With more than 400 staff, Matthew Algie - based south of the Clyde in Glasgow - provides both coffee and coffee machines to more than 7,500 firms all around the UK. Matthew Algie is now one of the UK and Ireland’s largest coffee suppliers and boasts the UK’s first Fairtrade espresso. Now, as the firm celebrates 160 years of trading, Matthew Algie is embarking on a transformation of their Glasgow factory base.
Upgrades include new automation processes, a “state-of-the-art” green bean handling and blending system, conveying upgrades and a new packaging line. As part of the overhaul, a pallet-packing robot now packages coffee into cardboard bosses, working them through the production line before delivery. Multi-million-pound transformation Managing Director of Sales and Marketing Paul Chadderton said: “After sixty rich years of roasting coffee at our beloved Glasgow site, we knew it was time for a fresh upgrade and we’re thrilled to share our exciting roastery transformation.
This multi-million-pound investment isn’t just about enhancing our operations—it’s about brewing a brighter, more sustainable future. “This comprehensive upgrade is set to revolutionise how we produce your favourite coffees, ensuring consistency and quality in every cup.” Serving a President thanks to green chops Matthew Algie is on a mission to make their roastery more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Traditional hessian sacks have been replaced with larger one-tonne transportation bags. Coffee is also being shipped in bulk containers. The objective is to reduce manual handling, increase capacity, and therefore cutting costs and carbon emissions.
Chadderton added: “As we sip on our favourite brews, we invite you to join us in celebrating this exciting new chapter. Here’s to the future, filled with innovation, sustainability, and, of course, delicious coffee.” The coffee roaster’s green credentials earned them a chance to serve world leaders, including Barack Obama, at COP26 in Glasgow back in 2016.
The firm is aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Matthew Algie’s humble beginnings in Glasgow Founder Matthew Algie saw an opportunity to trade the tea which flowed into Clydeside towns thanks to the famous Clyde Clippers, which transported products including tea and opium from the Far East. It was in 1864 that Algie specilised and established his own tea blending and wholesale fim, trading with thousands of Glasgow retailers.
It wasn’t until after the “horrors of World War One and World War Two” that coffee was added to the product line. By the 1970s, Mathew Algie was providing not just coffee but the machines to brew it to offices, restaurants and hotels across the country. In the following decade they expanded further with bulk-brew coffee machinery for the catering sector.
In May, the company was recognised with an Engineering Excellence Award at the Scottish Engineering Awards, and was last year voted Most Outstanding Business at the Glasgow Business Awards..
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