Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister officially opens Radnor’s new multi-million pound production facilities

Following a multi-million-pound site investment, Wales’ leading soft drinks company Radnor Hills has opened its expanded facilities in Powys, mid Wales.

To mark its opening, Lesley Griffiths, Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister visited the Knighton site.

The investment has been used to build new production facilities and a quality assurance laboratory as well as to create a new £2.5 million state-of-the-art office complex for staff and a conference facility from an old agricultural building on the site.

Upgrades have been made to a number of lines in the factory including a new £750,000 labeller and conveyer system. A £4.5 million glass line investment has been completed in three phases, which includes the ability to produce cardboard cluster packs for retailers.

Another £1.5 million has been invested in an additional filler for a PET line and £750,000 has been spent on a new steam system.

During her visit, Lesley met with Radnor MD William Watkins and was given a tour of the new facilities as well as product samples to try, including Radnor’s award-winning Heartsease Farm brand.

She also met some of Radnor’s fifty plus food manufacturing apprentices.

Radnor’s diverse portfolio of drinks are all made using the exceptionally pure Welsh spring water sourced from the family farm’s land, just minutes from the production line for maximum freshness.

Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Rural Affairs, said: “I’m very pleased to officially open the new offices for Radnor Hills today. The company embodies our vision for food and drink, in its commitment to continued innovation, embedding environmental sustainability within the operation of the business, and the value it places on staff.

“I’d like to congratulate the team on this latest development and wish them the very best for the future.”

Radnor founder and Managing Director William Watkins said: “These are exciting times for Radnor Hills and we’re delighted to have the support of the Welsh Government and to welcome Lesley Griffiths here today.

“We are committed to ongoing investment to ensure that our facilities are world class.

“With the opening of our new office complex, we are also investing in our brilliant team of people. During the last two years, over a hundred new jobs have been created and further job opportunities and apprenticeships are available throughout 2023, aligned with our expansion plans.

“We are also committed to environmental sustainability. Radnor is a zero to landfill site and our environmental management system and site have been certified to ISO 14001 standards.

“We’ve recently received planning permission for a £1.8 million solar farm to power our manufacturing site. This will produce two megawatts of power which is 21% of the company’s energy requirement and will support our pledge to the planet to become more sustainable and to protect the environment around us.”

Independent and family owned, Radnor Hills, which was established in 1990 and has a turnover of £58 million (up from £41 million in 2021), produces over 400 million drinks every year.

Its brands include Radnor Water, Radnor Splash, Heartsease Farm, Radnor Fizz and Radnor Fruits.

It is the only drinks manufacturer in the UK to produce drinks on site in all four packaging formats – glass, can, PET plastic and Tetra Pak. Customers include Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons as well as the NHS and schools across the country.

The company will this summer launch its first television campaign after teaming up with Alton Towers, the UK’s biggest theme park, on a two for one ticket promotion through purchases of Radnor Splash.