Consumer goods giant Unilever announced on Thursday that it has completed its £150 million investment into its Port Sunlight site in Liverpool, UK.

The site produces brands including Persil, Comfort, Cif, TRESemmé and Lynx body wash. High-tech upgrades include connecting the company’s Persil, Surf and Comfort laundry brands and a new advanced automated distribution centre to the three factories on the site.

These upgrades will support the next generation of Persil’s laundry capsules and strengthen Unilever’s UK supply chain, the company said. Investment in the factory will increase laundry capsule production three-fold and enable the manufacture of smaller, more complex formats, it added.

Port Sunlight’s new distribution centre will reduce the requirement for lorries to move goods between the factories and other distribution centres, which Unilever said will deliver benefits in sustainability and safety. The centre spans 10,000 square metres and can handle up to 13,600 tonnes of product every week.

Its direct connection to the site’s factories will take hundreds of lorries off the road each week, reducing their number by around 27 per cent and increasing the site’s sustainability, according to the company. The distribution centre itself is powered entirely by renewable energy, featuring solar panels, heat pumps and solar reflectance painting.

“This is a landmark moment for Port Sunlight,” said Marc Woodward, head of Unilever UK. “The completion of investments in Home Care manufacturing and the opening of a new flagship distribution centre will support the growth of our business and reinforce Port Sunlight’s role as a strategic hub for our UK and European operations.”

Port Sunlight is Unilever’s original home, founded in 1888 by William Lever as a soap factory and model village for workers. It remains an important strategic hub for the company as a home of both advanced manufacturing and research and development, employing a total of around 2,000 people.

Last month, Unilever announced a major shake-up to its business, selling its food division to sauce manufacturer McCormick for $44.8 billion.

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