ABL launches chibuku super in Bolgatanga

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong

sarpong007@gmail.com

Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) has officially launched the Chibuku Super drink at Bolgatanga in the Upper East region with the aim of reaching a lot of customers.

Mr. Thomas Nii Ponku, Supervisor in charge of Chibuku Super at ABL told Daily Express that the management decided to launch the Chibuku Super drink in the Upper East region because they’ve realized it is similar to a traditional drink in the region.

“Chibuku is like a well developed pito, a traditional drink made from fermented millet or sorghum in the Northern part of Ghana. So the idea is to provide them with similar drink,” he added.

Mr. Nii Ponku disclosed this when members of the Institute of Finance and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) toured the facility of ABL to acquaint themselves with the expansion project at the factory.

He mentioned that after a feasibility study, they realized there is a potential market for the product in the northern part of Ghana as a significant chunk of the population consume pito in that area.

“We decided to introduce this drink which is similar to pito for the people in the north. We will later launch it for those in the southern part of Ghana,” he added.

He stated the company decided to reintroduce the drink in replacement of the paper and plastic packs as these were costing them a lot. “Because of that we are now using glass bottles which are cheaper compared to the paper pack and plastic bottles. The glass bottles are returnable and we can reuse them as well.”

Meanwhile, work has started on the second phase expansion project of the factory which consists of construction of an effluent treatment plant.

Ms. Adjoba Kyiamah, Corporate/Legal Affairs Director explained that from the phase two, biogas will be generated to power the factory boilers thereby reducing the amount of fuel they purchase.

She mentioned that as a result of the expansion there is a significant shift in their waste disposal system (reducing environmental impact).

Ms. Kyiamah told Daily Express the expansion also includes upgrade of municipal water supply line, installation of new brewing equipment (brew house expansion), new staff canteen and changing rooms, installation of solar powered street lights on site, and installation of equipment for production of Chibuku Super.

The phase one which was inaugurated by President John Mahama in February 2015 was constructed at a cost of US$100 million. The objective was to double the production capacity of ABL.

The initial project consists of two new packaging lines for beer, soft drinks, a warehouse and gatehouse etc. Each line can bottle up to 32, 000 bottles per hour.

The expansion also included installed capacity of up to approximately 70% while production volumes went up by about 50%. Requirements/ usage of major raw local inputs also went up by about 40%.