The Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) has invested in a third bottling line in their Mandaue City manufacturing plant.
“We remain confident with Cebu. That is why we have made our plant here our center for expansion in the region,” said Bill Schultz, CCBPI president and chief executive officer.
The bottling line is part of the expansion projects funded by a $1-billion budget for investments in the country.
Schultz said is a major market of Coca-Cola.
“There’s tremendous opportunity here because we chose Cebu for our expansion. This is the heart of our business here in the country. We have about 370 associates here and roughly about 40,000 retailers that we do business with,” said Schultz.
The new investment is also seen to generate employment opportunities in the area according to Schultz.
The Philippines in general is expanding according to Schultz, and they want to remain to be at the forefront in all the developments that are coming.
“Economy is expanding here and we will be bullish in retaining our position as the major market share holder for beverages in the country.”
Schultz declined to give figures as to how much they have already spent out of the $1-billion investment fund for the country, saying only that they have already spent a significant amount and are still looking for more opportunities in the country.
Irial Finan, executive vice president of Coca-Cola and president of the Bottling Investments Group, said that as what they have announced in September last year, they will be going from island to island to see where they can put in more investments.
“We began in Mindanao with the completion of our newest and most technology-advanced Mega Plant in Misamis Oriental. Then we moved to Luzon where we expanded our Canlubang Plant and transformed it into a Center of Operational Excellence and now we’ve reached Visayas,” said Finan.
The Coca-Cola Cebu plant is the second bottling facility opened by Coca-Cola in 1941 after arriving in Manila in 1912, and the Philippines is the first country they opened in Asia.
According to Schultz, Coca-Cola and the Cebuanos shared a history that spans 70 years and that they recognize the potential that the city had to offer back then.
The Coca-Cola Co. is one of the world’s largest beverage companies with more than 500 brands including Fanta, Sprite and Powerade./Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap