Coca-Cola HBC Hungary is expanding its Dunaharaszti headquarters with a new production hall that will house a high-performance, modern production line by the end of the year. The company is making improvements to boost loading and warehousing efficiency as well as to support the increased production capacity.

The company has made several major investments over the past 27 years, and as of today it has two production plants, and eight logistics distribution centers, including Hungary's largest food industry warehouse. The Dunaharaszti plant supplies the entire domestic market and also plays a major role in supplíing 17 export countries.

The ongoing capacity expansion investment is the second largest development in Dunaharaszti, following the installation of the second aseptic (non-carbonated) production line in 2007, which was then worth EUR 27 million.

The upcoming developments have been prompted by growing market demand, which made it obvious that a new production line is well needed to add to the two carbonated soft drink lines that are currently in use. Planning of the investment started back in 2020, and two years later the installation of the new production line and the construction of a new production hall were approved, as well as the completion of logistics and other infrastructure improvements to support the increased production volume. The construction works started in February 2023 and the handover is expected in November.

The new line will produce single-serve and multi-serve packs of carbonated Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, and Kinley beverages. The recent investment will result in an increase in production capacity as the new line will top the current rates the existing multi-serve line is capable of by 50%, and the overall carbonated soft drinks production capability of the company will be increased by 30%. The Dunaharaszti plant is using 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, and the energy used for producing one unit (liter) of product has been reduced by 30% and water by 20% since 2014.

The annual improvement in energy and water use ratio is expected at the same rate with the newly installed production line.

Road improvements and the construction of new loading areas at the Dunaharaszti plant are expected to be finished by the end of the year.

"We are proud to contribute to the growth of the Hungarian economy with a new major investment. We are committed to the domestic market and supporting our business operations in all areas of the value chain through continuous improvements," said László Békefi, general manager of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary.

"We have made several investments in recent years that bring us closer to building a modern production hub in Dunaharaszti that meets the requirements of the 21st century. To support this goal we invested more than HUF 1.5 bln in our supply chain last year: we were the first in the Coca-Cola HBC Group to introduce artificial intelligence-driven robot technology into our warehousing processes, our colleagues use smart glasses during the picking process to work more efficiently and accurately, and thanks to a sustainable packaging technology innovation, we have replaced the secondary packaging of our aluminum multipacks with 100% recyclable cardboard packaging, reducing our plastic consumption by 230 tons per year," he added.