Beverage company toast £1M turnover boost

A successful Co. Antrim bottling firm is to increase turnover by more than £1 million in six months thanks to its participation in a pilot business improvement programme.

Ballymena-based Norbev, which operates a soft drinks, packaged water, juice production and contract bottling facility, provides service to companies within the UK and RoI markets which include GlaxoSmithKline, Cantrell & Cochrane, Asda, Coca Cola and Superdrug.

Norbev is one of the first companies to complete the Invest NI Interim Managers Programme and a recent audit of production processes and accounts has revealed a £1.3 million increase in turnover as well as major improvements in production efficiency.

“Business advice from Invest NI helped us to understand that whilst investing in state of the art machinery and staff development is important, we must focus on creating synergies between the two, and think more creatively in order to maximise efficiency and make Norbev more competitive,” says James Harkness, Managing Director, Norbev.

“The Interim Managers Programme was recommended by our client executive and I am delighted with the results which include a production efficiency improvement of 20% and a 55% increase in bottling capacity. It has been crucial in helping us to develop the capability of the plant and streamline our processes.”

The pilot programme encourages businesses to exploit resources so they can overcome barriers to growth and enhance competitiveness. Key to achieving this is the provision of an interim manager with specialist knowledge and expertise, who works with the company for a maximum of 60 days on a specific improvement project.

Invest NI and the participating company jointly fund the interim manager’s costs.

(SP)