adminDelta Corporation chief executive Mr Pearson Gowero told shareholders on Wednesday that the Harare plant would be commissioned next month at the Southerton depot while the Bulawayo line would be launched in the last quarter of the year.
He said the company wanted to ensure that it meets demand during the festive season.
“New packaging line at Southerton will be commissioned mid-August and the new PET (plastic) line in Bulawayo will be commissioned in November,” he said.
“This will substantially reduce the supply pressure during peak periods while enhancing efficiency and productivity across the sustainable metrics,” he said.
The Southerton bottling line would be the third since the country adopted multiple foreign currencies in 2009.
Mr Gowero said the new plants would increase production by 400 000 hectolitres per year. “We will increase annual production to 600 000 hectolitres from the current 200 000,” he said.
He said the company was not exporting any of its products at the moment.
“We are not formally exporting at the moment although some of our products find there way into the region,” he said.
Mr Gowero bemoaned failure by local sugar refiners to meet the bottlers’ grade forcing them to export.
“Currently, we are importing sugar because local companies cannot produce the quality we want. It’s not due to a shortage because local refiners are also exporting,” Mr Gowero said.
Delta says the improvements in trade execution through investment in cold drink and merchandising equipment and point of sale material had resulted in the market share position remaining at well above 95 percent by volume in the lager beer business. — New Ziana.
Online Reporter