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Sidel wins contract to install a new production line for Moha’s new Greenfield site in northern Ethiopia
| By Vincent Nzemeke | Oct. 21, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT
SIDEL, one of the most reputable firms in liquid packaging solutions to many drink producing companies across Africa, has won another contract with Moha soft drinks industry, operating in Ethiopia. The project involves installing the entire production line for Moha’s new Greenfield site in one of Ethiopia’s principal economic and educational centres in the north of the country.
The plant at Mekele, the capital city of the regional government of Tigraye, is continuing the success achieved by Moha at its other plants. The new plant, sited around 780 kilometres north of Addis Ababa, is where the Pepsi bottler aims to meet the rising demand with the new Sidel line for carbonated soft drinks ,CSD, and water. Previously, supply to the region had necessitated the trucking of products from Addis Ababa. The new line will be mostly producing carbonated soft drinks at a rate of 36,000 returnable glass bottles, RGB, per hour.
Commenting about the new project, Clive Smith, Sidel Zone Vice-President for Greater Middle East and Africa, GMEA, said: “We are proud and happy to be working with Moha Soft Drinks once again. Moha is highly respected within the Pepsi world and the soft drinks industry in general. We are also very much looking forward to renewing acquaintances with the managing director, Mr. Getachew Birbo and his team on this new project – which I am sure will be yet another successful Sidel collaboration with a leading beverage producer.”
Moha soft drinks industry was founded in 1996, following the acquisition of four state-owned Pepsi plants by Saudi Arabian-Ethiopian business magnate and the largest foreign investor in Ethiopia, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi and his wife. Today, the company is one the leading producers of carbonated soft drinks in Ethiopia and is the principal supplier of Pepsi Cola products throughout the country, currently responsible for around half of the overall national production of over 40 million crates. Major brands bottled by Moha include: Pepsi Cola, Mirinda Orange, 7-Up, Mirinda Tonic, Mirinda Apple, and Kool bottled water products. Presently, the company has seven operating units in the country.
As the second most populous nation in Africa with around 90 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is a country of remarkable potentials and opportunities. It has a strong annual GDP rate of growth and, with a predominantly young population; the consumption of soft drinks in the country is also growing.
For this new venture in Mekele, the company has, once again, turned to Sidel, with whom Moha’s strong working relationship dates back several years. 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 will provide the platform for a swift transition to the high production levels required at the new Mekele plant when the line comes on stream.
Getachew Birbo, chief executive officer of Moha explained: “We were looking forward for a very successful completion of this plant as it will come at a time when most of the production capacities of our plants will reach their peak. Furthermore, we at Moha believe that the newly reorganized 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. 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 HQ in Dubai.”
The project at Mekele is set to be implemented in mid-2014 and will include all auxiliary services, such as oxygen production, steam, syrup room, generator, water treatment plant and piping.
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