Asahi Beverages invests $55m on Queensland manufacturing hub

Global drinks giant Asahi Beverages will operate 24/7 at its Queensland manufacturing hub and almost double production after completing a $55m factory expansion.

Drinks giant Asahi Beverages has big plans for Ipswich where it has completed a $55m factory expansion.

The expansion of the Ipswich plant will allow Asahi to boost production of non-alcoholic beverages from 170 million to 300 million litres a year. Asahi already produces high-profile brands such as Schweppes, Pepsi and Solo at the site and with the expansion will add the Pop Tops juice, Cool Ridge water and Lipton Iced Tea ranges.

Asahi Beverages Group chief executive officer Robert Iervasi said the Japanese-owned company was “unbelievably proud” of the expanded facility which will operate 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Asahi has injected almost $100m into the Ipswich hub over the past five years. This includes building a 39-metre high warehouse as part of the latest upgrade and installing two new bottling lines, one of which is already in use and the other will become operational in August.

“We will continue to invest in Queensland as a manufacturing hub for Asahi,” Mr Iervasi said. “We are focused on delivering an end-to-end product as fast as possible.”

Mr Iervasi said the company had invested in the long-term growth of its manufacturing footprint.

Asahi Beverages Group CEO Robert Iervasi. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

“We have transitioned into manufacturing our own preformed plastic bottles on site and are spending money on investing in (specialised production lines) which will make Lipton Iced Tea and Pop Tops,” he said.

Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann, at a factory tour last week with Mr Iervasi, said Ipswich has more potential for growth.

“Ipswich is the fastest growing city in Queensland. We have an average age of people in this city of 32 years old compared to the state average of 37. So there is a lot of opportunities here,” he said.

The factory upgrade has created more than 130 local jobs, marking an important step forward in Ipswich’s economic growth.

Mr Iervasi also indicated Asahi hoped the government would implement policies to assist companies through the current jobs crisis.

“The national labour shortage is something we have seen across our industry — we have seen some improvements in this recently for us,” he said. “One of the things we would really love is policy and strategy on opening up the labour market to make sure there is a sufficient labour force for us and our customers who are struggling to run venues.”

Regarding the rising cost of living, he said Asahi constantly reviewed prices and processes to combat unprecedented inflation.

“We try to keep our factories as efficient as possible to keep costs down as much as possible,” he said.

“(But) some products will see or have seen a price increase and others may not.”

The drinks giant also has a sustainability goal and expects 100 per cent of its power at the Ipswich factory will come from renewable sources by 2025. Mr Iervasi said the expansion will reduce the company’s carbon footprint.