Vietnam, June 20th, 2017 – Keeping in promise of sustainable Business development and contribution to the community, today, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverages (Suntory PepsiCo) inaugurated company’s 5th (fifth) manufacturing facility at Dien Nam – Dien Ngoc Industrial Park, Dien Ban ward, Quang Nam province, marking an important development in the Company’s commitment to sustainable development in Vietnam. Attending the ceremony is the representatives from Quang Nam Province, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, US Consulate, local authorities, Suntory and PepsiCo region, and management board and employees of Suntory PepsiCo.

The plant can reach a maximum capacity of up to 850 million liters per year with a total of 10 production lines, of which, 5 production lines have been put into operation with 300 million liters per year, and the remaining 5 will be installed and implemented in the second phase. The factory in Dien Nam - Dien Ngoc Industrial Zone, Quang Nam Province is considered as one of the most modern and large-scale plants compared to other Suntory plants in Japan and PepsiCo plants in the region and internationally. 

The factory is located on an area of around 14 hectares, with a total investment of about $56 million USD. The company ensured professionalism and seriousness right from initial design to construction and project completion. The factory was designed and constructed by the world’s leading international contractors from Japan (MAEDA) and Germany (KHS, SIDEL & KRONES). The production lines, workshops, warehouses, testing rooms met the standards of both global Suntory and PepsiCo as well as meeting strict food quality, hygiene and safety standards in accordance to Vietnamese law. The Suntory PepsiCo plant at Dien Nam – Dien Ngoc Industrial Park, as well as all the other plants of the company in Vietnam have been granted the Certificate of Eligibility by the Food Hygiene and Safety Department; the Ministry of Health also issued a certificate of satisfaction of food hygiene and safety. 

The Suntory PepsiCo plant has provided jobs to about 300 direct and indirect employees, most of which are from the local area. With the notion that employees are their most important assets, Suntory PepsiCo is constantly thriving to maintain a safe, secure and healthy working environment. The company’s new plant is designed with accordance to modern standards, environmental sustainability, and maximum employee comforts. The design devotes 20% of the area to greenery and flora; usage of LED lighting technology throughout the plant, saving energy consumption of around 35-40% due to light; usage of solar water heaters for open living spaces with modern furnishings, fully furnished facilities for work and relaxation such as the canteen, gym facilities for employees, … not only for the purpose of work but to also contribute to improving the wellbeing of the company employees. Moreover, the company invested more than $2 million USD for the sewage treatment system meeting the output standard A (TCVN40:2011), demonstrating its strong commitment to sustainable development, environmental protection and corporate social responsibility to the community. The plant is expected to become one of the best places for workers in Quang Nam. 

Delivering a speech at the plant’s inauguration ceremony, Uday Sinha, CEO & General Director of Suntory PepsiCo, said “The plant in Dien Nam – Dien Ngoc Industrial Park, Quang Nam province is considered as the model plant of both Suntory and PepsiCo in the region and around the world. The operation of this new plant marks an important milestone in Suntory PepsiCo’s commitment to sustainable business development in Vietnam by bringing consumers the best quality products, creating the optimal competitive advantage and helps us continue to consolidate our position as one of the leading beverage companies in Vietnam’s beverage market.”  

The Suntory PepsiCo plant in Dien Nam – Dien Ngoc Industrial Park, Quang Nam began construction in February 2016 and has been in operation since the first quarter of 2017. The manufacturing facility’s products are expected to serve the needs of the domestic market and company exports in the coming future. 

“Not only creating a competitive advantage in terms of product quality, and to serve business development strategy, the plant in Quang Nam is a demonstration of Suntory PepsiCo’s strong commitment to sustainable development: environmental protection, corporate social responsibility to the local community and the creation of a safe and secure working environment perfect for motivating the dedicated and committed employees”, Uday Sinha added.

Having carried out a lot of activities that follow the business philosophy of “sharing the profits with society” and “Performance with Purpose”, on inauguration day, representatives of Suntory PepsiCo also gave Quang Nam province a total amount of around 800 million VND to build water purification systems for schools and to increase support for the Waterhope project (providing affordable and safe drinking water to the local community, Suntory PepsiCo has partnered with them since 2013) to contribute to the development of the local community, with particular focus on the sustainable development of society. 

Suntory PepsiCo expanded its production and business in Quang Nam through the acquisition and merger of Dien Ban in 2004 to develop more markets to meet the needs of people across the country. Since then, the Company has made continuous efforts to contribute to the development of Quang Nam province and to create jobs for hundreds of local workers. During these 6 years from 2010-2016, branches of the company in Quang Nam province contributed effectively to the state budget; with more than 300 billion VND in tax money and has been awarded 11 certificates of merit for excellent performance by carrying out tax obligations from the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Committee of Quang Nam.

In parallel with business development, the company always pays attention to the community to help and improve living standards of the people in the province. The company has coordinated with the Association for the Protection of the Disabled, Orphans and Poor patients in Quang Nam and other organizations to carry out charitable activities, such as, sponsoring hundreds of heart surgeries for poor patients, building homes for the poor, giving computers, providing scholarships for poor children, providing equipment for disabled children, building classrooms, building orphanage centers, celebrating national holidays with disadvantaged people, as well as flood relief for people in Quang Nam province. The Waterhope project - providing affordable and safe drinking water to the community in central Vietnam, officially launched in April 2013 – has brought many benefits to the local community. Currently, the project has provided clean water to more than 23,500 people, created jobs for 10 employees, supported the teaching and care of 20 poor and orphaned children, and launched 12 programs on healthcare and nutrition for 360 locals.