Coca-Cola Beverages Africa drives growth with new production line equipped with robotic arms – BigEye.UG

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Coca-Cola Africa Beverages is driving efficiency and growth in Uganda’s beverage industry with its new production line. With a capacity of 67,000 bottles per hour, the new line is equipped with state-of-the-art technology such as robotic arms and automatic fillers, making it the fastest plastic bottle line in the East African business.

Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda (CCBU), a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Africa Beverages, launched the construction of a new production line at its Namanwe headquarters in 2022. The production line is designed to improve efficiency and productivity.

CCBU’s new polyethylene phthalate (PET) production line began operating last year. The company invested more than $27 million to ensure CCBU’s soft drink range is widely and consistently available to consumers.

The country hopes to increase the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP from the current 27.4% to 31% by 2040 and raise the sector’s share of the workforce to 26%, and CCBU has stepped up efforts to contribute to this goal.

In order to create jobs, reduce imports, encourage investment in manufacturing and enable goods to be produced within Uganda, the Government of Uganda has established specialized zones dedicated to promoting industrialization in the country since the late 1990s.

“Because we are thought and execution leaders in operational efficiency, we ensure that our production lines are about more than just production numbers,” explains CCBU General Manager Melkamu Abebe. “This means shared opportunities across the value chain. This means job creation, with CCBU currently employing over 900 people. Additionally, the increase in production is a significant boost to local businesses that supply us with raw materials and services.”

Abebe said the line confirmed CCBU’s commitment to Uganda’s development as it would also increase government’s taxable revenue.

“This is an example of our ongoing efforts to bring our products to consumers in new and dynamic ways. The demand for our products continues to increase across Uganda. As such, we are investing to ensure that we provide our customers and consumers with the highest quality products on the market,” Abebe said.