Coca-Cola Amatil (PNG) Limited has been expanding its operations to increase capacity, including a new can processing facility in Lae. Business Advantage PNG talks with Gigy Philip, PNG’s General Manager, about the company’s plans. 

Minister Charles Abel and Coca-Cola PNG’s Gigy Philip at the Lae plant. Credit: NBC Morobe

Business Advantage PNG (BAPNG): Two plants in PNG have been recently upgraded with state-of-the-art technology, can you tell us more about the upgrades? 

Gigy Philip: We have a new can line in Lae. The filler is fully automated and capable of filling with high accuracy and reducing line losses. The capacity is 72,000 cans and 3000 cases per hour. We also have a new PET Line in Lae. Further upgrades planned this year are: 

• Improving the power supply. Fluctuations are leading to heavy breakdowns and unplanned downtime. It is difficult to attend to issues and critical spares are not available. Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has to find solutions, including investment in uninterruptible power supply, new generators and renewable energy sources. 
• Water. The reverse osmosis system is under capacity. Current capacity is 40 cubic meters and the requirement is 60 cubic meters currently and 90 cubic meters with another line. 
• Warehouse. CCA is building a Mega DC warehouse to ensure we have enough capacity to meet customer requirements and improve loading capacities. There is a limited number of warehouses in Lae, which poses a challenge for the centralised operation. 
• New capital expenditure, including upgrading of the Syrup Room and a new can line. 
• A new head office is planned. The old one, which has safety issues, will be demolished.  

‘It is important that PNG ports continually maintain their crane facilities and infrastructure to ensure that manufacturers in PNG can continue to grow without capacity constraints and high shipping costs. ’ 

BAPNG: How would road and sea infrastructure upgrades help CCA business? 

Coca-Cola Amatil’s Gigy

GP: One of the biggest challenges we face is moving the millions of cases we make each year around the country; the state of the roads and port infrastructure adds significant cost to this process. Local roads require maintaining and cause incremental wear and tear on the delivery fleet of trucks and vans. The main road to the Highlands, the lifeline of that region, is regularly closed, causing delays to deliveries. When it is open, the state of it is so poor it causes millions of kina in additional repair and maintenance costs for the transporters. An upgrade is essential to ensure the people of Highlands have access to affordable goods and services without disruption. Many locations can only be serviced by sea. Our main production facility is in Lae, and we service Port Moresby, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands via sea freight. It is important that PNG ports continually maintain their crane facilities and infrastructure to ensure that manufacturers in PNG can continue to grow without capacity constraints and high shipping costs.  

BAPNG: In what way is the lack of foreign currency holding the business back? 

GP: We have long-term agreements with a large proportion of our suppliers and the lack of foreign exchange is resulting in a lack of certainty of supply. We are canvassing, or lobbying, the suppliers to open local manufacturing bases which will aid the local economy. 

‘Our aim is to continue meeting our consumer expectations by diversifying our portfolio.’

BAPNG: What is the company doing to develop its people? 

GP: CCA PNG is seeking to accelerate the investment we make in our people and their capabilities through targeted interventions. The key interventions in 2019 will be our Supply Chain Academy, which focuses on technical skills, quality and lean manufacturing; our Sales Academy, which focuses on helping our sales teams drive sales and have commercial conversations with our customers, and our leadership program called STEP. In addition to this we are also driving individual development through our development and performance management cycle. 

BAPNG What new product developments are underway? Do you have plans for diversification? 

GP: Our aim is to continue meeting our consumer expectations by diversifying our portfolio in terms of packs, prices and launching new beverages that are tailor-made for local tastes and budgets. 

BAPNG:  What are your thoughts on the future of the company and the market in PNG? 

GP: With all the developments we have undertaken in the last three years—the journey we have embarked on to drive safety for our people and the environment, enabling our capacity to accommodate the ever-growing demand, our people and culture capability building, internal system upgrades—we remain confident and excited about the future of the company and our positioning in the market.