SIDEL AND HARISS INTERNATIONAL ENDEAVOURS TO QUENCH UGANDA'S THIRST

Committed to quenching the thirst of Ugandan's with quality and affordable soft drinks, Hariss International Limited (http://rihamgroup.com), the leading African producer of mineral water and soft drinks has added two new complete PET lines from Sidel (http://sidel.com), a global provider of liquid packaging solutions.

The two lines will be operational by November 2014 and January 2015 respectively and are expected to increase the company's market share as well as reduce its cost of production.

The PET lines comes complete with Combi14 machines, as well as Starblend mixers, Alfa roll fed labeling, GeboCermex packers, Twin Pack handle applicators, GeboCermex bottle conveyors, accumulation tables, and bottle aligners.

Previously, Sidel has designed four different preform shapes for Hariss International Limited's injection machines, in addition to creating unique bottle designs which have differentiated the company's brand.

Harris International Ltd chose to get additional business from Sidel due to their extensive history together and the company's knowledge on bottle and line design and optimization.

The addition of the two new lines will help the company remain competitive in the market that has over the last two decades been dominated by two manufacturers.

"High levels of quality and consistency are the keys to success in the beverage industry," said Andrews Ruben, Managing Director of Hariss International Ltd. "Sidel's extensive knowledge and support on bottle and preform designing and optimization has allowed us to further implement these qualities into our products and maintain the position of a leading player in the Ugandan market."

Hariss International Ltd was incorporated in 2005 with the intent to providing biscuits, mineral water, CSDs and still products for the Ugandan market under the "Riham" brand name.

The company is located in the prime location in Kawempe, Kampala and has employed over 1,500 Ugandans directly and indirectly.

Since its inception, the company has significantly invested into the expansion of its facilities to produce CSDs and still products, which include non-alcoholic malt drinks and aseptically packed fruit juices.

"As one of the leading companies in liquid packaging solutions, we are proud to assist Hariss International Ltd with their expansion in production," said Georgios Diakakis, Regional Commercial Manager at Sidel.

Considering the 31 percent increase in the consumption of soft drinks in Uganda since 2008, Diakakis said they not only understand the need for expansion, but also believe they are fully capable of delivering the means necessary for their partner to cope with the increasing demand.

The outlook for the beverage market in Uganda is positive and poised to grow further. The consumption of soft drinks reached 199.6 million liters in 2013, a 6.6 percent growth from the previous year. All major categories in the soft drinks market also showed robust growth in both volume and value.