GERMANY – Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has announced plans to invest approximately €150m (US$156.2m) in its operations in Germany, with a significant portion allocated to expanding production capacity and enhancing reusable packaging solutions.
The majority of the investment will be directed towards the company’s facility in Halle, eastern Germany. Of the total funds, nearly €45M (US$46.7M)will be used to install a new can-filling line in Halle to meet growing consumer demand for canned beverages.
CCEP stated that the new line, expected to be operational by mid-2026, will “significantly” boost its can-filling capacity in Germany. Additionally, an existing line for filling non-carbonated beverages in Halle will undergo expansion.
Further investments will be made in CCEP’s facilities in Lüneburg and Dorsten. In Lüneburg, the company has allocated €11M (US$11.4M) to finalize the reusable glass production line installed last year and construct a new bottle sorting facility.
Meanwhile, €8M (US$8.3M) will be used at the Dorsten facility to install a production line for manufacturing concentrates for dispenser solutions in the foodservice industry.
This line is being relocated from Cologne, following CCEP’s decision to close its production and logistics facility there later this year. The closure, announced in October 2024, is expected to affect 289 of the 602 employees working at the Cologne site.
The Dorsten facility will also see continued renovations to its syrup production room, which began last year.
A major portion of the investment—€42M (US$43.59M)—will focus on reusable packaging initiatives, including the production of new reusable bottles and crates.
The latest funding round represents a nearly 10 percent increase in investments compared to 2024. Over the past five years, CCEP has injected more than €600M (US$622.87M) into its German operations.
John Galvin, general manager of CCEP’s German unit, stated:“In order to be able to produce competitively in Germany in the future, we need significantly better framework conditions. The urgently needed structural changes must be tackled quickly and decisively after the election.”
Between 2019 and 2023, CCEP allocated more than €300M (US$311.4M) to reusable bottling in Germany. In 2023 alone, the company invested over €40M (US$41.5M) to establish a new filling line at the Lüneburg facility, aimed at strengthening its reusable packaging capabilities.
Additionally, in June 2023, CCEP reopened returnable PET bottle lines at its Bad Neuenahr facility to meet increasing demand for one-liter returnable PET bottles.
CCEP’s German division manages bottling, sales, and distribution of Coca-Cola Company products across the country, operating 27 locations, including 14 production plants.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, CCEP issued a recall for certain products in the Benelux region due to elevated levels of the chemical chlorate.
The UK’s Food Standards Agency confirmed that only a “limited distribution” of the affected products reached the UK market.
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