With the help of high-quality and efficient KHS technology, sales of packaged water in Uganda are constantly climbing to new heights. Awareness of the responsible use of resources is also growing - an example that the company believes can set a precedent.
In the Rwenzori Mountains in north-west Uganda, Margherita Peak is the third highest mountain in Africa at 5,109 metres. Many mountaineers consider the massif to be a more attractive alternative to the more crowded Kilimanjaro. Despite its location directly on the equator, the surrounding peaks are still glaciated.
Water from the World Heritage Site
The region, a particularly lush and species-rich habitat for African flora and fauna, was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 due to its ecological importance. The misty rainforests, from which the sometimes bizarre rocks protrude, create a mystical aura. Up to 3,000 millimetres of rain per square metre fall here every year. This leads to the formation of many rivers, some of which feed the White Nile.
Packaged water is a growth product
So it's only natural that one of Uganda's best and largest mineral water brands should call itself Rwenzori and include the mountain range in its logo. The product is bottled almost 300 kilometres away from Margherita Peak - in Namanve in the greater Kampala area, the Ugandan capital. When the Rwenzori Bottling Company was launched in 1993, it faced the challenge that bottled water was still a relatively new product and unknown to many people in Africa.
This has changed significantly since then: Sales of packaged water have exploded throughout Uganda, especially in urban centres - and even today, annual growth rates are still 10 per cent or more. This is due to the growing awareness that it is safer than tap water, that it is of better quality and that it is a brand with a long tradition.
Price is 30 per cent higher
Rwenzori makes particular use of this for its Pure Natural Mineral Water product: middle and upper class consumers in particular appreciate the still water, which impresses with its good taste, balanced mineralisation and absolute bacteriological purity. They are also prepared to pay a price that is around 30 per cent higher than the competition. The expectations for the packaging of the premium product in PET bottles are correspondingly high. Even the caps are produced in-house.
New PET line with German help
The contract for the new PET line was awarded to KHS. The package includes an InnoPET Blofill stretch blow-mould filler block with an output of up to 25,000 500-millilitre bottles per hour and an Innoket Neo labeller.
"This is the second waterline that CCBA has purchased from us in a very short space of time. Last year we installed an almost identical line at Voltic in Ghana. Many customers in the region actually tend to associate KHS with higher capacities of up to 80,000 bottles per hour. With these two projects we were able to prove that KHS also offers very good water systems in the low capacity range."
Denise Schneider-Walimohamed, Managing Director of KHS East Africa
In addition to efficiency, the issue of sustainability is becoming increasingly important for beverage manufacturers in Uganda as well as in the rest of Africa. The manufacturer aims to collect and recycle 100 per cent of PET bottles sold by 2030. Plastic Recycling Industries, a recycling initiative set up specifically for this purpose, buys collected PET bottles from consumers in order to reintroduce them into the material cycle.
