World Superbike Champion, Jonathan Rea, has officially opened a new £17 million Coca-Cola production facility in Lisburn.

Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland and its partner Monster Energy have opened a new canning line facility, with the single largest investment since the facility opened in 2008, with 35 new permanent roles created as part of the expansion.

Jonathan Rea, who is a Monster sponsored athlete, was onsite at Knockmore Hill to officially cut the ribbon and celebrate the achievement with employees.

The extension adds an additional 4,597 square metres to the facility, covering manufacturing, warehousing and logistics.

The expansion comes after a competitive tender process where Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland was selected as the strongest location amongst a number of other bottling operators across Europe.

Davide Franzetti, General Manager, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland said; "Today's official opening ceremony signals an exciting moment for our business and our partner Monster Energy.

The expansion is also a further demonstration of the commitment of Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland to the local economy with 35 new roles created and opportunity for our own people to grow and develop their own skillset with this new state-of-the-art new canning line.

"I am incredibly proud to see the line open today after many months of hard work and expert planning by all of those involved in the expansion project and my thanks goes to them for their dedication to our business."

Speaking at the launch of the new canning line, Desmond White, Chief Commercial Officer, Monster Energy EMEA said: "This significant expansion of Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland production facility, with a dedicated Monster Energy canning line will unlock new opportunities for us in the Ireland and Northern Ireland markets, and also across other European markets.

"We are very proud of the strategic partnership with Coca-Cola HBC, the success and growth of our brands Monser and BPM, and the increased employment and employee development opportunities this investment brings. Today signifies a new milestone in our partnership which we are sure will bring further success."

With a heritage on the island of Ireland dating back to 1938, Coca-Cola HBC employs over 750 people across the island with 450 colleagues based at the Knockmore Hill site in Lisburn.

Since 2008, over £127 / €145 million has been invested in the facility in Knockmore Hill, a significant proportion of this investment is dedicated to furthering Coca-Cola HBC's goal of achieving a NetZero carbon position by 2040, including the recent move to 100% recycled plastic across Coca-Cola HBC's beverage portfolio eliminating, 7,100 tonnes of virgin plastic from circulation annually, in addition to the rollout of innovative and environmentally friendly cardboard packaging solutions and water saving initiatives.

The new canning line is part of the wider expansion of Monster Energy on the island of Ireland, with its syrup production facility in Athy, Co. Kildare also in the process of expansion.