UK – British multinational consumer goods company, Unilever, has invested £40 million (approx. US$50.8 million) to double the total output at its Burton food factory over the past three years.
This investment has centralized all UK condiment production at the Burton site and focused on enhancing digital capabilities. The Burton plant, Unilever’s largest food factory in the UK, will use this investment to support the continued growth of its food business in the country.
The group aims to drive supply chain efficiencies, boost capabilities, and achieve significant production growth at the site. Currently, 99% of products made at Unilever’s Burton site are distributed to UK retailers.
Unilever states that the investment in digital capabilities has optimized the site across two food factories and nine production lines, doubling volume and increasing total factory efficiency by 13% over the last three years.
A new state-of-the-art factory has been constructed alongside the existing one, expanding the site’s footprint by 50% to 31,000 sqm. This new facility now includes the production of Hellmann’s, alongside Colman’s, Marmite, and Bovril.
The factory features advanced machinery and automation, including automated production lines with real-time data capture and analysis to boost efficiency and minimize waste.
It also has a fully automated palletization process with robotic arm palletizers and top-loading palletizer robots that pack over 1,000 pallets a day. Additionally, 3D-printing machines have been introduced to replicate and replace standard machine parts quickly.
Andre Burger, Unilever UK & Ireland Foods Lead, stated, “The investment in our Burton site and new factory reaffirms the site as a key food hub for British produce, making delicious condiments that are helping to create meals in homes across the country every day.”
He added that by centralizing condiment production and advancing digital capabilities, Unilever has optimized its supply chain and manufacturing processes while significantly increasing the site’s capacity.
The investment has already resulted in record-breaking growth for the site and will be crucial in supporting the continued growth of Unilever’s food business and leading brands in the UK.
Besides boosting productivity, the investment has also accelerated the reduction of the site’s environmental footprint by minimizing food waste and reducing the carbon footprint of products.
The increased use of real-time data analysis has helped halve the site’s food waste since 2021, with the remaining waste being redistributed to create energy for the factory via the on-site biogas recycling plant or as feed for local farm animals.
The final-stage production of Hellmann’s 100% recycled plastic squeezy bottles has also been localized at the site. This stage involves blowing the basic recycled plastic material into the full-size Hellmann’s squeezy bottle shape.
Localizing these aspects of Hellmann’s production and packaging has significantly reduced lorries on the road and travel time from production to shelves, resulting in CO2 savings.
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