IN Brief:
- Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has completed an A$39.7 million canning line upgrade at Kewdale in Western Australia.
- The line has a stated capacity of approximately 384 million cans annually, with rated speed increasing from 1,060 to 1,500 cans per minute.
- Additional automation supports production flexibility ahead of the summer peak, while a part-time employment pilot has attracted more than 900 applicants.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has completed an A$39.7 million upgrade at its Kewdale beverage factory in Western Australia, increasing the site’s stated canning capacity by more than 40% ahead of the summer demand peak.
The investment centres on a new high-speed canning line with a rated output of 1,500 cans per minute, compared with approximately 1,060 cans per minute previously. CCEP has stated annual production capacity of 16 million cases, equivalent to approximately 384 million cans, following the installation.
The upgraded equipment incorporates additional automation and greater production flexibility, allowing the facility to respond to changes in demand across its beverage portfolio. CCEP also reports improvements in water and energy efficiency, although it has not disclosed comparative consumption figures or identified the individual machines responsible for those changes.
Kewdale is CCEP’s fourth-largest manufacturing facility in Australia and has operated for more than 50 years. It employs approximately 300 people, including 125 manufacturing employees, and supplies beverages within a state whose geographical separation from eastern Australia gives local production an important role in the company’s national network.
The investment is intended to support increased demand during the approaching Australian summer, when the new line will operate around the clock during peak periods. That operating plan makes the increase in rated throughput particularly relevant, although the stated annual capacity should not be interpreted as an assurance that the line will produce 384 million cans every year.
Rated line speed describes the equipment’s maximum designed production rate under specified conditions. Finished output also depends on product changes, maintenance, material availability and the performance of connected operations. CCEP has not released sustained throughput data or overall equipment effectiveness figures for the upgraded installation.
With the faster canning equipment now installed, the factory can process substantially more containers during periods of strong demand without relying on an equivalent increase in operating time. The company has not identified the machinery supplier, the number of filling heads or the individual components replaced during the programme, limiting the extent to which its technical configuration can be described.
The reported efficiency improvements are likewise attributable to the completed upgrade, but their scale remains undisclosed. Production volume can influence resource consumption per unit, so independently comparable water and energy data would be needed to establish the savings achieved through the new equipment. CCEP has not provided those measurements.
Tom Schiebling, director of manufacturing at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, described the project as one of the largest investments in Kewdale’s recent history and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to maintaining beverage manufacturing capacity in Western Australia.
He said the line would operate continuously during the summer peak to support local supply, while the larger investment would strengthen the site’s long-term manufacturing capability. The company expects the additional capacity to increase its flexibility as beverage demand changes during the year.
CCEP is also piloting a flexible part-time employment model at Kewdale, introducing alternative shift arrangements intended to widen access to frontline manufacturing roles. The first recruitment intake attracted more than 900 applications, with new employees already joining the factory through the programme.
The pilot is being introduced alongside the equipment investment rather than presented as a direct consequence of additional machinery. CCEP has not disclosed the number of posts available, the total number of recruits or whether the programme will change overall site employment.
Schiebling linked the staffing initiative to the need for skilled people to operate modern production equipment, particularly as the company develops its manufacturing capability. The arrangements are intended to accommodate applicants balancing employment with family or other commitments, while providing the site with access to a wider pool of potential recruits.
Increased output from Kewdale supports CCEP’s stated approach of manufacturing beverages closer to the markets in which they are consumed. The company has not quantified the resulting changes in transport activity or supply chain costs, but the new capacity gives its Western Australian operation greater scope to respond to local orders.
The upgraded line has now entered the period for which the investment was timed, with summer operations expected to test its ability to sustain higher volumes. Its rated speed and annual capacity establish the planned scale of the improvement, while actual production and resource-efficiency results will depend on performance under routine operating conditions.
