A plant where generations in Merseyside and beyond have worked is still continuing one "long-standing tradition."
There's many brilliant pubs in Liverpool where you can get a decent pint of Guinness. But miles away lives a packaging plant of the famous beer that's welcomed generations for over half a century.
Back in 1969, the decision was made to establish a new facility at an 18 acre site at Runcorn, Cheshire, taking over from the Manchester Store at Pomona Dock as the distribution centre for bottle and draught Guinness in the North of England. At a cost of £2m, the facility went into operation in October 1970, with 83 employees.
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Today, the Runcorn plant, now under parent company Diageo, has approximately 150 direct employees and operates 24/7 - and whilst a lot has changed, one fascinating long standing tradition has continued on site. Now a production scheduler, Mike Graham has worked at the site since the 1980s and his interest began in brewing, studying microbiology at university.
As part of the Liverpool ECHO's How It Used To Be series, we spoke to Mike about Liverpool's links to Guinness and how trends and life at Runcorn's plant have changed through the decades. Mike, 60, told the ECHO: "Guinness has got such a strong connection to Liverpool. Guinness was first brewed in 1759 and it started to become exported within ten years.
"They used to send barrels to Liverpool and from there it would go on its journey all around the world - because it's such a robust beer it could survive these long sea voyages. In the Liverpool area, there were also a lot of secondary bottlers, because Guinness originally was only the brewery.
"It used to work with all these Liverpool co-packers. Eventually Guinness bought some of these companies up to form Guinness Exports Limited and that was based in Liverpool. It moved to Runcorn in 1970 to become a kegging plant and in 1985 it switched to become a pack facility."
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When Mike, originally from London, joined the company, like many other industries, technology was not what we know it to be today. He said: "When I started there were no computers, there was no internet, there was no email, there was no mobile.
"Everything was done basically by photocopying machines, old school photocopying machines and telephones. It’s interesting now when you think back about how we managed to get things done when we didn't have all this flash technology.
"When I think back to the original can filler, with the big jug of beer we were pouring in that ran at something like 150 cans a minute, - it's something that sounds a lot but it’s not a lot really. The production line at the moment is running sort of around about 1000 can a minute that just shows overtime how it's developed - I always think that’s amazing."
Through the years, trends and habits have changed and the plant has had to adapt from offering standard size cans and cases to now supplying the market with larger quantities. Mike said: "What happens nowadays is the market, the customers, they ask for all packaging to be more recyclable and I think beer packaging in general has always been fairly consumer friendly from that point of view.
"But it’s definitely a trend now so all of our products now use minimal amounts of plastic. But the most significant thing is alcohol free beer has generated. There's a product called Guinness Zero that’s been launched in the UK."
But like many long-standing sites and industries, the Runcorn plant has seen generations pass through their doors, many being members of the same family. Mike said: "It’s been a very good family of people through the years and people’s families have joined.
"I talk to someone's son and someone's parent possibly in the same day. Brewing has always been a very family-orientated life to be part of. We’re all quite conscious that the parent company is Diageo, we all have a sort of passion for Guinness and other brands but Guinness is the core of what we do. All my colleagues and myself have strived to make sure it’s the best quality possible."
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This week, Diageo, maker of Smirnoff, Gordon’s Gin and Guinness, also revealed the contents of an historic Guinness time capsule that was sealed in celebration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The capsule was opened for the first time at the Guinness packaging plant in Runcorn and contained a bottle of Coronation Commemorative Guinness Foreign Extra Stout from 1953 and a selection of Sovereign Coins, as well as an edition of The Daily Express from June 3, 1953.
The Coronation time capsule was laid down at Guinness Exports Norfolk Street, Liverpool – the precursor site to the Runcorn operation, which opened in 1970. It was sealed by the Managing Director at the time, Arthur Fawcett, who was famed for a number of innovations around the marketing of Guinness – with an inscription on the top of the cask for opening at the time of the next Coronation.
A new time capsule was also sealed to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The new time capsule contains a selection of items that showcase the Guinness brand in 2023, the Diageo site at Runcorn and its employees, as well as the wider Diageo business.
Nuno Teles, Managing Director Diageo GB, said: "It has been an honour to mark the Coronation of His Majesty The King and The Queen by unearthing the historic Guinness time capsule at Runcorn. The site plays a hugely important role in the positive momentum around beer and Guinness, and it is a privilege to play a part in keeping traditions like this one alive.
"There was great excitement around the Coronation and the contents of the new time capsule, which will give future generations a flavour of life at Runcorn today.”
Time capsules are a long-standing Guinness tradition and in addition to the Coronation capsule, a separate box was laid down to mark the millennium in the year 2000 and is sealed on the site until the year 2050. As part of the plant's 150th anniversary celebrations in 2006, a package was opened for the first time revealing a tier of the original five-tier cake made for the 1956 centenary, accompanied by a letter carrying a message of inspiration for future business success.
Jesus Mata, Operations Manage Diageo Runcorn, said: "The opening of the 1953 time capsule and preparation of our new capsule has brought incredible excitement to our team at Runcorn. The Guinness brand remains as iconic today as it was 70 years ago when the time capsule was sealed. Diageo has recently made significant investments in Runcorn to support our growth ambitions, deliver product innovation, and reinforce our agility to meet demand and provide excellent service to our customers around the world.
"Having had a fascinating look at our past, the team at Runcorn is now very much focused on the exciting things in our future as we continue to supply Guinness to drinkers in Great Britain and beyond."
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