Drinks company celebrates major safety milestone

Gavin Pearce, Health & Safety Co-ordinator, CCEP Morpeth; Julian Hunt, VP, Public Affairs & Communications, CCEP; Paramjeet Pahdi, Site Director, CCEP Morpeth; Anthony Davison, Team Leader, Production, CCEP Morpeth. Picture by Chris Lishman.

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) achieved a no Lost Time Incidents (LTI) record over the past ten years at the site.

Officials say staff at the Morpeth site have driven the safety culture, from rigorous safety checks to constant evaluation of potential hazards.

A celebration for all CCEP employees based at Morpeth, along with their families, was held at the site, which also honoured its tenth anniversary since taking over from Waters & Robson in 2008.

The site has been developed over the years, including changing its focus from carbonated drinks to bottled waters, as well as the launch of SmartWater in 2014, with significant investment, such as a £14million new high speed, fully automated water-processing and bottling line in 2016 — more than doubling capability to 56,000 bottles per hour.

Paramjeet Pahdi, Operations Director at Coca-Cola European Partners, Morpeth, said: “I am hugely proud of all the employees at Morpeth and their dedication to maintain our outstanding health and safety record.

“Reaching ten years with a no Lost Time Incident (LTI) record is testament to the diligence and care of the workforce at the Morpeth site. Part of this is ensuring employees have the appropriate training to keep them safe.”

CCEP’s Morpeth site also prides itself as being a pillar in the community since arriving a decade ago, helping to run Unified Sports, an athletics competition for those with intellectual disabilities, and providing free SmartWater at Morpeth’s annual bonfire night.