Encirc has appointed Richard Lloyd to the position of Managing Director of its ‘Encirc Beverages’ business unit, as the progressive glass container manufacturer and filler continues to integrate ‘The Park’ bottling and warehousing facility in Bristol into its overall business.

The Park acquisition completed in early 2023 from Accolade Wines. The deal saw Encirc double its UK filling capability to more than 400 million litres per year. More than 400 people also transferred to Encirc as part of the acquisition.

Richard Lloyd has successfully led the Park – a highly advanced, sustainable and award winning bottling facility – as General Manager for seven years. His new role for Encirc will see him at the helm of developing and leading Encirc’s much expanded “Encirc Beverages” business unit.

Encirc, a Vidrala company, manufactures more than 4 billion glass containers a year for the UK and Irish food and drinks market, and opened its site in Cheshire in 2005, after beginning glass production in 1998 at its plant in County Fermanagh, NI. The Cheshire plant remains the only facility globally to both manufacture and fill bottles for multiple brands from one site.

The Park and Encirc’s Cheshire site have together changed the dynamics for international wine entering the UK market. They have enabled more wine being bulk-shipped directly to the UK, to then be filled in the country of sale before onward distribution to retailers.

Now the acquisition of The Park – based in Avonmouth, Bristol – is complete, it will work fully in sync with Encirc’s wider business model, filling bottles produced in Encirc’s two UK-based plants. Immediate investment will be made into The Park, with a new glass filling line set to be introduced in 2024, enhancing Encirc’s filling capability further-still.

Lloyd said: “At Encirc, we are now working at a scale and capability never seen before in the UK supply chain for glass.

“This is a perfect opportunity for Encirc Beverages to be the central catalyst to drive further improvements throughout the beverage supply chain, from wine arriving at port to the delivery of finished product to retail and customers. Given the skill and scale of our new combined business, I truly believe there are some transformational, along with incremental, improvements that can be made in areas such as sustainability, quality, customer service and product design.

“The synergies between The Park and Encirc are huge. Both place innovation and sustainability at their core. I’m looking forward to building on the foundations already in place at Encirc to continue to develop and drive forward the world’s most sustainable beverages supply chain.”

Adrian Curry, Managing Director at Encirc, added: “All of us here at Encirc are delighted to welcome Richard to lead Encirc Beverages. Richard, with his many years of experience, is going to be a real asset in helping to grow the business unit. When we began our unique business model in 2005 to manufacture, fill and distribute glass containers from one site, we knew at that point it was a very bold and ambitious plan. But fast-forward to now and the majority of the world’s leading wine brands are our customers and our sustainable supply chain is unrivalled globally. I’m very excited to see how we can keep this area moving forward with Richard’s leadership.”