Coca-Cola investments remain on track

MANILA, Philippines - In September last year, Coca-Cola renewed its commitment to the Philippines with an additional $1 billion investment over the next five years. This was conveyed by Coca-Cola Pacific Group president Glenn Jordan directly to President Aquino while he was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly and to attract foreign investors to the Philippines.

The investment was intended to strengthen production, distribution and help develop new products to refresh the Filipino consumers. Barely a year after the announcement, part of the investment is starting to bear fruit.

The Villanueva bottling plant in Misamis Oriental is nearing completion. Part of the resources used for the purchase of the 11-hectare property and the construction of the facilities came from the initial investment committed through former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009. The rest, including the purchase of machineries and equipment, as well as employee training, were taken from the fresh investment of $1 billion last year.

“The construction of our Villanueva plant in Misamis Oriental is on track and should be operational in a couple of months. This will be one of our largest plants in the region, and is expected to generate significant employment opportunities in the area,” said Bill Schultz, chief executive officer of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines.

“We remain committed to the Philippines, where we will celebrate 100 years in business in 2012, and uphold our confidence in the Philippine economy and the continued growth of our brands,” added Schultz.

In 2010, Coca-Cola Philippines recorded double-digit growth led by its flagship brand Coca-Cola. The company has also recently expanded a no added preservatives formulation of the Minute Maid Pulpy brand with real pulp and juice.

The Coca-Cola Company, which operates 23 plants and 54 active sales offices with 7,000 employees across the Philippines, will focus the rest of the investment on strengthening marketing executions and enhancing system capabilities relating to logistics and deliveries in order to better serve the company’s expanding customer base.

“We also continue to invest in the community. Currently the Coca-Cola Company has built 80 Little Red Schoolhouses in remote areas in the Philippines, benefitting over 40,000 students. Now the Coca-Cola Foundation is working at constructing an additional 20 Little Red Schoolhouses to reach our goal of 100 Little Red Schoolhouses by 2012, the 100th year anniversary of Coca-Cola in the Philippines,” added Schultz.

Coca-Cola also supports several environmental programs in partnership with WWF Philippines. A project between the Departments of Health and Education and Coca-Cola aims at minimizing iron deficiency among schools kids through the distribution of a nutritional juice.

Coca-Cola has been in the Philippines since the beginning of the 20th century and has been locally produced since 1927. The Philippines received the first non-U.S. national Coca-Cola bottling and distribution franchise. The Philippines bottling operation is among the biggest 10 Coca-Cola bottlers globally.

The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Along with Coca-Cola®, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the company’s portfolio includes 14 other billion dollar brands, including Diet Coke®, Fanta®, Sprite®, Coca-Cola Zero®, vitaminwater®, Powerade®, Minute Maid®, Simply® and Georgia®.

Globally, it is the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate of 1.6 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate.