The Coca-Cola bottler opened new facilities in Guangzhou and Kunshan within 24 hours, adding more than 20 production lines and boosting mainland China capacity by 10%.
Swire Coca-Cola has opened two major production facilities in China within 24 hours, underscoring the beverage bottler's continued bet on the country's consumer market.
The company on Wednesday launched a new production base in Guangzhou, its latest investment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The facility, which spans nearly 130,000 square meters, involved an investment of 1.25 billion yuan (US$183 million) and is expected to raise the company's annual production capacity in the region by about 66%.
The Guangzhou plant came a day after Swire Coca-Cola began operations at a new facility in Kunshan, near Suzhou in eastern Jiangsu province. The Kunshan project carries a planned investment of 2 billion yuan.
Together, the two plants add more than 20 production lines with a combined annual capacity exceeding 3.1 million tonnes. The facilities can produce more than 100 beverage products across over 20 brands, increasing Swire Coca-Cola's total production capacity in mainland China by about 10%.
The company said both facilities were designed with a focus on green and intelligent manufacturing, incorporating technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data and artificial intelligence to improve energy efficiency, water management and waste recycling.
Hunter Jin, chief executive of Swire Coca-Cola Greater China, said the company continued to see long-term opportunities in China, citing consumption upgrades and policy support aimed at boosting domestic demand and investment.
Swire Coca-Cola, a wholly owned subsidiary of Swire Pacific, is the fifth-largest bottling partner in The Coca-Cola Company's global bottling system by sales volume.
