07 April 2015
PepsiCo franchisee acquires new line from Swiss-based Sidel to cope with 2-digit market growth

Muscat, Oman: To meet the two-digit market growth from the carbonated soft drinks consumers, Oman Refreshment Company (ORC), a franchisee of PepsiCo International, has recently acquired a new production line from Sidel, the leading global provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging, which will enable the Omani bottler to increase their production capacity sufficiently.

Since February 2015, ORC has been operating a Sidel Combi12 line which produces carbonated soft drinks in a 2.25 litre format at a speed of 18,000 bottles per hour. The new line will help the Omani company achieve efficiency and lightweighting, as well as reduce consumption of raw materials and costs.

"Our collaboration with Sidel started around 16 years ago. Since then, we have built a strong relationship based on mutual trust, reliability and efficiency," said Youssef Ezzikhe, General Manager of Oman Refreshment Company. "With the growing local demand on our products and carbonated soft drinks in general, we approached Sidel again to obtain a production line which will enable us to increase production, and eventually achieve a stronger competitive edge."

ORC operates in different categories of the food and beverage market in Oman. Carbonated soft drinks category is their main forte, which includes Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7UP, and other world famous PepsiCo products. In that category, they have an 89% market share.

"One of the driving factors in our decision to choose Sidel again was the efficiency with which their machines operate and prompt response on after sales service. By using their machines, we will be able to increase production, cut cost and potentially reduce raw material consumption," said Rosel Ocampo, Head of Operations at Oman Refreshment Company.

According to industry estimates, Carbonated Soft Drinks was the most consumed beverage item in Oman with 362.4 million litres recorded at the end of 2014, and a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.3 per cent over the next five years.

"In order for us to extend our services and solutions to a wider audience, we've established a solid presence in the region, and we are delighted to see the continuous success and growth that our customers are achieving. By providing innovative solutions, we are enabling them to keep up with the growth in the beverage industry not only in their local markets, but also at the regional and global levels," said Clive Smith, Vice-President, Greater Middle East and Africa Zone at Sidel.

Editors Note: The images within this document are for illustrative purposes only and should not be used for reproduction.  If high resolution copies are not attached with the document, please contact Lina Ibrahim at Golin for copies - see contact details below.

-Ends-

For editorial and advertising enquiries, please contact:
Golin
Lina Ibrahim, Manager
Tel: +971 4 332 3308 / Cell: +971 50 95 74 216
librahim@golin.com

About Sidel
Our purpose is to help brands protect the product inside, preserve the planet outside and touch the lives of millions of people every day.

We do so by offering complete and modular PET packaging solutions, including people, services and equipment.

Sidel has over 160 years of industrial experience. With 30,000 machines installed in more than 190 nations, we have been helping producers fill beverage bottles for over 80 years, blow them for more than 50 and label them for more than 35. We have 40 years of aseptic packaging expertise, and were one of the first companies to introduce PET bottles to the beverage industry over 30 years ago.

Part of the Tetra Laval group and headquartered in Switzerland, Sidel has over 50 office locations, 13 production sites and 7 training centres worldwide. Each of our more than 3,400 employees, spread over five continents, is committed to creating the optimum liquid-packaging solution.

We call it A Better Match - for our world, our customers and ourselves.

Find out more at www.sidel.com and connect with us
blog.sidel.com                                                     
blog.knowledgeshare.com 
linkedin.com/company/sidel                               
youtube.com/user/sidel
facebook.com/SidelInternational                        
twitter.com/Sidel_Intl

© Press Release 2015