COLEFORD'S Ribena Factory has a new man at the top as it prepares to open one of the biggest bottling plants in Europe.
Robert Baxter, 45, has taken over the helm at the GlaxoSmithKline factory, which has received around £70 million worth of investment.
With around 450 staff, the Coleford factory is one of the biggest employers in the Forest of Dean.
Ribena and Lucozade bottles have already started coming through the new moulding and blowing process but the project is still in the commissioning phase.
It has created 20 new jobs and is expected to be ready for full production by the end of March when it will produce one billion drink bottles a year.
Mr Baxter has taken over from previous site director Mike Allen who is now European Supply Chain vice-president.
The London-born boss is married with two children, a son of 18 and a daughter of 15.
He has previously worked for Coca Cola Enterprises but comes to Coleford from global packaging company Amcor, where he worked at sites in Ledbury, Lisbon and Derbyshire.
His family home is in Ledbury but he said: "I am a mountain biker so I use the Forest trails quite often."
Mr Baxter says his arrival is not expected to lead to any major shake-ups at the factory which saw the research and development team move last summer.
"There are no plans for significant changes," he said.
"The investment has been brilliant because it will allow us to make efficiencies and improve our performance.
"Everything is going to plan but it's not complete yet."
The new plant means the factory will be able to make its own resin bottles on site rather than ship them in from other factories to be filled.
It is expected to reduce the site's carbon footprint because it will mean less transport, energy efficient equipment and heat and energy recovery through a combined heat and power facility.
GSK said the major investment signifies long-term commitment to the Coleford factory.
Around 200 members of trade union Unite working at GSK have been balloted on whether to strike over a pay freeze.