Ukraine vodka producer to invest a further €14 million
Ukraine, says it will invest in two more bottling lines for its
newly opened plant in the town of Nemirov. The extension will
increase production of both its vodka and alcopops lines in an
attempt to keep up with a rapid rise in exports.
The company said that the $17.2 million (€14m) investment will be completed by the end of the year and that the two lines are expected to be in operation by the start of 2005.
Currently the company owns two plants in Nemirov, the second having been opened in April of this year. The new facility already has one line dedicated to the production of alcopops, with a second dedicated to vodka due come on line in the next few months.
The newly announced extension will bring the total number of bottling lines at the new facility to four. Currently production capacity from the one operating line at the new facility is 24,000 bottles an hour, which is eventually expected to rise to 72,000 bottles an hour once all the production lines are in full swing.
Company president Yakov Gribov said that the new plant would pay for itself within a year and would start to be profitable by the start of the 2006 financial year.
Nemiroff began construction of the new facility back in mid-2002 in an effort to keep up with rapidly increasing export demand for its vodka-based alcopop range, Spy, and its vodka range. The second distillery was built using technology supplied by German equipment provider Krones. It occupies a total area of about 54,000 square metres and the initial investment was $16 million. This year increased production at the facility aims to meet is the company's plans to double its exports to more than to 3.9 million decalitres.
Currently the company holds approximately 23 per cent of the legal vodka market in Ukraine. Alongside its well known vodka brand, Nemiroff, the company also produces a number of flavoured vodkas and a variety of alcopops, which combine to make a production total of 14 million cases per annum.
The Nemiroff brand was established 125 years ago, but in the last five years the company has undergone an intense period of expansion, following its privatization and the appointment of Gribov as president.
