Diageo to invest £24.5m at its Belfast beer packaging site

The news came as it was revealed the multinational is spending a total of £40.5m to expand capacity at its packaging facilities in Belfast and Runcorn in England.

The plans are set to support the world-wide growth of Guinness Draught, Guinness Zero and Guinness Nitrosurge.

Belfast’s investment will see existing warehouses converted into a new state-of-the-art packaging line capable of producing 72,000 cans per hour.

Diageo is making the investment to meet global demand for Guinness products from domestic and export markets, with the expansion set to support accelerated production and product innovation.

Aidan Crowe, operations director for Beer at Diageo, said: “This expansion is a significant investment in the development of our packaging facilities.

“The projects in Belfast and Runcorn will support our growth ambitions, helping us to deliver end-to-end product innovation, and reinforce our agility to meet demand and provide excellent service to our customers around the world.”

Deirdre Delaney, operations manager at Diageo’s Belfast packaging site, added: “This is an exciting time for our site in Belfast as we invest in our business to support the growth of our business.

“We contribute considerably to the local economy in Belfast and the £24.5 investment will further support our supply chains and local communities.”