Coca-Cola Bottlers Malaysia Driving Business Transformation Toward Innovation

The Coca-Cola Bottlers Malaysia (CCBM), the bottling arm of The Coca-Cola Company will continue to make significant infrastructure investments in order to build a stronger brand presence and to underpin its commitment to Malaysia.

To date, CCBM has invested RM1.3 billion cumulatively in building its world-class distribution hub at Halal Park, Bandar Enstek in Negeri Sembilan and supporting the Malaysian economy.

Louis Balat, Chief Executive Officer of Bottling Investments Group for Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei in an exclusive interview with Business Today on the 2023 outlook said: “We are proud of our heritage in Malaysia since 1936 and we remain committed to being a strong business partner to the Malaysian Government”.

Louis said, beyond our infrastructure investments, CCBM has also continuously invested in building a strong talent pool here in Malaysia, employing about 1,000 direct employees while generating more than 10,000 indirect jobs in companies supporting its supply chain.

“With our people, we are building a culture that supports our position as a total beverage company and overall growth including our commitment towards sustainability,” he said.

As part of its growth, RM500 million from the investment was allocated to the plant’s expansion and a state-of-the-art Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS) warehouse, tripling its plant’s site storage capacity and paving the path to sustainable manufacturing. With ASRS, which is the first PowerStore System deployed in Southeast Asia, CCBM is set to contribute to the country’s role as a regional hub and centre of excellence for advanced, automated intralogistics.

The 8,000 sqm automated warehouse on the 10-acre of land is able to hold and automatically move 34,000 pallets, with a throughput of up to 940 pallets per hour.

“The ASRS warehouse is a significant investment in sustainable manufacturing for CCBM, to support volume growth, increase our operational efficiency across the supply chain, reduce environmental impact by cutting energy consumption through automation and is an important step in helping to future-proof our operations,” said Louis.

CCBM commissioned Swisslog for a flexible, robotic, data-driven automated warehouse that drives the future of intralogistics for the Company in Malaysia.

The 12 staging lanes of the ASRS system streamline handling, storing and retrieving items in the warehouse without having to move them to separate off-site storage facilities, seamlessly handling finished products from creation to shipment and tracking them with detailed precision everywhere in between. The two-loop electric monorail system with 25 double-palette carriers and 24 shuttles for in-store transportation is designed for high throughput high-density solutions.

CCBM embarked on a sustainability journey from day one and ASRS is a great innovation that contributes to the Company’s business transformation. The greenfield plant in Enstek is also designed and equipped with numerous sustainability features such as rainwater harvesting, rooftop solar panel, a building lighting automation system to regulate temperature, low-energy conveyor motors, skylights, process heating recovery and reuse and many others.

“This year, we are planning another solar panel installation project at our ASRS warehouse and carpark with a potential annual energy reduction of additional 1,600 tonnes of CO2 emission per year, or equivalent to saving up to 70,000 trees yearly,” Louis added.

Since 2016, CCBM has allocated more than RM4 million to its sustainability initiatives, which span three pillars in Malaysia – World Without Waste, Women’s Economic Empowerment and Water Stewardship. The Company is the founding member of the Malaysian Recycling Alliance (MAREA), collaborating with the Malaysian Government and other stakeholders to drive the singular goal of a greener Malaysia through circular economy solutions.

“We believe every package has value and life beyond its initial use and that it should be collected and recycled into a new package,” he said.

The Company also understand that sustainability efforts encompass all aspects including providing various options to cater to the evolving needs of our Malaysian consumers. “We continue to innovate across our portfolio to deliver more beverage options with less added sugar and expand the availability of low and no-sugar beverages while delivering great-tasting drinks that people love, offering more small packaging choices and providing consumers with clear nutrition information to enable consumers to make an informed choice. To date, over 75% of our drinks qualify for the Healthier Choice Logo (HCL) which is recognized by the Ministry of Health that indicates lower sugar options for consumers,” Louis said.

CCBM remains positive about the long-term outlook of its business and the broader Malaysian economy, reinforcing its commitment to the communities they serve here. From recycling initiatives through many partnerships and providing access to clean water for more than 22,000 villagers in rural Sabah to programs on empowering women economically, the Company is dedicated to building sustainable communities in Malaysia.

“We intend to continue investing in this country, in the local talent pool, in innovation and technology, realizing our World Without Waste vision, and in local communities,” concluded Louis.

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