British soft drink producer Britvic has announced the opening of the sixth bottling line at its East London factory in Beckton, UK.

The new line has been set up with an investment of approximately £22.5m ($28.09m).

The official commissioning of this sixth bottling line was marked by an opening ceremony, carried out by Britvic's CEO Simon Litherland, as well as its chair Ian Durant and supply chain director Nigel Paine.

Paine said: “Opening the sixth bottling line at Beckton marks the latest milestone in a series of investments into our supply chain.

“As we continue to grow and meet increasing demand, boosting our capacity at the Beckton site allows us to keep delivering on our goals and create a resilient business.”

The new line features extra manufacturing equipment, enhancing the company’s existing technological capabilities and allowing it to make the production process faster and more efficient.

According to Britvic, the bottling line will help it fulfil its long-term growth ambitions by boosting production capacity by approximately 30% at its UK site.

It will also allow the company to support production for various British brands such as Tango and Pepsi MAX.

The first product produced on the new line is planned to reach the domestic market by early next month.

The latest investment will create 18 new job opportunities. This brings the total number of employees at Britvic’s Beckton site to more than 240.

All newly recruited team members will engage in a 12-week training course that will help them understand the technical expertise required for managing the new installation.

The recruits will mainly be working in engineering and manufacturing roles.

The latest installation effort comes after Britvic’s £8m investment at the facility to enhance energy efficiency, contributing to the company’s commitment to save energy and minimise its carbon emissions.