'A pillar': Labatt unveils $26M investment in London brewery
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One week after giant beer tanks rumbled across Southwestern Ontario en route to Labatt’s London brewery, company officials on Tuesday announced more details of its $26.6-million expansion.
At the brewery just south of downtown, Labatt officials said roughly half the mega-investment, about $13.5 million, will go to the fermentation tanks that arrived last week. Another $13.1 million will be spent on two new packaging machines.
“This is going a long way toward improving our capacity, our capabilities, as well as driving our sustainability goals for the future,” said Alex Martel, general manager of the London brewery.
The investment won’t create any new jobs at the 375-worker plant, Martel said, but will help the facility better meet customer needs.
The high-profile arrival of the fermentation tanks was hard to miss, taking over roads and forcing power to be turned off in some areas as they were driven to London. Manufactured in Germany and imported through a port at Sarnia, they add the equivalent of six million bottles of beer to the London brewery’s annual capacity.
The tanks will be used to hold beer for fermentation, allowing the yeast to bring out the alcohol content and taste.
Mayor Josh Morgan was at the brewery on Tuesday. He commended the beer giant’s continued commitment to its hometown. “To see this company reinvest, again, in London in a substantive way . . . that is a tremendous confidence in our city, and confidence in our downtown.”
London North Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos was also present, calling the history of Labatt an “outstanding London story.” He added: “Along with 3M, General Dynamics and Canada Life, I think it’s fair to say that this is a pillar for our local economy and it has been for close to 200 years.”
The London brewery is Labatt’s largest in Canada, and responsible for producing more than 40 per cent of its domestic supply.
Labatt Brewery was founded by Irish immigrant John Kinder Labatt in London in 1847. It flourished under his son, also named John, and became Canada’s biggest beermaker.
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