefield is a perfect example of these sustainable manufacturing efforts. Additionally, we remain committed to local manufacturing in Great Britain, and are proud that almost all of the products sold here are made within this country by local residents.”
Balls, who is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Morley & Outwood, said: “It’s great to see Coca-Cola Enterprises continuing to invest at the Outwood facility. Coca-Cola is a big international company but a local firm here in Outwood. If you buy a can of Coke in Leeds or Wakefield, the chances are it’s been manufactured using water from East Ardsley reservoir which is then bottled and distributed down the road in Wakefield. It’s great to see such local production for a global brand and we’re proud to have them manufacturing here in Outwood.”
