News release
11th July 2014
A New Lighter Bottle for Old Tom
The world’s best ale now has a world-class lightweighted bottle thanks to
independent glass packaging specialist Rawlings and leading glass manufacturer
Beatson Clark.
Robinsons Old Tom has twice been named as the World’s Best Ale at the World Beer
Awards, and Robinsons Brewery tasked long-standing partner Rawlings to deliver a
lightweight version of its classic bottle. Originally designed by Beatson Clark in 2005, the
iconic glass bottle has been manufactured at its Rotherham facility ever since.
Rawlings, in partnership once again with glass manufacturer Beatson Clark, has supplied a
new environmentally friendly, lightweight bottle, allowing the brewery to make savings on
raw materials and transport costs.
The new amber bottle weighs 250g rather than the original 282g and features improved
embossing of the Robinsons name and Old Tom brand on the glass.
“The benefits of lightweighting, in terms of cost reduction and environmental impact, are
significant. With every new project Rawlings undertakes we aim to include an element of
lightweighting,” said Tom Wood, Managing Director at Rawlings.
Lynn Sidebottom, Sales & Marketing Director at Beatson Clark, added: “The bottle shape
and embossing design are the same as before, so consumers will continue to recognise the
distinctive Old Tom bottle.
“However, we have used our new design software to sculpt the embossing, making it more
defined as well as easier to manufacture.
“Reducing the weight of a container does not affect quality, but the benefits for the customer
and for the environment are considerable,” she added.
Graeme Hall, Operations and Packaging Manager for Robinsons Brewery, commented: “Old
Tom is synonymous with Robinsons Brewery and so designing a new bottle that retains its
iconic look whilst being environmentally aware was a good challenge.
“Working in partnership with Beatson Clark and Rawlings, and using the latest computer
software to aid the design, the new lightweight bottle has managed to retain Old Tom’s
charm while ensuring that we can continue with our focus on becoming a more
environmentally conscious company.”
Named after the Robinsons Brewery cat, Old Tom is almost as old as the brewery itself. The
legend began in 1899 when Tom the cat basked in the sunshine while the Head Brewer
sketched him into immortality.
This superior dark ale is recognised both nationally and internationally as one of the most
famous strong ales, winning some of the industry’s most prestigious awards including
CAMRA Supreme Champion Winter Beer of Britain no fewer than three times.
Old Tom is available in selective Morrisons, Booths, Waitrose, Bookers and Parfetts across
the north-west, as well as Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Nisa across the UK.
Notes to editors:

Robinsons Brewery has been brewing beer in Stockport, Cheshire since 1838. It is
one of the UK’s largest independent family brewers, with 330 pubs across the North
West and Wales.

Established in 1850 and based in Bristol, Rawlings is the leading independent glass
packaging specialist with the reputation for sustainable quality. Rawlings designs,
sources and supplies glass packaging suitable for all types of food and beverage,
developing the best product packaging for your brand.

Beatson Clark specialises in providing glass packaging solutions for niche brands in
the food, drink and pharmaceutical markets worldwide. The key to its success has
been flexibility, innovation and the high quality of its containers.
For media information contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
07780 735071
jez@shootingstar-pr.co.uk
@jezashberry
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