Swire Coca-Cola has started construction of a plant in Guangdong Province, China, Xinhua reports.
The Coca-Cola bottler’s investment in this project will amount to 1.25 billion yuan ($176 million).
The enterprise will cover an area of about 128 thousand square meters and will be equipped with 11 bottling lines, warehouses and other auxiliary facilities. Once the plant is up and running, the Chinese company’s production capacity is expected to increase by about 66% compared to the current level.
Swire Coca-Cola Managing Director Su Wei said that the company will continue to increase its investments in China. From 2023 to 2032, the planned volume of investments in the Chinese market will exceed 12 billion yuan.
“Expanding our operations in such a dynamic and fast-growing market is really exciting and exciting for us,” she said.
Swire Coca-Cola is the fifth largest bottler of Coca-Cola Co. in the world in terms of sales. The company has five bottling plants in Guangdong province with 14 production lines.
Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine, the official bottler of Coca-Cola in Ukraine, is close to reaching its pre-war production and distribution volume in 2023, Coca-Cola HBS Director of Logistics Vladimir Choban said.
“In 2021 it was 120 million unit cases (all products, including imported products). In 2023, we expect 115 million unit cases (1 unit case equals 6 liters – IF) … We are so confidently moving towards this bar, realizing that it is the middle of the year …”, – said Choban at the logistics exhibition XXVIII Day of Logistics in Kiev on Friday.
According to him, the company resumed production at its plant in Bolshaya Dymerka in the Kiev region last May. However, due to problems with the ingredients, it produced only one fifth of the items in the assortment portfolio. Now it has already fully restored it, reaching 190 positions.
“I can say that we started producing 40 SKU (positions) in 2022. We were only putting on the shelf and distributing products that rotate quickly. As of today, we are producing almost 190 items… (full range – IF)”, – said Choban.
He noted that before the war, the company formed buffer stocks and dispersed them throughout the country, which allowed for a quick recovery in distribution. “That’s something we did ahead of time as a company, understanding the risks that there could be an escalation in 2022, and we did take almost everything we could take out to the regions and kept it there until a certain time. And that allowed us to resume distribution almost immediately after we de-occupied the region,” the director of logistics for Coca-Cola HBS pointed out.
The company continues to import carbon dioxide (CO2) used to make carbonated beverages from abroad, as its own combined heat and power (CHP) production is still in the process of recovery, the company said in a presentation.
“In May 2022, the lines at the plant were restarted, we started doing distribution, but there was nowhere to get CO2, we were importing CO2 from overseas. And now we continue to import. Now it is cheaper to bring it from abroad than to produce it in Ukraine,” said Choban.
According to him, the company employs 1.6 thousand people, and there have been no layoffs since 2022.
As reported, in connection with the Russian aggression against Ukraine, March 8, Coca-Cola announced the suspension of business in Russia, where it owns ten plants for the production of soft drinks and juices.
Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine, Coca-Cola’s official bottler in Ukraine, produces a wide range of soft drinks in different categories – sweet fizzy drinks, juices, water, energy drinks and iced teas.
The company’s first factory in Ukraine was opened in Lviv. Now the company owns one plant in the village Bolshaya Dymerka, Kyiv region, which began operation in 1998 and was damaged by Russian occupation troops on March 10, 2022. Production at it was temporarily suspended.
American-based Coca-Cola Co., the world’s largest soft drink producer, along with the Coca-Cola Foundation and its global bottling partners, will provide around $15 million in aid to Ukraine, which has been militarily invaded by Russia’s aggressor nation.
Efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in the region will include donations of funds and products manufactured by the corporation, according to the company’s report for the first quarter of 2022.
“This funding will support further relief efforts by the Red Cross and other organizations operating in Ukraine and neighboring countries, helping millions of displaced people,” Coca-Cola said in a report.
In addition, the corporation provides urgent financial assistance to all its employees in Ukraine.
According to the report, on March 8, 2022, Coca-Cola announced the suspension of its activities in the Russian Federation in response to its armed aggression in Ukraine. This measure will tentatively reduce the corporation’s net revenue and operating profit for the year by 1-2%, and also reduce earnings per share by about $0.04/share.
The company’s net profit in January-March decreased by 23.5% compared to the same period last year, to $2.25 billion.
Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue increased by 5%, to $9.02 billion from $8.6 billion a year earlier.
Sales of carbonated drinks increased by 4%, driven mainly by China, India and Latin America. Sales of juices, milk drinks and plant-based drinks increased by 3%. Sales of water, sports drinks, coffee and tea fell by 11%.
As reported, Coca-Cola on March 8 announced the suspension of business in Russia in connection with Russian aggression against Ukraine, while in Russia it owns 10 factories for the production of soft drinks and juices.
On February 24, the corporation announced a temporary shutdown of the plant in Kyiv and the evacuation of employees.
Ukrainian retail chains withdraw from sale the products of the American company Coca-Cola Co. due to the continuation of its work in the market of the Russian Federation.
Thus, the chains stop selling Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Schweppes carbonated drinks, BonAqua mineral water, FuzeTea iced tea, Rich juices, Monster Energy Drink and Burn energy drinks.
“Our supermarket chain no longer cooperates with the Coca-Cola company, which continues to operate in the territory of the aggressor. We are abandoning all products belonging to the brand,” the Novus supermarket chain posted on Facebook on Friday.
The Varus chain also announced the termination of the sale of Coca-Cola products.
“We made this decision, taking into account the official position of the Coca-Cola company to continue its activities in the market of the aggressor country,” Varus said.
Fozzy Group also refused to sell Coca-Cola products and condemned the company’s decision to continue operating in the Russian Federation.
“From today, we are removing all products from the shelves of Silpo, Fora, FOZZY Cash&Carry, Market super Thrash (Thrash) stores and stop all future deliveries,” the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine that belongs to U.S. Coca-Cola Company has launched a new production line with a capacity of 40,000 PET bottles per hour at its plant in Brovary (Kyiv region), Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine Public Affairs and Communications Director Andriy Bublyk wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
“Since yesterday [December 10], this investment has been launched at our plant and sends consumers 40,000 bottles of their favorite drinks every hour,” he wrote.
The company said that the project was implemented in two and a half months, the volume of investments in the project amounted to EUR 10.5 million.
“Today, the plant has 12 lines with a total production capacity of more than 100 million unit cases (1 unit case equals 5.678 liters) of products per year,” Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine said.
Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine is one of the leaders in the Ukrainian market of soft drinks. It is the official bottler of The Coca-Cola Company.
Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine produces a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages in various categories – sweet carbonated drinks, juices, water, energy drinks and cold teas.
The first plant of the company in Ukraine was opened in Lviv.
Currently, the company owns one plant in Brovary (it started operating in 1998).
The company’s products are distributed through 21 distribution centers.
