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Sidel bags bottling line contract with Moha, Pepsi bottler in Ethiopia
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Friday, 11 October, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Addis Ababa
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fiogf49gjkf0d Sidel, an international supplier of liquid packaging solutions to the beverage industry, has won another contract with Moha Soft Drinks Industry S C, which operates in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and is a bottling plant for cola major Pepsi.
The turnkey project involves installing the entire production line for Moha’s new greenfield site in Mek'ele, the capital of the regional government of Tigray in northern Ethiopia and one of the African nation's principal economic and educational centres.
The plant is expected to continue the success achieved by the company at its other plants. It is located approximately 780km north of Addis Ababa, the national capital. With the new Sidel line, the Pepsi bottler aims to meet the rising demand for carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) and water.
The turnkey project at Mek'ele is expected to be implemented by mid-2014, and would include all auxiliary services, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) production, steam, syrup room, generator, water treatment plant and piping.
Previously, the supply to the region necessitated the trucking of products from Addis Ababa. The new line would mostly be producing carbonated soft drinks at a rate of 36,000 returnable glass bottles (RGB) per hour.
Clive Smith, zone vice-president, Greater Middle-East and Africa (GMEA), Sidel, said, “We are proud and happy to be working with Moha Soft Drinks once again. Moha is highly respected in the soft drink industry.”
“We are also looking forward to renewing acquaintances with Getachew Birbo, Moha's chief executive officer, and his team on this new project, which I am sure will be yet another successful Sidel collaboration with a leading beverage producer,” he added.
Collaboration and success
Ethiopia has a population of about 90 million, which makes it Africa's second-most populous nation. It has remarkable potential and opportunities. Its gross domestic product (GDP) is growing rapidly, and with a predominantly young population; the consumption of soft drinks in the country is also growing.
For this new venture in Mek'ele, the company has again turned to Sidel, with whom Moha’s strong working relationship goes back a long way. The company had previously supplied similar lines at other Moha factories.
Sidel’s leadership in beverage packaging solutions was a particularly relevant factor in the decision to award the contract, with the company’s strong regional support and its increased spares facility also playing an important role.
The introduction of the new line complements the range of Sidel equipment that is already successfully operating at other Moha plants.
This will offer considerable synergies in terms of components across a number of production lines, with commonality of spare parts, as well as drawing on the skill sets already established on Sidel lines with the Moha operatives.
This would provide the platform for a swift transition to the high production levels required at the new Mek'ele plant when the line comes on stream.
Birbo said, “We were looking forward for a very successful completion of this plant, as it would come at a time when most of the production capacity of our plants would reach their peak.”
“Furthermore, we at Moha believe that the newly-reorganised office in Dubai opens its doors at a time when closer cooperation between our companies was highly required to support this project. We have known Sidel now for many years. We have successfully collaborated with them on several occasions, including the new PET line which was commissioned in 2012, so we are well aware of their capabilities,” he said.
“Above all, we know the solution they provide us with will be efficient and reliable and we know their after-sales service will be good, especially now that the company is well-represented throughout the whole of the region with its newly-established headquarters in Dubai,” Birbo added.
Leading brands of soft drinks, juices and spring water
Moha Soft Drinks Industry S C was founded in 1996, following the acquisition of four state-owned Pepsi plants by Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi, Ethiopian business magnate of Saudi descent, and his wife, who are the largest foreign investors in Ethiopia.
Today, the company is one of the leading producers of CSDs in Ethiopia, and is the principal supplier of Pepsi and other offerings of the company throughout the country. It is currently responsible for around half the overall national production of over 40 million crates.
The major brands bottled by Moha include Pepsi and other brands of the company, including Mirinda Orange, 7-Up, Mirinda Tonic and Mirinda Apple, and Kool bottled water products.
Presently, the company has seven operating units in the country – Nifas Silk, TekleHaimanot, Gondar and Dessie plants (acquired from the Ethiopian Privatisation Agency) and the Summit, Bure and Hawassa plants in the Southern Nations and Nationalities People's Region.
[Source: African Press Organisation (APO) on behalf of Sidel International AG]
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