Beverage manufacturer Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) has unveiled a new bottling line at its plant in Midrand, which is capable of bottling 72 000 units an hour.

The R565-million high-speed, fully automated production line is producing Bonaqua Pump 750 ml, Bonaqua 300 ml and 500 ml, as well as Powerade 500 ml packs for the group.

Additionally, the line is producing the CCBA’s newly launched Powerade Springboks edition.

By installing this new line, Line 6, the CCBA has strengthened its ability to cater for growing consumer demand for beverages in South Africa, as well as create shared value across the local value chain.

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) manufacturing and technical director Moses Lubisi says the investment also reaffirms the group’s commitment to local investment, innovation and sustainability, especially since the plant introduces more efficiencies and productivity compared with older lines.

He tells Engineering News that the new plant is more energy efficient, more operator friendly and takes production capacity from 19 000 bottles an hour to 72 000 bottles an hour, which equates to 1 200 every minute, or 20 bottles a second.

The new line is the fastest in the CCBA’s portfolio, cementing the group’s position as the largest bottler in Africa and among the largest bottlers globally.

The CCBA also invested R80-million to upgrade its warehouse capacity on site.

Notably, the employees of Line 6 have been upskilled to operate, maintain and clean the machinery, which boosts their employability in world-class factories globally and ensures early failure detection and servicing for the CCBA.

The CCBSA, as part of CCBA, has 13 manufacturing plants across six provinces in South Africa, servicing more than 197 500 customer outlets with the majority of Coca-Cola products found globally.

In turn, CCBA services more than 735 000 customers in Africa with a host of international and local brands. Its key markets in Africa include South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Eswatini and the islands of Comoros and Mayotte.