First Minister celebrates Tennent Caledonian Breweries £4m bottling launch

02 April 2012

The gates of Scotland’s most historic brewery were opened to First Minister the Right Honourable Alex Salmond as he joined the management team of Tennent Caledonian Breweries in celebrating the launch of a new £4m state-of-the-art bottling line at their Wellpark home in Glasgow

The First Minister was invited to officially open the new facility by Stephen Glancey, Group Chief Executive Officer of C&C Group and Steven Annand, Commercial Managing Director of Tennent Caledonian, who welcomed Mr Salmond to an extended tour of Wellpark where the business has been producing beer for Scotland and the world for over 450 years.

Situated within Wellpark’s 2000 square metre packaging hall, the new £4 million line gives Tennent Caledonian the largest and most technologically advanced beer bottling operation in Scotland, with the capacity to run 50,000 bottles per hour – for Tennent’s brands and for contract business that will now be attracted to Scotland from across the UK.

The First Minister also toured the Tennent’s Training Academy, a £1 million centre of training excellence for the pub and hospitality industry which provides a wide range of courses to give young people the best possible skills to support their careers. Whilst there, he was invited to join a bartending course, learning to pour the perfect pint of Caledonia Best alongside Academy students.

The launch of the bottling line is part of an ambitious plan of growth and development at Tennent Caledonian, resulting from an inward investment programme from owners C&C Group following their purchase of the business in 2009. Their exciting new vision also includes:
? 50 new jobs created, both at the bottling line and in other areas of the business

? A renaissance of the company’s international ambitions, with last year seeing Tennent’s Export once again being shipped to Ireland, Canada, Australia and Italy

? A renewed focus on new product development that has seen the company launch a major new beer for the Scottish market, Caledonia Best, which is made using barley sourced 100 per cent in Scotland

First Minister Alex Salmond commented: ‘The opening of this £4 million bottling line facility at Wellpark is the latest development in a dynamic new chapter in the history of one of Scotland’s oldest and most successful companies.

‘The winning combination of fresh investment, state of the art production facilities and the revival of an export programme are taking the business and its well-loved brands into the 21st Century. The opening of this bottling line sees the continuation of the renaissance at Wellpark where generations of men and women have worked since 1556.

Today we have seen over 50 new jobs created, both at the bottling line and in other areas. Coupled with the success of the Tennent’s Training Academy which is helping ambitious young people forging careers in the hospitality industry, it is clear that this great Scottish company will continue to be a worthy ambassador for our nation.’

Says Steven Annand: ‘We are delighted to welcome the First Minister to Wellpark today on a historic day for our business. Tennent’s is a very successful Scottish brand and C&C Group is focused on strengthening its domestic base here in Scotland, growing Tennent’s international markets and creating jobs here in Scotland in the process. Our new bottling line here at Wellpark will underpin this growth story and enable us to introduce new products both here in Scotland and overseas.

‘Our commitment to promoting excellence in the Scottish hospitality industry is evident in the Tennent’s Training Academy and underpins our pledge to enhance standards across the industry.’

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