950822

Coca Cola opens

two more plants

in Romania

LAHORE: In the first week of August 1995 Coca Cola opened two more bottling plants in the Romanian cities of Ploesti and Timisoara. Combined value of both the plants is $58 million. The two facilities are part of the Coca Cola system's $150 million investment in Romania, which represents the largest foreign investment so far, and brings the total number of Coca Cola bottling plants in the country to eight, according to a press release.

In 1994 Romanian customers drank more than one billion servings of the Coca Cola company's soft drinks, first three years after the introduction of Coca Cola in November, 91. This represents approximately 50 percent of carbonated soft drink sales in Romania, press release added.

The two plants will initially employ 570 people and will nearly serve 5 million consumers. With virtually no presence in Romania prior to November 91 the Coca Cola company became the country's soft drink leader within first eight months of operation. Annual per capita consumption of the company's product reached 47 in 1994. The Coca Cola company currently out-sells its newest competitor in Romania by approximately 3-1.

For every direct job in the Coca Cola system in Romania, more than 10 additional jobs are created in other local businesses. The multiplier effect was documented in a recent University of South Carolina study which measured the impact of the Coca Cola system's investments in Romania and Poland.

The Coca Cola company is world's largest beverage company and is the leading producer and marketeer of soft drink through world's largest distribution system. Consumers in more than 195 countries enjoy the company's products at a rate of more then 773 million servings each day.