UK: Budweiser UK to extend brewhouse in Samlesbury

Budweiser UK, part of the massive AB InBev group, has submitted plans to South Ribble Council to extend both its brewhouse and MCV (Mash Conversion Vessels) building in Samlesbury as part of a £45 mln investment programme first announced in March, the Lancashire Post reported on July 13.

The application follows two previous ones in the past eight months to increase the size of the brewery - which employs 500 staff - and boost beer production.

Budweiser's latest plan is to build four new tanks and two new silos at the plant in Cuerdale Lane together with the extensions.

The company, which brews Stella Artois, Corona as well as Budweiser and Bud Light at Samlesbury, is pumping a total of £117m into its two main UK factories - the other in Magor, South Wales - with the aim of producing an extra 630m pints.

The Welsh plant gets £72 mln and an extra 32 jobs, while Samlesbury's share is £45 mln, creating 32 new jobs.

The investment programme shows how the brewer has bounced back from the Covid pandemic, with record sales in the last year.

It says it wants its expansion in Lancashire and Monmouthshire to be a catalyst for economic recovery across the UK.

Paula Lindenberg, president of Budweiser in Britain and Ireland, said: "We know the beer industry is hugely valuable to the UK economy and we believe our investment in our UK operations will be a catalyst for the recovery post-Covid."

Plans already approved by South Ribble Council this year include an HGV self-registration area with 15 bays, a new access road for wagons off Cuerdale Lane, three new weighbridges, a tented warehouse for storage and distribution and a hardstanding with 70 HGV trailer spaces and 20 HGV cab spaces.

Overall it will mean the installation of a modern and eco-friendly infrastructure to increase capacity in brewing, canning and bottling.

Speaking In March, Volodimir Kukuruza, brewery manager at Samlesbury, said: “It’s fantastic to be in the position to grow our brewery and our team.

"This ongoing investment makes us one of the most appealing employers in Preston, and we look forward to supporting the area to a strong recovery.”

Beer has been produced in Samlesbury since 1972. The plant was built by Whitbread, who left brewing in 2000.

Budweiser's parent company AB InBev brews around 500 different beers in more than 150 countries and employs in excess of 175,000 staff worldwide.

13 July, 2021