A NEW £24 million bottling plant has been officially opened at a Tadcaster brewery, creating 42 jobs.

Bosses at John Smith's said the new state-of-the-art plant was the most modern bottling facility in Europe.

Completed three weeks ahead of target, the giant bottling hall is about the size of two football pitches.

It boasts two production lines capable of filling 100,000 beer bottles every hour.

Brewery bosses said the new plant would bottle a wide range of Scottish Courage brands for UK and international markets, including Fosters, Kronenbourg, Miller Genuine Draft and Newcastle Brown.

The brewery's head of manufacturing, Gary Woodburn, said the plant was capable of turning out eight million bottles of beer a week, in sizes ranging from 200ml to one-litre bottles.

He said: "This investment will make our Tadcaster operation the UK's undisputed leader in alcoholic drinks bottling. "The powerful combination of cutting edge technology and a highly-trained and motivated workforce will provide Scottish Courage with unprecedented bottling capability and flexibility.

"It will put us in the strongest possible position when we have to respond swiftly to future packaging trends."

Bottled beer today accounts for 12 per cent of all beer sales in the UK, and John Smith's is confident that its investment will pay off handsomely.

More than 3.5 million barrels of beer - more than one billion pints - is brewed for bottling and the market is worth around £2 billion a year in retail sales.

The plant will start off working two shifts, with plans next year for round-the-clock working, seven days a week.

The Mayor of Tadcaster, Coun Don Bain-Mackay, said: "This is a big vote of confidence for both the brewery and for Tadcaster.

"It's good for the local economy and will ensure Tadcaster stays on the map as the brewing centre of Britain."

Updated: 09:35 Saturday, June 26, 2004