Top Water Bottling Company, one of the late entrants into the bottling industry, is investing 40 million Br to boost its production capacity by 133pc.
The company is in the process of importing a water purification and bottling machine from China. The new machine, which is expected to arrive in the country within two months, will push up the production capacity of the company to 42,000 litres of water an hour from 18,000 litres.
The Chinese Newamstar Packaging Machinery Co. specialises in the manufacture of bottled-water production machinery, and it has supplied equipment to international companies such as Coca-Cola and Nestle. Newamstar had previously supplied the factory’s existing machine.
Top Water became operational two months ago with 143 employees in Tatek Geffersa Nono Wereda of Burayu town, 18Km north of the capital. The plant rests on 11,000sqm of land. It has been supplying its products in four sizes ranging from 0.35lt plastic bottles to 20lt water containers. Abebe Dinku Water & Non-Alcoholic Beverages Factory, the owner of the company, has invested 273 million Br in the new the plant.
The company plans to hire 40 more employees after operations begin with the new machine, according to Shimelis Ajemma, marketing manager of the company.
The company secured a quality certificate from the Ethiopian Conformity Assessment Enterprise and Food, Medicine, Health Care Administration & Control Authority in June of this year. During the certification process, the company submitted to 54 laboratory tests at a cost of around 45,000 Br.
“Ethiopia’s water bottling business is untapped,” said Shimelis, “and could be exploited.”
There are about 70 water bottlers producing nearly 3.5 billion litres of water a year, while the nation’s total water consumption stands at 72 billion litres.
“This means the current water bottling companies cater only to five percent of the total consumption,” said Shimelis. “Kenya, which has less than half the size of Ethiopia’s population, has 600 bottling companies that provide 37.7pc of the country’s consumption.”
The company is also planning to recycle used plastic water bottles, and it has already installed a machine that grinds them into microplastic. This substance will be exported to China, where it can be used in the manufacture of furniture, textiles and building materials, according to the marketing manager.
“Beyond protecting the environment, it will generate foreign currency,” Shimelis told Fortune. “We will be launching it in two weeks time.”
For its recycling program, the company has recruited 10 youth associations who will collect used bottles and deliver them to the plant. Top Water is planning to pay 4.5 Br for a kilogram of used bottles and five Birr for its own used plastic bottles.
Andualem Mekonnen (PhD), an expert in the field of environmental science, lauds the move, stating that plastic water bottles are now widely recycled. Top Water is the 16th company to launch the same recycling program, according to Andualem.
“Hotels and restaurants dispose large numbers of used plastic bottles, and they should adopt this system,” Andualem said.
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