Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) will spend $105.5 million on a new warmfill beverage bottling line for its Powerade and Fuze Tea product ranges, to be installed at its Moorabbin plant in Victoria. CCEP’s major suppliers for the warmfill line are Krones (line) and Agito (RORO docks), along with a range of smaller suppliers.
This is a new warmfill capability for CCEP’s Moorabbin site; CCEP has existing warmfill capability at its plants in Richlands, QLD and Kewdale, WA.
The investment is in response to growing demand for sports beverages, a category in which Powerade is the market-leading brand, accounting for nearly half of the category’s value and volume sales. CCEP’s investment in the warmfill line anticipates the continued demand for Powerade products, with Powerade growing at 12 per cent during the 2023/24 financial year.
The new system will be capable of delivering up to 640 bottles per minute and, when operating at full capacity, it will increase the site’s overall capacity by an additional 23 per cent. The site will supply customers across Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia.
The advantage of warmfill technology tends to be simpler and more efficient than alternate aseptic options that involve wet or dry chemical sterilisation. Further enhancing the line's ability to produce high quality product is the incorporation of some of the latest automated checking systems available from CCEP's major suppliers. These include automated level and pressure sensing, as well as labelling and coding checking.
The filling line will be housed in a new 4200sqm manufacturing hall, an extension to the existing state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Moorabbin, which includes an advanced canning line. The can line was completed in 2023 utilising primarily KHS equipment as well as GPIA (packer). The can line can fill up to 1500 cans per minute.
The project will include comprehensive upgrades to water treatment, electrical systems, compressed air, nitrogen dosing, heating and cooling systems, and a syrup room for warmfill product manufacturing.
Construction on the facility, contracted to local builders Vaughan Construction, will start in August, with the line expected to be operational in Q1 2026.
CCEP’s internal Engineering and Technology team will provide the engineering expertise to implement and integrate the overall project into the Moorabbin operation. They will be supported by a range of consultants for project management, design management (BECA), civil and structural engineering, and process engineering (ME Engineering).
CCEP managing director Orlando Rodriguez said, “This investment is an exciting milestone for CCEP as the business prepares for accelerated growth, particularly in the sporting beverage category.”
In Australia, the Energy and Sports Drinks market is projected to generate revenue of AU$4.9 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to grow at an annual rate of 4.53 per cent, (CAGR 2024-2027), according to a Statista 2024 report.
“Investing in the sports category is central to our overarching growth ambitions and reflects our strong belief in this sector, as highlighted by our support of community and sporting organisations, including the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, and recently being named the Official Sports Hydration Partner of the Hungry Jacks National Basketball League and Cygnett Women’s National Basketball League,” Rodriguez said.
“Establishing and expanding local operations in Moorabbin brings us closer to the end-consumer, enabling us to produce, distribute and sell beverages to more customers with greater efficiency and more sustainably.”
The new line is expected to reduce inter-business transportation of warmfill line products and their raw materials by 2.9 million kilometres annually, resulting in an approximate annual reduction of 3785 tonnes of CO2.
CCEP says this strategic investment accelerates capacity, unlocks innovation, and reinforces the company’s “unwavering commitment to great people, great service, and great beverages”, continuing to cement CCEP as a bottler of choice.
