‘Craft can’ specialist opening the first Tonejet digital can printing plant in Europe
Mullingar, Ireland | 30 March 2021: Ireland’s Bevcraft Group have selected Peterborough as the location to establish a new flagship digital can printing operation in the UK.
The Mullingar based ‘craft can’ specialist will invest over €5m into the UK over the next three years and is on an active recruitment drive. The investment will see headcount double across the business this year. Bevcraft Group have partnered with Cambridgeshire based Tonejet to commission what will be the very first such system in Europe. The Tonejet Cyclone C4 is the result of many years of extensive research and development into direct to can digital printing technology.
By printing directly onto the beverage can, Bevcraft will be able to offer an entirely new and environmentally sustainable way to decorate cans for volumes of between 1 to 50,000 units which up until now have relied upon the application of labels or shrink sleeves.
In addition to digital can printing, the facility will also host a mobile canning fleet, distribution hub and service & maintenance depot. These will complement Bevcraft’s existing distribution hub in Merseyside as well as operations in Ireland and the Netherlands.
Commenting on the technology Darren Fenton, COO of the Bevcraft Group, said:
“By adopting this new and exciting technology, we can now completely eliminate minimum order quantities and provide yet more choice and flexibility to the hundreds of fantastic beverage producers we are so fortunate to work with across Europe.
This solution will complement our existing mobile canning, can distribution and can decoration offerings so that we can continue to offer maximum choice and flexibility to our clients.
We expect 330ml print capability to come on stream within the next two months and 440ml to go live close to year end.”
In relation to the investment Ciarán Gorman, CFO of the Bevcraft Group, said:
“This is the single most important investment to date for the Bevcraft Group and represents a major step for the business as we increasingly grow the business internationally. In Q1 2021, for the first time, the majority of group revenues have come from international markets.
Although Brexit has been a challenge; ultimately the UK are our closest neighbour and a strategically important market. This investment and our continued expansion will support growth at our Mullingar, Westmeath Head Office where the majority of our team are based.
Commenting on the market Henry Reilly, Commercial Director of the Bevcraft Group, said:
“Our roots are in the craft beer sector where creativity, variety and sustainability have been so important to the growth story. This is a sector that is full of energy and passion and we really look forward to seeing our customers push the boundaries of what digital can printing can deliver.
Over the years our mobile crews have completed thousands of canning runs and the one absolute constant is that there are quite literally no two craft producers the same – everyone has a story to tell and a different approach to doing so.”
About the Bevcraft Group The Bevcraft Group is a ‘craft can’ business first established in Mullingar, Ireland which now includes operations across Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands and handles over 50m cans / annum.
Bevcraft provides a range of services including mobile contract canning, can distribution, can decoration, testing, servicing, and training. All services are unbundled so that craft beverage producers can ‘pick and mix’ the options that suit them. Typically, services are available on-demand, commitment free.
Bevcraft have been supported over the years by Local Enterprise Office Westmeath & Enterprise Ireland and were recently winners of the Overall Award at the National Enterprise Awards.
A video of the Tonejet system can be seen here: https://www.tonejet.com/#