The Central Bottling Company (Coca Cola Israel) will invest $50-60 million in upgrading its Bnei Brak plant, after deciding not to move it to Ashkelon. The company will also invest in other production sites. Its first investment will be in the Givat Haim juices factory, in which Coca Cola Israel is a partner.
Coca Cola Israel managing director Ron Kobrovsky told “Globes”, “The decisive factor was government foot-dragging, not public criticism. We only obtained approval from the Investment Promotion Center of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor in February 2004, and even then there were still problems.
”We also learned today (yesterday, H.M.) that the Movement for Quality Government in Israel was petitioning the High Court of Justice. We knew that it could drag on for a long time, so we decided to cut it short, and move forward.” Kobrovsky stressed that the decision was final.
Kobrovsky added that Coca Cola Israel had decided to develop its Bnei Brak plant instead. “If we need a bigger area, we’ll expand some of our other plants, especially the juices factory in Givat Haim and our distribution centers around Israel,” Kobrovsky explained.
”The main difference between investing in Ashkelon and investing in Bnei Brak is that the investment in Ashkelon had to be made immediately, while an investment in Bnei Brak can be spread over several years, which is better for our cash flow,” Kobrovsky remarked.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on February 9, 2004