New jobs and global expansion set for water company

HARROGATE Water Brands, the owner of Harrogate Spring Water and Thirsty Planet, is gearing up for global expansion and the creation of new jobs.

With support from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, the business is expanding operations and investing in equipment. The company has recently opened its new £6m bottling line, part of an £8m new installation. The investment follows a substantial grant from Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s Business Growth Programme which is supported by the governments Regional Growth Fund.

The new 23,000 sq ft extension doubles the existing area and houses the new line as well as some warehousing. The production line will quadruple output and running at 36,000 bottles an hour, the firm is capable of meeting demand from overseas; particularly from Russia, China, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

The £430,000 grant has immediately helped to create six new jobs, with the figure projected to rise to 28 new positions, almost doubling the workforce.

Roger Marsh, chair of the LEP said: “We are delighted that this funding has enabled excellent employment opportunities for local people and we look forward to continuing our work with Harrogate Water Brands to explore further Apprenticeship and Exporting support.”