The funds will be used to build an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) warehouse at the CCEP’s Sidcup factory. The facility is set to be fully operational in 2018. 

The new automated system will help the company towards its goal of reducing the carbon footprint of “the drink in the consumer’s hand” by one-third by 2020.

The warehouse is designed to hold and automatically move 25,000 pallets. It will triple the site’s storage capacity, allowing all manufactured products to be delivered to customers directly. This will save around 10,817 road miles by HGV trucks and 3,867 tonnes of CO2 a year.

This latest investment in automation follows the opening of similar ASRS facilities at its manufacturing sites in Edmonton and Wakefield.

CCEP Sidcup operations director Trevor Stacey said the new ASRS warehouse is a “significant investment” in sustainable manufacturing for the company.

CCEP GB vice president and general manager Leendert den Hollander added: “This initiative and our wider investment in automation technology will be an important step in both helping to future-proof the sector and driving forward our sustainability journey by achieving significant CO2 savings.”

The development of innovative technologies such as automation – or robotics – was one of the key trends identified by CCEP in a joint research project conducted with Cranfield University in 2016. The whitepaper outlined the sustainability vision and roadmap that CCEP plans to follow, in order to implement sustainability into its manufacturing process.

Automation was also one of the ‘essential eight’ technologies highlighted by PwC in edie’s sustainability megatrends report.

edie staff

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