Business update

£5 million factory investment

The investment will secure the future of Barr's iconic 750ml glass bottle.

19/08/15

AG Barr has announced an investment of £5m in its Cumbernauld facility with the installation of new, high-speed filling capability for its glass bottle range.

The investment will secure the future of Barr’s iconic 750ml glass bottle, ensuring that loyal fans can continue to enjoy their IRN-BRU and Barr flavours in glass.

The planned investment means Barr will no longer have the infrastructure to handle returned bottles. Barr has seen a significant reduction in the number of bottles being returned in recent years as
consumers increasingly choose the convenience of recycling at home. Barr saw 90% of its bottles returned in the early 90s, but now only half of the bottles are returned.

With improved kerbside recycling, only 1 in 2 of our bottles are now being returned, meaning that the process of handling returned bottles has become uneconomic. We will continue to offer the same quality products in the same 750ml bottle for the long-term, but the bottle will no longer be returnable.

Jonathan Kemp, Commercial Director

This investment will replace Barr’s current glass line, which is almost 20 years old, with faster more efficient glass filling capability, and will see the energy-hungry returnable glass bottle
washing equipment decommissioned.

Barr will continue to accept bottles until the 31st December 2015 and consumers can continue to return their bottles to retailers until this date. From the 1st January 2016 consumers should
recycle their bottles through their household recycling scheme or using `on-the-go’ public recycling facilities.