F BWK027:BWK027

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MANUFACTURING MATTERS
BUSINESSWEEKLY July 8, 2010
27
CASE STUDIES
PRODUCTS: United Biscuits
United Biscuits has made great progress with its
health and nutrition programme and is
continuing to make improvements to meet
consumer needs. Saturated fat was identified as
a key target with changes first made on the
snacks portfolio as part of a reformulation
programme starting in 2005.
Hula Hoops are made with sunflower oil and
now contain 80 per cent less saturated fat than
in 2005. KP Crisps also contain 80 per cent less.
Skips, KP Mini Chips, Brannigans Crisps,
Wheat Crunchies, Frisps, Nik Naks, Space
Raiders and Roysters now have 75 per cent less
saturated fat. McCoy’s Crisps have 70 per cent
less and Discos now have 60 per cent less
saturated fat. Mini Cheddars Crinklys have seen
a 40 per cent saturated fat reduction and Mini
Cheddars a 30 per cent reduction.
After achieving saturated fat reductions in
the snacks, work started in September 2005 to
discover how saturated fat reductions in
biscuits could be achieved.
In 2009 a number of UB’s biscuits were
launched with 50 per cent reductions in
saturated fat. For some products a second
reduction was launched at the start of 2010.
Examples of the overall reductions include:
an 80 per cent saturated fat reduction in
McVitie’s Digestives and Light Digestives, a 75
per cent reduction in McVitie’s Hobnobs, Rich
Tea and Light Rich Tea, and a 65 per cent
reduction in McVitie’s Light Hobnobs.
Extensive consumer testing was carried out
to find the optimum reduction of saturated fat
that could still offer the same great taste. UB
invested a total of £14m in changes to
ingredients and investment in manufacturing
facilities, as well as TV advertising to
communicate to consumers the news about the
reduced saturated fat of McVitie’s biscuits.
UB also reduced the saturated fat in some
of its popular savoury biscuits in 2009 so that
the saturated fat in Jacob’s Light Cream
Crackers has reduced by 55 per cent and in
Jacob’s Cream Crackers and High Fibre Cream
Crackers by 30 per cent.
www.unitedbiscuits.com
Coca-Cola employs 4,650 people across the UK
third of all canned Coca-Cola products
manufactured in the UK.
Among other environmental achievements,
both sites have achieved a ‘zero landfill’
performance. Here are three examples of recent
investment at these two sites:
Wakefield: 1. Pre-form area
• New pre-form area allows the factory to
produce its own pre-forms, which are then
blown into PET bottles
• Opened on 2 October 2009 by local MP,
the Rt Hon Ed Balls
• Result of a £6m investment which will
help to cut production costs and carbon
emissions by reducing delivery miles by 135,000
every year.
2.Milton Keynes: New can line opened
• On August 13, 2009 CCE unveiled a new
£11m canning line at Milton Keynes
• New line will enable the production of up
to 1,500 cans (330ml) a minute
• Investment will facilitate the GB
production of 500ml cans of energy drink
Relentless
• Site workforce increasing by 10 per cent
3. Wakefield: New can line planned
• On 2 October 2009 CCE announced plans
to invest £13m in a new can line at Wakefield
• New line will increase production by an
additional 2,000 cans every minute
• New line will increase the site’s capacity
from over 66 cans per second to over 100 cans
per second
www.cokecce.co.uk
FACTORIES: Coca-Cola
Enterprises
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) makes, sells and
delivers over four billion soft drink bottles and
cans in GB every year. The company has seven
manufacturing plants and eight distribution
sites in GB, and employs 4,650 people across the
country.
CCE’s Wakefield site is the largest in Europe,
with an area size the equivalent of 25 football
pitches housing a total of nine production lines.
One of these has the largest carbonated filler in
Europe producing 1,000 litres of product per
minute.
CCE’s operation at Milton Keynes currently
houses nine production lines, generating over a
Müller Dairy has given its backing to the new Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design
PEOPLE: Müller Dairy
Müller Dairy, Britain’s leading yogurt producer,
has continued to invest in training and
development programmes, throughout the
recession.
As well as work placements at various levels
from GCSE through to post-graduate and
vocational training such as NVQ apprenticeships,
Müller Dairy also offers: ongoing desktop
computer skills training; internal coaching
programmes delivered by key executives;
workshops aimed at empowering employees at all
levels to maximise their potential; and work
placements for employees across different
functions within the business.
Over the past 12 months, Müller Dairy has
also pledged its commitment to two new major
educational initiatives.
The company is funding places for four
students on the Eden Programme – the Industry
Dairy Education Programme, which aims to
develop new learning curricula and qualifications
suitable for Europe-wide accreditation within the
dairy industry.
The company has also given its backing to the
new Diploma in Manufacturing and Product
Design – a vocational course which was launched
in September 2009 in a number of colleges around
the country.
As a key employer in the region, Müller Dairy
has committed to a joint venture with Stoke on
Trent Authority which is running the level 2
Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design in
two local colleges – Edensor Technology College
and Thistley Hough Arts & Media College.
The company’s involvement is not only to
provide students with practical advice and
insights into the world of dairy manufacturing at
the beginning of their course, but also to act as a
‘client’ assessing new business projects developed
by the students as part of their diploma.
www.mullerdairy.co.uk