Dr Alfred Sant being shown the production of Diet Seven-Up at Farsons’ new Softdrinks Packaging Centre. Also in picture (from left) Chief Production Officer Mr Ray Sciberras, Farsons Group Chairman Mr Bryan A Gera, Deputy Leader and Opposition Main Spokesman for Parliamentary Affairs, Finance and Economic Affairs, the Hon Dr Charles Mangion, and Farsons Group CEO Mr Louis A Farrugia.
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During a visit to Farsons Brewery by the Hon Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Dr Alfred Sant, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc announced today (5 December 2007) that in the next few weeks it will have commissioned its major Lm10.5 million investment in two capital projects, which include a new Packaging Centre for Soft-drinks and a new Logistics Centre. Furthermore, stocks which are spread in various depots around Malta are in the process of being relocated to temperature controlled storage areas at the new Logistics Centre.
In the next few weeks Farsons will also be launching a number of its new PET and can packages for its soft drink range.
Through this considerable investment Farsons has ensured that it is equipped with the latest technology to be able to offer the best quality products.
This was stated by Farsons Group Chief Executive, Mr Louis A Farrugia. Farsons Chairman, Mr Bryan A Gera, Vice-Chairman, Mr Vincent Curmi, and senior company officials were also present to welcome the Leader of the Opposition. Dr Sant was accompanied by the Deputy Leader and Opposition Main Spokesman for Parliamentary Affairs, Finance and Economic Affairs, the Hon Dr Charles Mangion and the Malta Labour Party’s General Secretary, Mr Jason Micallef.
“Farsons products continue to enjoy a high reputation as being among the best Maltese products. This is not only due to the fact that the Company always focused on quality but also on making sure that its prices are competitive” added Mr Farrugia.
Mr Farrugia thanked Dr Sant for having given him the opportunity to brief him about these latest developments at Farsons.
New Softdrinks Packaging Centre
The Soft Drinks Line is capable of producing carbonated soft drinks, beer and beer mixers and both still and carbonated water. It can handle 50cl bottles at speeds of 18,000 bottles per hour.
Key equipment in the Soft Drinks Line include a bottle blowing machine, rinser and filler, a mixer carbonator complete with chiller, 3 palletising machines, and a conveyor to the new Logistics Centre.
New Logistics Centre
The key principle in the entire design of the Logistics Centre was to store the products in the right ambience at the right temperature and ensure a constant flow of products in and out of the Centre with adequate marshalling space. This Logistics Centre is replacing the five depots located around Malta and also incorporates the Wands operation.
This Logistics Centre has a fully computerised Warehouse Management System. This allows bulk breaking and direct dispatch to trade. The pallet conveyor is directly fed from the production areas. It has 11,000 pallet positions, a cooled area for beer at 21Cº, and seven levels of high bay racking.
An allocated area, measuring 1,000sqm of storage 7 metres high, will cater specifically for Wands’ wines and spirits. The spirits will be stored at ambient temperature while wines will be stored at 15Cº. The facility is HACCP and ISO9001 approved.
Eco Friendly Measures
Particular attention has been given to environmental aspects. All structures are insulated and a building management system allows full control so as to optimise energy use. Heat exchangers have been installed to allow energy recovery during air circulation, and energy efficient lights were fitted where possible. Fork lift trucks operate with a battery regeneration system, and new trucks meet Euro4 emission standards. While solar heating will be employed for non-industrial hot water, all rain water from the site will be collected.