Growing demand for Guinness and its sister beers across the world will see its parent company make a £40.5 million investment in its canning and bottling plants in both Northern Ireland and Cheshire.
Diageo said its £24.5M spend at its Belfast site will be used to convert a warehouse to a new packaging line capable of producing 72,000 cans of Guinness an hour.
Meanwhile, the remainder will be invested at its Runcorn base to upgrade its bottling line and expand warehousing capacity.
The company said the move is in reaction to growing demand for the companies range of beers both locally and across its global export markets.
Construction is set to begin immediately with capacity at both facilities expected to come online in 2023, the company said.
“This expansion is a significant investment in the development of our packaging facilities,” Commenting Aidan Crowe, Operations Director for Beer at Diageo, said. “The projects in Belfast and Runcorn will support our growth ambitions, helping us to deliver end-to-end product innovation, and reinforce our agility to meet demand and provide excellent service to our customers around the world.”
The 12-acre Belfast site located off the city’s Castlereagh Road – formerly the Irish Bonding building – is home to 150 employees operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is supplied by beer from the Guinness brewery in St James Gate Dublin via tanker deliveries which hold 30,000 litres each.
The site produces over 20 brands including Guinness Draught, Extra Stout and Foreign Extra Stout, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwick’s and Rockshore.
The 18-acre Runcorn packaging plant serves the Great Britain and export markets in can, bottle and kegs, with its 200 employees also operating on a 24/7 basis.
