Dr Pepper and 7Up maker to create 50 jobs with new Co Kildare plant

The company behind Dr Pepper and 7Up is to create 50 jobs in Co Kildare after confirming plans to take over Lidl’s former distribution centre in Newbridge.

Keurig Dr Pepper, which has a portfolio of more than 125 brands that also includes Snapple, Peet's Coffee, Canada Dry and Sunkist, said it would open a manufacturing facility later this year.

The 30,658sq m (330,000sq ft) facility will serve as a second manufacturing source for the company’s beverage concentrate business in North America. It currently has just one site – in St Louis, Missouri – that operates as the sole source of concentrate for the group.

“With a number of our industry peers currently operating in Ireland, the region provides access to a robust market with the material and capabilities needed for our concentrate manufacturing processes, eliminating the risk of a single production source and diversifying our supply base,” the company said.

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Recruitment for the new roles is to begin immediately, with positions including processing development engineers, technical data management analyst, and flavour technology senior scientists among those on offer.

Keurig Dr Pepper was formed in 2018 with the $21 billion (€19.5 billion) merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. It has a market capitalisation of more than $35 billion and is the seventh-largest food and beverage company in the US, with annual revenues of more than $11 billion and in excess of 25,000 employees.

Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts and Plano, Texas, the company has 27 manufacturing locations and more than 100 warehouses and distribution centres in North America.

‘Exciting time’

"This is an exciting time for Keurig Dr Pepper as we expand our best-in-class manufacturing network with a new beverage concentrate facility in Co Kildare. We are pleased to be opening our Irish operations in such a desirable location, and we look forward to becoming an active and engaged member of this community," said Randy Howorka, Keurig Dr Pepper plant manager.

The Newbridge facility, which was built on a 48-acre site in 2000, was vacated late last year when Lidl moved to a new €100 million distribution centre nearby. The facility is also adjacent to a Pfizer factory.

The deal marks the first time Keurig Dr Pepper has established group operations in the State.

"The decision by Keurig Dr Pepper to establish a manufacturing facility in Newbridge is very welcome. It endorses Ireland's reputation as a global location for manufacturing and supply chain excellence," said IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan.