Photo: Courtesy of Beverage Co., Ltd

Coca-Cola (Yunnan) Beverage Co., Ltd. today officially began construction of a new eco-friendly plant in Kunming City, Yunnan Province. The new facility will replace a plant currently in operation in Kunming, tripling the number of bottling lines from four to 12.  The new plant represents a US$185 million (RMB 1.2 billion) investment and is part of the Coca-Cola system’s current US$4 billion investment plan which began in 2015 and will continue through 2017.  This builds on the $9 billion of investment made in China between 1979 and 2014, and underscores The Coca-Cola Company’s strong confidence in the China market and its business growth in the southwest region.

Coca-Cola’s new Yunnan plant is located in the Majinpu New Town Industrial Base in Kunming National Hi-tech Industries Development Zone and covers an area of 195,632 square meters. Upon completion, the plant will deliver an annual capacity of 423 million unit cases of beverage with both sparkling and still products, including brands like Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Ice Dew and Ice Dew Chunyue, to fulfill the fast increasing beverage demand of 47 million consumers in Yunnan province. Coca-Cola’s new Yunnan plant adopts green building standards in various aspects from site selection, building environment, water-saving, energy-saving, air protection, material and resource utilization, indoor environment quality and design innovation. The plant will strictly enforce the international certification system requirement for the Silver Certification of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED*). Upon completion, it will become another modern and environmentally-friendly green plant of Coca-Cola. 

Glen Walter, CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling Investments Group China (BIG China), Marcelo Boffi, Vice President of Coca-Cola Greater China and Korea, and Li Jianhui, General Manager of Coca-Cola (Yunnan) Beverage Co., Ltd. attended the groundbreaking ceremony together with local government officials.

“China is the third largest market for Coca-Cola globally and is pivotal to Coca-Cola’s global sales growth,” said Marcelo Boffi. “Since we announced a new US$4 billion investment plan in China in 2015, we have been actively delivering on our promise. The RMB 1.2 billion new plant will help further strengthen Coca-Cola’s market leadership in the southwest region.”

As one of the most influential large-sized foreign-invested enterprises in Yunnan Province, the new plant project has been highly recognized and won strong support from the local government and related authorities. The new investment project will not only foster economic growth in Kunming, but also promote the development and upgrading of the region’s industry clusters.

“The new plant will become an important production base for Coca-Cola in China’s southwest region,” said Glen Walter. “This investment will not only provide strong support to Coca-Cola’s sustainable development in Yunnan, but also boost economic development locally by increasing job opportunities and enhancing collaboration.”

While actively integrating itself into local economic growth, Coca-Cola (Yunnan) Beverage is also committed to corporate social responsibility and constantly investing in a variety of fields including community development, water resources and environmental protection. Since 2000, the company has joined hands with Yunnan Youth Development Foundation to build 11 Coca-Cola Project Hope schools in Yunnan, which have benefitted about 3,500 students. Through the Clean Water Project, Coca-Cola has also provided nearly 80 water purifiers in underprivileged areas in Yunnan, helping improve the quality of drinking water for about 40,000 residents. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Glen Walter, on behalf of all employees, donated RMB 50,000 to Coca-Cola Project Hope School in Chuxiong City in Yunnan in order to help students there to have a better study environment. Upon the completion of the new Yunnan plant, Coca-Cola will continue to invest in sustainable development of the local community and contribute to the bright future of Yunnan.


Note: LEEDTM, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. There are four levels of certification: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Certified.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands and more than 3,800 beverage choices. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable brands, our company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, 18 of which are available in reduced-, low- or no-calorie options. Our billion-dollar brands include Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Dasani, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Del Valle, Georgia and Gold Peak. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, we are the No. 1 provider of both sparkling and still beverages.  More than 1.9 billion servings of our beverages are enjoyed by consumers in more than 200 countries each day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.

About Coca-Cola China

Coca-Cola is one of the most well-known international brands in China. We have more than 15 brands and offer over 50 flavors of beverage choices to Chinese consumers, who enjoy more than 150 million servings of our sparkling and still beverages across the country every single day. By the end of 2014, Coca-Cola had invested US$9 billion in China since its return to the country in 1979. With a total of 43 plants in operation, the Coca-Cola system today employs more than 45,000 people in China, 99% of whom are local hires. At the same time, Coca-Cola and its bottlers have been actively supporting educational and philanthropic causes, promoting environmental protection, and contributing to the development of local communities, with a total contribution of over RMB 270 million. Coca-Cola is also the only company that has sponsored the Special Olympics, Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, EXPO, Universiade and Youth Olympics in China. For more information about our company, please visit our Web site at www.coca-cola.com.cn or follow our corporate microblog at weibo.com/cokechina and our corporate WeChat account “Coca-Cola China”.