Contract Packing

Today, Aston Manor handle contract bottling and packaging for the major multiple supermarkets, all four major UK breweries plus several regional brewers. The contract packing production lines run glass and PET bottles at up to 24,000 an hour, with the ability to crown-cork PET bottles offering a competitive advantage. Today, with advances in technology, PET bottles not only look great but also improve product shelf life, by up to six months twelve months for cider.

Contract Packaging

We have 3 production lines in our Birmingham site and 2 at our Devon site, first and second being PET only for 1, 2 and 3 litres bottles and each running approx. 20,000 litres per hour per using Krones fillers. In early 2009 we launched the new Krones line 3, which will run 2,400 bottles per hour of glass and PET bottles from 330ml up to 1.8lt bottles. The unique advantage that we have is the ability to “Crown Cork” a PET bottle. Line 4 at Devon is for PET only, for 2 and 3 litre bottles filling at approx 40,000 litres per hour and Line 5 at Devon is our new can line with filler rated at 72,000 cans per hour.

Aston Manor Glass and Specialist PET Line (Line 3)

These days, with advances in technology, both in machinery and packaging materials, there have been major improvements in the aesthetics and product shelf life of specialist pet bottles – presently with up to six months shelf life for beer and up to twelve months for cider.

We took our first steps into “Crown Cork” PET in the mid 1990's, and had immediate success, particularly at Wembly stadium and some major English Premier League football clubs. In association with Constar, PET bottle development was always at the forefront of our focus and attention, culminating a few years later with the glass "look-a-like" concept for the small pack 330 ml and 500 ml versions with multi-layer barriers to extend the shelf life.

PET has many advantages. When looking at two bottles side-by-side - a 275ml glass bottle and a 330ml PET bottle are both almost exactly the same size in height and width. The 330ml PET bottle contains 20% more product and is less than 10% the weight of the 275ml glass bottle. Indeed, the appearance of the PET bottle is so good that it is almost impossible to judge its material of origin, without picking it up and touching it.

The added environmental benefits of PET are, packaging waste weights are reduced, transport costs are cut due to the weight difference from glass and the bottle from Constar is PETE 1 recyclable.

Of course, the PET bottle is much safer than a glass container, which is dangerous when broken and can be used as a weapon of aggression. Glass bottles in the pubs and clubs of Glasgow City Centre, for example, have recently been banned from sale across the counter, and this represents a perfect opportunity for PET.

PET is perfect for “live events” such as football, rugby and cricket matches, concerts and festivals.


Aston Manor’s 1lt to 3lt PET Lines (Lines 1 & 2)
Our decision to make a multi million pound investment in a new Krones filler is born from our experience in our two larger PET lines. Both lines are Krones fillers with wrap round labels and between them they produced in excess of 30 million bottles in 2010.

We currently pack for most of the major and national multiples using our own brands, “Own labels” and offer a contract packaging service for some of the larger regional breweries as well as the multi-national brewers.

Aston Manor Devon Site (Lines 4 & 5)

In November 2009 Aston Manor opened it's Devon site which has a large PET line (line 4) for 2lt, 2lt euro and 3lt bottles, with a Krones blow moulder to keep up with the filler. Since then we have installed a dual lane Ocme packer to improve the efficiencies.

In January 2011 we began work on installing a canning line (Line 5), with a mix of new and refurbished plant. We have chosen to install an orientation Hi-Cone machine, the first and only one of its kind in Great Britain, this will enable us to create a billboard effect for sensational marketing purposes.


Q & A

Q: What type of pasteurisation do we use?
A: We Flash Pasteurise at Birmingham site, aseptic fill on the Devon PET line and tunnel on the can line.

Q: What is our minimum packaging run?
A: Minimum runs are approx 25,000 ltrs but would give more discount if over 50,000 ltrs on line 3 (small pack PET). On the large PET line it would be subject to product type, please contact us for more information.

Q: Who do I contact for more information?
A: Chris Hodgkinson on contractpacking@astonmanor.co.uk