Unilever invests USD 201M in Port Sunlight to strengthen UK and European operations
The programme also builds on recent investments at the site, including an £80 million upgrade to the fragrance facility in 2025.
ENGLAND – Unilever has completed a £150 million (USD 201 million) upgrade at its historic Port Sunlight campus, installing advanced manufacturing equipment and a new automated distribution centre that together significantly boost production capacity and strengthen the company’s UK and European supply chain.
The project delivered high‑tech upgrades in Port Sunlight’s Home Care factory, home to Persil, Surf and Comfort, to support the next generation of Persil laundry capsules, alongside a flagship automated distribution centre connected to the site’s three factories by roughly 2,000 metres of conveyors.
The new laundry‑capsule production capability increases output threefold and enables the manufacture of smaller, more complex capsule formats developed at Port Sunlight R&D, while the distribution centre, covering about 10,000 m² and fitted with some 2,000 metres of conveyors and eight 30‑metre stacking cranes, can handle up to 17,000 pallets (around 13,600 tonnes) each week.
Madeleine McLeod, Factory Director for Port Sunlight Home Care, stated, “The investment completion we are announcing today makes us future-fit, boosting our capacity and efficiency as we roll out our latest home care innovations.”
“Port Sunlight represents Unilever’s proud manufacturing heritage in the North-West — a heritage we are taking forward with our talented workforce, supported by the latest in high-tech automation and cutting-edge technology.”
Logistics changes introduced by the facility are expected to remove hundreds of lorry journeys weekly, cutting primary logistics by an estimated 27% and saving about 827 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, and the centre is powered by 100% renewable energy with features such as solar panels, heat pumps and solar‑reflective paint to reduce environmental impact.
The automated distribution centre will be run by roughly 40 retrained employees, while Port Sunlight remains a major local employer with about 2,000 people across manufacturing and R&D, and continues to host Unilever’s R&D and Advanced Manufacturing Centre.
Meanwhile, Persil recently relaunched its UK laundry capsules with an advanced new 4‑chamber design across its Bio and Non‑Bio portfolio, replacing the previous 3‑chamber format to drive premiumisation and category growth.
The redesigned capsules feature Unilever’s Nano‑Power™ and Nano‑Sense™ technologies, deliver more cleaning actives per drop, and are engineered specifically to tackle tough, dried‑in stains, with the new formula developed over a decade by Unilever’s UK R&D team together with world‑leading detergent technology specialists in response to sustained shopper demand for better wash results.
To meet demand for high‑performance laundry solutions, Persil is also introducing two new premium variants: Persil Ultimate Ultra Stain Removal Bio and Persil Ultimate Ultra Stain Removal Non‑Bio.
The Non‑Bio variant combines effective non‑biological stain removal with a long‑lasting fragrance to stay gentle on sensitive skin.
Clearer Bio versus Non‑Bio signposting and stronger shelf navigation are key parts of the relaunch, and research suggests the updated range could deliver a +7% uplift in capsule value, driven mainly by increased shopper consideration and trade‑up into premium capsule technology.
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