Harrogate brewery appeals for workers thanks to Suez Canal blockage

It's a month since the Ever Given was freed, but it's being held in Egypt.

Author: Seb CheerPublished 29th Apr 2021

A brewery in Harrogate has appealed for temporary workers to help clear a backlog, caused by the recent blockage of the Suez Canal.

The Ever Given was stuck in the shipping lane for almost a week, but was freed a month ago today (on 29 March).

The ship is now being held by Egyptian authorities, along with its cargo, which includes an automatic labelling machine, ordered by Rooster's Brewing Company.

They'd ordered it to help tackle a demand, but now need staff to operate a hand-held version.

Ian Fozzard, director at Rooster's Brewing Company, told us: "Small-batch canned beer needs to be labelled. We have a small hand labelling machine but because we've quite an increased demand, we had ordered an automatic labelling machine that would fit on the end of our canning line.

"We've realised we're not going to get delivery of it in the short to medium-term, so that's why we've put out a request for some help.

"Hopefully it won't have a long-term impact. It's not a business-endangering problem, it's just a short term irritant I guess."

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