Adnams to spend £9m on modernisation
Adnams is to spend £9m modernising its distribution and brewing systems.
A new £5.5m distribution centre will be built on an 85 acre gravel pit site owned by Adnams in nearby Reydon and will open in spring 2007. The building aims to be one of the most environmentally friendly in the country. It will allow Adnams to reduce dray movements in Southwold from 50 a day to just one a day, and will also allow for 24-hour working. This dray reduction will ease growing local resentment in some quarters towards Adnams' presence in the town centre.
The Reydon and Southwold Society has been saying the brewer has outgrown the town and could soon damage tourist trade. MD Jonathan Adnams has responded by saying he is happy to talk to the society. He said: "Adnams brings over £45m into the local economy and spends £2.5m annually marketing Southwold. No one has done more to build the town's reputation."
The new distribution centre will be built from environmentally friendly materials and have a grass layer on the dome shaped roof. Thousands of trees will be planted around the depot, helping to make it invisible from the road.
In a separate move, Adnams has won planning permission to replace its wort stream with a new £3.3m system. The new kit will be far more flexible than the current equipment, and will allow Adnams to brew a wider range of beers, including wheat beers.
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