Greencroft Bottling collaborates with Ardagh to set up a wine canning line

Greencroft Bottling Company has collaborated with Ardagh Group to launch the UK’s first wine canning line in County Durham.  Greencroft Bottling has invested over £2million in the new can filling line.

The new can filling line will initially focus on the popular 200ml and 250ml slimline cans but will also handle Ardagh’s imminent new 187ml Wine Can format. Ardagh has provided technical support for the can line commissioning and set-up, as well as establishing criteria for wine compatibility testing, according to Greencroft Bottling.

Greencroft Bottling said the wine canning line had gone live at Greencroft Bottling Company, boasting filler speed of 17,000 cans per hour and offering both still and carbonated filling for wine, soft drinks, and RTDs.

Mark Satchwell, Managing Director of Greencroft Bottling, says, “We constantly invest in our equipment to guarantee we’re offering the best service possible to our customers and ensure we have the correct technology in place to meet future market demands. The can is a format consumers are already familiar with, through soft drinks, beers and ciders, and right now canned wine consumption is growing at a rate of approximately 6% year on year in Western Europe, so we were pleased to collaborate with Ardagh to set up a dedicated wine canning line and be the first to provide for this growing market.”

Dirk Schwung, Sales Director at Ardagh Group Metal Beverage Europe, comments: “Our Customer Technical Service team has unrivalled depth of knowledge and experience – it’s an invaluable resource for customers who are looking to expand packaging formats in the way Greencroft Bottling has, or who need any kind of filling line support. We can help customers achieve time and cost savings, and make sure sensitive products are correctly handled and quality-protected, so we’re proud to have worked alongside Greencroft to create the first large-scale wine canning line in the UK.”

“Thanks to a big investment in sustainable energy by its parent company, Lanchester Group, Greencroft’s bottling lines are powered by wind turbines. Aluminium cans are already a sustainable, uncomplicated packaging solution which appeals to all age groups and lifestyle choices – from the environmentally conscious Millennial through to Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers seeking convenience and variety – and Greencroft Bottling’s commitment to using renewable energy for its bottling and canning processes reduces the carbon footprint of each individual product even further,” according to Greencroft Bottling press release.