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Construction start for new ABSOLUT plant in Åhus

May 12, 2005 07:00 GMT

ABSOLUT VODKA continues to be a Swedish export sensation. Never before has so much ABSOLUT VODKA been shipped from the port of Åhus in southern Sweden. Sales volumes for V&S Absolut Spirits, which includes ABSOLUT VODKA, rose by 8 percent in the first quarter of 2005. To ensure the possibility for sales to continue to grow in the future, construction began today on a new bottling plant in Åhus. V&S is investing 360 million Swedish kronor in the new plant, which will have the capacity to tap 22 million bottles a year when it is ready in 2007.

To prepare for future success, V&S Absolut Spirits’ President, Ketil Eriksen, Vice President of Production, Krister Asplund, and Chairman of the City Council, Helén Fritzon, meet in a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new satellite bottling plant just outside of Åhus. ABSOLUT VODKA will be bottled both here and at the plant in central Åhus. The satellite plant will be able to run two bottling lines.

“The success of ABSOLUT VODKA continues, and in the first quarter of 2005 we saw continued growth in the US, and a significant rise in sales throughout the rest of the world. We are taking a major step today to meet the increased demand. When the plant is completed, our capacity will increase by 22 million bottles a year,” says Ketil Eriksen, President, V&S Absolut Spirits.

V&S Group is investing 360 million Swedish kronor in the new bottling plant, which will be completed in 2007. The 10,000 square meter plant is designed by Swedish architects Senn Arkitekter AB and will be of dark concrete, stainless steel and glass.

The plant is being built in line with the stringent environmental policies of both V&S Absolut Spirits and the local municipality of Kristianstad, which comprises Åhus. The sand that will be excavated in connection with the plant will be used to lengthen the shoreline at Täppets beach in Åhus.

For further information please contact:
Kristina Hagbard, Project Coordinator, Corporate Communications V&S Absolut Spirits,  +46 (0)8 744 71 88, +46 (0)70 572 71 88, email: