Largest bottling hub to cut CO2 emissions

Constellation Europe has opened a European bottling and warehousing hub in Avonmouth near Bristol, in the UK.

The new Constellation Park is the largest wine warehouse and distribution centre in Europe and will employ roughly 300 people. The Park represents a massive 50 million euro investment by Constellation, displaying Constellation’s confidence in the European wine market.

The company says customers will benefit from an improved and more efficient supply chain within the UK and Europe, with increased product availability and quicker order turnaround.

The Park will not only house all bottles coming into the UK (and from Shepton Mallet where ciders are produced), but is the start of a new bottling initiative by Constellation: high volume Australian brands will now be bottled in the UK.

State of the art equipment at the plant includes two Krones bottling lines and three bag-in-box lines and Constellation aims to bottle 9 million 9lt cases a year.  The switch to UK bottling from Australia will reduce transport related CO2 emissions by more than a third for products sold in the UK.  Other sustainable initiatives in the building include rainwater harvesting and lighting controlled by sensor lights.

The first delivery of bulk wine from Australia took place on 28th November 2008, and the site is expecting to be fully functional by 1st May 2009.

About Constellation

Constellation Europe is a leading producer and marketer of alcoholic drinks with a broad portfolio of wines, ciders, wine-style drinks and fortified British wines. Well-known brands include: Hardys, Robert Mondavi, Stowells, Kumala, Echo Falls, Blackthorn, Gaymers Original, Olde English, Diamond White and Babycham.

Constellation Park – The facts

1. The size of the bottling and warehouse plant is 80,000 m2
2. Each bottling line is capable of filling 400 bottles per minute
3. 9 Million 9ltr cases will be bottled in Europe in 2009
4. The warehouse will provide 90,000 additional pallet spaces
5. Transport related CO2 will be reduced by more than a third for products sold in the UK

CO2 measurements per case are calculated using the internationally accepted management tool, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol:
Case from Australia = 424.8g, Case from UK = 272.4g CO2

May 09

1 May 2009 - Felicity Murray