From empty bottle to pallet in 25 minutes Leeds factory tour

Welcome to our factory This booklet provides an overview of the processes and equipment you will see on the factory floor.

You will find an overview of our tour on the back page. Look out for numbered signs as you walk round, as each one corresponds to a different stage in the production process, and has a relevant page in this booklet.

The production process

Pasteurisation

Carbonation

Rinsing, filling and capping

MultipackingPalletising and shipping

Packaging

Mixing and blendingIngredients

2790000234

Mixing the drinks

Filling and packing

Quality inspection and coding

7

2

3 4

8

5

6

1

Labelling

Mixing the drinks• Inourmixingroomwater,sugarandsyrupsarecarefully measuredandmixedtogetherinhugestainlesssteeltanks.

• Weproducebothstillandcarbonated(sparkling)drinksandwe havetomixmanydifferentrecipes.

• Aftermixing,sparklingdrinksarecarbonatedbydissolving carbondioxideintotheliquidathighpressure,whichtransforms theirflavourandmouthfeel.

1

Did you know?

Our production lines are up to 350 metres long to prevent bottles from building up and delaying the process if there is a short stoppage.

Traffic light

Filling and packing• Theproductionareaiswhereallthepartsofthefinishedproduct arebroughttogether.Precisionandaccuracyarevitaltothe operationrunningsmoothly.

• Weoperatetwoshiftsperday,eachwith24people,andour techniciansareonhandincasetheproductionlinefails.Atraffic lightsystemisusedtoindicatehowthemachinesareworking: ifyouseearedlightthemachinehasstoppedandtheoperator mayrequiretheassistanceofatechnician.

• Ourthreeproductionlinescanoperateroundtheclock,upto120 hoursperweek;wedonotworkonSaturdaynightsorSundays.

2

2790000234

Packaging• Weusetwodifferentkindsofpackaging.

• Line4producesbaginboxsyrups,usedbybars,pubsand restaurantswhichhaveourbrandsontap.Foilbagsarefilledunder pressure,thenpackedintoboxes,whicharestampedwithabest- beforedate,anddetailsofwhenandwheretheywereproduced, beforebeingshrink-wrappedinpolythenefilmandpackedon pallets,readyfordespatch.Wecanfillupto13bagsaminute.

• Lines1and3producearangeofbottledreadydrinks,juicesand mixers,whicharealsosoldthroughpubsandotheron-premise outlets.

• Allourglassbottlesandcardboardpacksaremadefromrecycled materials,andweworkhardtominimisethevolumeofwastewe sendtolandfill.

3

Did you know?

Our line 3 filler runs at around 600 bottles a minute, producing around 30,000 cases of product a day.

Pasteuriser

Rinsing, filling and capping• Emptybottlesaredeliveredinbulk,unpackedandputontothe productionlinewhichtransportsthemtotherinser,wheretheyare inverted,clampedintopositionandrinsedwithpurifiedwater beforebeingturnedbackuptherightwayandtakentothefiller.

• Thebottlesarefilledasthefillingmachinerotates,sothateachone isfilledtothecorrectlevelatexactlythemomentitiscappedand carriedoffonaconveyorbelt.

• Bottlescontainingjuicebaseddrinksthenspenduptoanhourin thepasteuriser,wheretheyareheatedtoatemperatureofapprox 86degreescentigradeandthencooledinordertodestroyany naturallyoccurringbacteriaormould.

4

Did you know?

The labeller has a maximum speed of 39,000 bottles per hour, and can label a range of different sized bottles.

Labelling• Onleavingthepasteuriser,bottlespassthroughanairdryerto removeanymoisturedropletsbeforebeingconveyedtothelabeller.

• Itappliespre-printedlabelswithspecialgluetofixthelabel securely,eveninchilled,wetconditions.

• Labellingoffoodanddrinkproductsishighlyregulatedandall Britvicproductsarelabelledincompliancewithlegislationand supplementarycodesofpractice.Weincludetheproductnameand description,ingredients,nutritioninformationpanelandguideline dailyamounts.

5

Quality inspection and coding• Oncefilled,allbottlespassthroughanelectricsensor,toensure theyarefilledtotherightlevelandthatthecaphasbeenfitted correctly.

• Samplesfromeverybatchofproductwemakearetestedinour lab,withourexpertscarefullyexaminingthetaste,appearance, sugarandpHlevelstoensureallourdrinksconformtoBritvic’s highqualitystandardsandregulations.

• Weretaineverysampleforreference,enablingustodoublecheck forshelflifeandidentifyanyproblemsthatmayoccur.

• Afterlabelling,eachbottleisprintedwithabest-beforedateand detailsofitsdate,timeandlineofmanufacture.

6

2790000234

Did you know?

The tunnel is heated to a temperature of approx 170 degrees centigrade.

Film

Multi-packing• Thebottlesarecoveredlooselywithfilmbeforepassingthrougha heattunnel,wheretheyareheatedtoatemperatureofapprox 170degreescentigradefor10seconds.Theheatcausestheplastic toweldtogetherandshrinktightlyaroundtheproduct,givingthe packitsstrengthandrigidity.

• Ourline1and3packerscanbeadjustedtoaccommodatearange ofdifferentcaseformats.

• Allourcardboardpackagingismadeentirelyfromrecycled materialsormaterialderivedfromsustainablesources.Aspartof ourongoingefforttosaveenergyandreducepackaging,weare workingtoremovethecardboardtraysfromourshrinkwrapped packswhereverpossible.

7

Did you know?

Our factory can produce over a million cases of soft drinks per month.

Palletising and shipping• Thepalletiserisprogrammedtoconfigurethecasessothatthe maximumnumbercanbeloadedontoeachpallet.

• Fullpalletsarestretch-wrappedtoensuretheyarestablefor transport.Thefilmwrapispre-stretchedbyatleast200%sothat lesscanbeusedandwhatisusedwillnotstretchanymoreon thepallet.• Onanaveragedaywesendout25lorryloadseachconsistingof 24fullpallets.

8

LINE 1

LINE 4

LINE 3

PRODUCTION HALL

WAREHOUSE

CLOAKROOM/TOILETSRECEPTION

SYRUP ROOM

LINE 4

PROCESS YARD

BUFFER TANK(WATER MAINS)

WATERTREATMENT

PROCESS

COLD STORE

RAW MATERIALS

POWDER ROOM

CIP

OFFICES

ENG. STORESWORKSHOPBOILERSWATER TANKCO2

WATERTREATMENT

CARPARK

STORAGE YARD

WAREHOUSE

HARDSTANDING

LOADING BAYS

DISTRIBUTION YARD

LEARNING CENTRE

MAIN ENTRANCE

PAS

TEU

RIS

ER

12

3

4

567

8

3

Mixing the drinks

Filling and packing

Packaging

Rinsing, filling and capping

Labelling

Quality inspection and coding

Multi-packing

Palletising and shipping

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

100%

Ifyouwanttolearnmore,checkouttheBritvicLearningZoneonlineatwww.britviclearningzone.com