PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2013

EDITOUR REPORTS 27 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 09/13 www.petpla.net EDITOUR REPORTS 27 February 27, 2013 CBN Cerveceria Boliviana Nacionales S.A., La Paz We met Ibo Blazicevic, General Director, Cristina Montilla, Director CSD, Laura Ugalde Marketing Assistant Ibo Blazicevic, General Director CBN (right), Cristina Montilla, Director CSD (left) and Laura Ugalde Marketing Assistant (far left) discussing the soft drinks market in Bolivia with Alexander Büchler and Rolf Sinkovec (both from PETplanet). Pepsi in Bolivia The CBN brewery is 126 years young. In addition to beer they also bottle Pepsi products. We looked in on the CSD people and encountered a motivated team. In Bolivia the Pepsi licence is held by CBN - Cerveceria Boliviana Nacionales – a 100% owned subsidiary of Ambev. CBN is not only the Number 1 beer producer in Bolivia; it is also one of the largest companies in the country. With a 20 % share of the market, the soft drinks division is Number 2 after the all-powerful Coca Cola. Nevertheless, the CSD division is putting on a brave show. It is registering a 5% growth rate each year on the Bolivian market. In Santa Cruz the level of growth is higher; here it is around 10%. Bottling takes place at 2 locations; one is El Alto, the sister city of La Paz, situated at a height of just under 4,000 metres above sea level. 40 million PET bottles leave the plants each year. It is mainly family sizes in 2 or 2.5 litre volumes. This also helps to explain the high quantity bottled of just under 100 million litres. The single serve bottle with a content of 500 ml hardly registers on the market. CBN are still using the 2-sec- tion PCO 1810 closure to seal their bottles. They are hold- ing internal discussions on converting to the lightweight PCO 1881. Their other competitors in Bolivia are also still manufac- turing the heavy PCO 1810. The plant structure is classic, the bought-in preforms are blow moulded and filled, labelling takes place at the end of the line. The bottles are constructed to the familiar Carolina design.CBN is keeping out of the pure water sector; this is dominated by local suppliers and Coca Cola. CBN do not ignore their responsibilities as regards the environment and social issues. In-plant the company is proud of having sent 88 % of its internal waste for recycling last year; this year they have their sights set on 96 %. The reason for 360°