Parliamentarians get an Olympic experience at Coca-Cola Enterprises
A group of MPs and Peers had the chance to see where hundreds of thousands of
soft drinks for the 2012 Olympics will be manufactured when they visited the
Coca-Cola Enterprises[1] (CCE) site at Edmonton today (14 June).
The All-Party Parliamentary Food and Drink Manufacturing Group[2] and Food and Drink Federation[3] organised the visit to give parliamentarians[4] a better understanding of what
goes on inside the food and drink industry, the UK's largest manufacturing
sector.
The visit was an enlightening experience for parliamentarians who got to see the
high speed production, automated warehousing and sustainable packaging
innovation that goes into maintaining CCE's daily output of millions of soft
drinks each
day.
They were accompanied by Martin Davies, Operations Director for CCE North
London, who gave a brief presentation about Coca-Cola and the manufacturing
process.
Steve Walters, Quality, Environment, Safety & Health Manager at CCE, led the
parliamentarians on a tour of the state of the art manufacturing site in
Edmonton.
Martin Davies, CCE Operations Director, North London, says, “We are delighted to
welcome our guests to Coca-Cola Enterprises' Edmonton facility. Whilst we
represent a global brand, we are wholeheartedly a local business, and are very
proud
of our contribution to both the communities in which we operate and to the GB
economy. Edmonton factory is at the heart of our commitment to grow our
business
without growing our carbon. We hope that our parliamentary guests and their
hosts,
the Food and Drink Federation will enjoy seeing our progress towards that goal
at first hand.”
The parliamentarians were then shown around CCE's award winning Education
Centre[5] - a purpose built facility which hosts tailored educational visits from
over
4,000 students a year. Students have the opportunity to develop their knowledge
and understanding of the 'world of work' and make connections between what they
learn in the classroom and real-life business and manufacturing practice.
APPG Chair, John Stevenson MP said: “I'm delighted to be here today. It's always
fascinating to see the high level of innovation that goes on inside a factory
and I am proud to showcase the food and drink industry to parliamentarians.
“Despite upward cost pressures, food and drink manufacturers are increasing
their investment on innovation, research and development, in order to deliver
value
for consumers and to enable the sector to grow and keep pace in a competitive
global marketplace. The food and drink industry is the largest manufacturing
sector in the UK, and its' importance to the overall economy should not be
underestimated.”
Notes to Editors
1. About Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd: Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. is the world's
third-largest independent Coca-Cola bottler. CCE is the sole licensed bottler
for products of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) in Belgium, continental France,
Great
Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. In Great
Britain (GB) Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) employs around 4,500 people across
England, Scotland and Wales at manufacturing sites, regional offices and depots.
2. The primary functions of the All-Party Parliamentary Food and Drink
Manufacturing Group are to consider the issues of concern to the food and drink
manufacturing industry and to raise awareness of these matters in Parliament,
to promote
the interests of the industry ensuring parliamentarians remain informed of key
issues, and to provide a forum for debate and dialogue about issues related to
food and drink manufacturing. The Food and Drink Federation provides
secretariat
support for the APPG.
3. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the voice of the food and drink
manufacturing industry – the UK's largest manufacturing sector. For more
information
about FDF and the industry we represent visit: www.fdf.org.uk.
4. Parliamentarians who attended included: Gordon Birtwistle MP; Lord Dykes;
Mary Glindon MP; Jason McCartney MP; Nigel Mills MP; Mark Spencer MP and John
Stevenson MP.
5. About CCE Education Centres: Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) is committed to
educating young people about business and enterprise. We have two principal
programmes that meet this commitment: our award-winning education centres based
at our
operational sites and the Real Business Challenge (RBC), a national enterprise
competition for schools that won 2010's Food and Drink Federation Community
Partnership Award (Education Category).
Our education centres are fully equipped with interactive classrooms and
purpose-built to deliver a subject related insight into the production process
alongside a tour of the factory floor. Since 2001, CCE has opened education
centres at
our sites at East Kilbride, Wakefield and Edmonton; a fourth education at our
Sidcup site opens at the beginning of July, a state of the art £750K investment
which will allow the site to deliver a world class community education
programme as
part of CCE's Olympic legacy.
The centres are run by a General Teaching Council registered teacher employed
directly by CCE. Modules taught at the centres link directly to the school
curriculum to help students make connections between what they learn in the
classroom
and real-life business and manufacturing practice. The CCE education centres
hosts students every year from local secondary schools, colleges and
universities,
and plays an important part in offering manufacturing as a viable career path.
More Information
- FDF Press team
-
Nicki Hunt on or 020 7420 7132 - nicki.hunt@fdf.org.uk
-
Rebecca Wilhelm or 020 7420 7140 rebecca.wilhelm@fdf.org.uk
-
Sarah Jenkinson or 020 7420 7131 - sarah.jenkinson@fdf.org.uk