Thwaites doubles output with £700,000 bottling line

Lancashire brewer Daniel Thwaites has unveiled its new £700,000 bottling line that will double output to 24,000 barrels a year.

The bottling line features a 20 head bottle rinser, 28 filling heads and a 6 head crowner. It is capable of filling a range of bottles from 170ml "nips" to 750 ml containers. It processes up to 4,200 bottles per hour.

The packing machine is configured to produce eight, 12, 24 packs but other options are available.

Ian Bearpark, production director at Daniel Thwaites, said: "Over the last 3-4 years, our own bottle sales have grown by over 100%. This considerable rise has happened since the introduction of our own bespoke bottle, which has enabled our Sales team to tap into new markets.

"As a result of this steady growth we had run out of capacity on the previous line. In the space we had available in the brewery we've installed the biggest filler we possibly could - doubling our output.

"The installation went extremely smoothly and we were producing beer ahead of schedule. From placing orders to running it took seven months and we have been delighted with the progress so far."