The installation of Krones Blowfill technology, which is made in Germany, brings Coca-Cola Amatil Fiji into line with the latest equipment used in New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia.

The new Fiji line is capable of producing 21,000 bottles per hour.

Coca-Cola Amatil Fiji managing director, Roger Hare, said he was excited at what the new line meant for local production.

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“This has been a few years in the planning and I’m ecstatic that we are now up and running.

“The installation of the Krones equipment began in September 2016 and our people have worked tirelessly to ensure we would be ready to launch today, I’m very proud and grateful for all their efforts,” said Hare.

“The new line has triple the capacity of the current line and not only supports future growth for the next 10 years but enables the Coca-Cola Amatil Fiji business to embark on a significant export led growth strategy, over the next 5-8-years.

“We realised further investment into the Amatil Fiji business was necessary and I have to thank the Amatil Group leadership team for their incredible support,” he said.

As world leaders in beverage process technology, the Krones AG Group was commissioned for the manufacture and installation of Fiji’s favourite carbonated and non-carbonated beverage products.

The sizes will range from 500ml to 2.25L beverages and will also include water.

Of the investment for line construction, $6.5m was made via local purchasing and contractors.

Coca-Cola Amatil is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of ready-to-drink non-alcohol and alcohol beverages, coffee and ready-to-eat food snacks in the Asia Pacific region.

The company is also the authorised manufacturer and distributor of The Coca-Cola Company’s beverage brands in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Samoa.

Coca-Cola Amatil employs about 13,000 people.