The company is the principal supplier of Pepsi Cola throughout the country and is responsible for around half of the overall national production of over 40m crates. Brands bottled by Moha include: Pepsi Cola, Mirinda Orange, 7-Up, Mirinda Tonic, Mirinda Apple (all Pepsi Brands), and Kool bottled water.
The project, which is expected to be implemented by mid-2014, includes all auxiliary services, such as CO2 production, steam, syrup room, generator, water treatment plant and piping and will produce CSDs at a rate of 36,000 returnable glass bottles (RGB) per hour at a Greenfield site at Mekele, the capital city of Tigraye.
Dubai office launch
Getachew Birbo, CEO, Moha, said it has worked with Sidel for many years including a PET line which was commissioned in 2012. It also welcomes the launch of its office in Dubai, which will bring greater after-sales support to the region.
“We are looking forward to a successful completion of the Mekele plant which will come at a time when most of our production capacity will reach its peak,” he said.
“We believe the newly reorganized office in Dubai opens its doors at a time when closer cooperation between our companies is required to support this project.”
Sidel line will complement other plants
Birbo added the Sidel production line will complement the equipment it already has at its other Moha plants, offering synergies in terms of components and spare parts and will make for a swift transition process.
Clive Smith, vice president GMEA (Greater Middle East and Africa), Sidel, said Moha is highly respected within the Pepsi world and it was looking forward to working with them again.
“We opened the Dubai office in September this year because it is a stable country politically and economically with a sound infrastructure. We currently employ 90 people including engineers, customer service managers, account managers and electricians and we hope to hire 10 more staff by the end of the year,” he said.
Moha Soft Drinks Industry was founded in 1996, following the acquisition of four state-owned Pepsi plants by Saudi Arabian-Ethiopian business magnate and the largest foreign investor in Ethiopia, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi and his wife.
The company has seven operating units in the country: Nifas Silk, TekleHaimanot, Gondar and Dessie plants (acquired from the Ethiopian Privatization Agency) plus the Summit, Bure and the Hawassa plant in the Southern Nations & Nationalities People's Region.