The new plant is expanding our production capacity, says Nzeyi as CBL marks 30 years

Crown Beverages Limited (CBL) Chairman, Amos Nzeyi says that the new Pepsi factory at Kakungulu, Sisa in Wakiso has boosted their production capacity ever since it started operating a while ago.

Nzeyi made these remarks during the official opening of the new CBL Pepsi plant on Wednesday, a function that was presided over by the Vice President H.E Jessica Alupo (Maj.Rtd) who was representing President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. The function also doubled as CBL’s 30-year anniversary celebrations.

With the company’s mother plant in Nakawa maintaining full production, the new plant valued at sh339.9b with a state of the art equipment has enabled CBL expand their capacity and also create very many job opportunities for Ugandans.

“The new plant is expanding our production capacity by 116,000 bottles per hour. It has the ability to produce 80,000 bottles of carbonates soft drinks and 36,000 bottles of water per hour,” Nzeyi said.

“We are investing seriously to meet the increasing market demands and dynamics with the help of our distribution network,” Nzeyi added.

In a short documentary shown to the audience at the function, it was revealed that the company has grown from 1 million cases of soda annually in 1993 to 22 million cases by 2009 and as of today, 65 million cases are produced per year and it could even increase with CBL aiming to set up a new plant in the near future.

For the Vice President who commissioned the new facility, she expressed delight in the fact that CBL has contributed a lot to the economy through payment of taxes, job creation, recycling of plastics, CSR and the like.

“I would like to thank Amos Nzeyi for being very dedicated to the promotion and development of CBL, including other board members. I also want to thank CBL for adhering to Covid-19 SOPs that ensured that work was done even during the times of the pandemic,” the Vice President said moments before reading the President’s message that highlighted the roles of the major players in the modern economy, that is; producers, consumers and enablers.

Dr. Maggie Kigozi who is a shareholder in the company said that its not the end of CBL as they intend to expand more in the near future because the population is growing meaning the number of consumers are increasing.

Paddy Muramiirah who is the CEO of CBL noted that they are looking forward to a brighter future and their goals will help guide them towards that direction.

Other guests at the event included Cabinet Ministers, former senior government officials, ambassadors, trade and business stakeholders from Uganda and across the borders plus a section of the CBL staff.

PepsiCo was represented by Eugene Willemsen who is the Chief Executive Officer, Africa, Middle East, South Asia. He noted that the new plant will boost the production capacity and that he anticipates a bright future for the Ugandan market

“With this new facility, we will be able to further expand the product portfolio and the brand portfolio and we have already started to do so successfully with the addition of Aquafina water which was launched a couple of months ago and already it is gathering significant share in the great water market,” Willemsen said.

For the stakeholder the 30-year journey has been about patience, persistence and never giving up.

Crown Beverages Limited (CBL) is Uganda’s oldest beverages company. The company’s range of carbonated soft drinks includes Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Mirinda Fruity, Mirinda Orange, Mirinda Pineapple, Mirinda Green Apple, Evervess Tonic, and Nivana Water in three varieties namely, Tangerine, Strawberry, still and sparkling. Aquafina enriched drinking water was launched in November last year.

Crown Beverages Limited is 100% Ugandan owned and has a good corporate social responsibility record, with major investments in sports, education, music, health, entertainment, plastic recycling, and other community initiatives.