PM tours General Soft Drinks facility
Photo: Saviour Cassar, DOI
The new General Soft Drinks bottling facility in Marsa, built with an investment of €27 million was this morning toured by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
The facility with a footprint of 21,000 square metres is on a 33,000 square metre site. It is one of the fastest concrete structures to be built with the entire project being completed within two years.
The building incorporates energy saving measures through the use of natural light, building insulation and waste water minimisation processes.
These measures led to the Malta plant getting a best practice award from the CocaCola company and several of its design elements have been shared with other plants around the world.
One production line is focused on packaging and bottling of carbonated soft drinks with a total capacity of 24,000 litres per hour. The other line is used to bottle water with a capacity of 18,000 litres per hour.
The warehouse, which is 18 metres high, covers an area of 4,500 square metres and has metal beams spanning from one side to the other. Each beam is 35 metres long and weighs 65 tonnes.
The company employs 260 employees, all of whom were trained following the move from the Qormi plant to Marsa.
Dr Gonzi described the company as one of Malta’s success stories with the Mizzi family, who ran General Soft Drinks managing to overcome major obstacles.
They did not give up but invested heavily and were now producing a high level product.
As long as the country continued investing and removing mediocrity then it would move ahead, Dr Gonzi said.
He said that Malta must never be afraid of change and reform. For when one modernised and invested reforms would help push the country forward.
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Alexander Azzopardi
Oct 23rd 2009, 18:27
@Chris Finch
the water source is coming from a "spira" !!
kind a large borehole
and its not public! my family own it and gives Gsd the rights to take water from.
emmanuel zammit
Oct 23rd 2009, 16:05
IT COULD BE BETTER FOR MR GONZI THAT INSTEAD OF DOING THIS SHOWS..
HE FIND A FINAL SOLUTION FOR ST MALTA EMPLOEES.
HE NOWS WELL WHAT IS GOING ON . NO NEED TO TALK TOO MUCH......
HE NOWS WELL THATS US WHICH WORK THERE WHAT IS GOING ON SO COME ON !!MR GONZI.................................!!
c. camilleri
Oct 23rd 2009, 15:48
@ Paul Bonello. Do you believe that the P.M. has so much influence on investors? If so, well i urge him to continue with his visits because this is what Malta needs. Investments in industry to employ more workers.
J.Bonnici
Oct 23rd 2009, 15:43
A high level product? Soft drinks are amongst the worst beverages you can drink and they can lead to a string of medical problems. They are now banned in most schools.
James Farrugia
Oct 23rd 2009, 15:09
Nice too see the Prime minister dealing with the current really important matters. Not
J Brincat
Oct 23rd 2009, 13:55
@ Paul Bonello
Mr Bonello has a very valid point here.
J Farrugia
Oct 23rd 2009, 13:38
Do you think that you can order the Prime Minister where to go and where not to go and the date when to go or when not to go?
Peter Korsten
Oct 23rd 2009, 13:23
That points scheme is the most brilliant thing they ever came up with. You can spot some Coca Cola products that weren't produced in Malta, but since you don't get the points, they're not very popular. With a very simple scheme, they essentially killed foreign imports of Coca Cola products after the market was liberalised.
R.Gauci
Oct 23rd 2009, 13:13
"As long as the country continued investing and removing mediocrity then it would move ahead, Dr Gonzi said.
He said that Malta must never be afraid of change and reform. For when one modernised and invested reforms would help push the country forward."
How did Dr.Gonzi arrived at the New Factory by Helicopter?? To make the above statement he surely haven't been on the roads (moon surfaced) around the Factory!!
Paul Bonello
Oct 23rd 2009, 13:03
It is time the Prime Minister stops accepting invitations to visit establishments about to issue a bond as happened with Globe and Melita and now this one. The Prime Minister could pay a visit at less sensitive timings.
Chris Finch
Oct 23rd 2009, 12:20
So will they be paying for the 18,000 litres per hour of water extracted from the PUBLIC sources now?
Edward Zammit
Oct 23rd 2009, 12:09
Ah May be the Prime Minister is reconsidering his COLA position?