On June 30, 2006, Sandora, the Ukrainian juice giant, inaugurated its new plant in the Mykolaiv Oblast. It is the second Sandora plant in this Southern Ukrainian oblast and fourth in Ukraine, the other two being in the Kherson Oblast and Crimea.
Construction of the plant started in April 2005. Investments into the project, $20 million to $30 million, according to media reports, generate about 600 new jobs in addition to the company’s 3,000 current employees.
Process lines installed in the plant are for filling aseptic polyethylene tetra phthalate (PET) containers and Tetra Pak packages. Their hourly capacity at the moment of commissioning was 63,000 units; however, operating at its full rated capacity, the plant will be able to produce over 124,000 units per hour, according to Sandora General Director Serhiy Sypko cited in media reports.
The new plant features Ukraine’s only automated blending facility, where a computer stores information on juice formulation and on every product unit released, thus allowing for proper quality control/assurance as well as precise proportioning of ingredients.
A joint Ukrainian-Lithuanian venture established in 1995, TOV Sandora now has a share close to a half of the Ukrainian juice and juice products market, and is a major taxpayer. The Sandora product line also includes wine, tomato paste, and fruit and vegetable instants.
In the midst of project implementation, September 2005, Sandora took a $10 million loan from the International Finance Corporation, the “private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group,” according to an IFC press release. “IFC’s financing will support the company’s expansion strategy in the production of juices and drinks,” the press release reads. It was IFC’s second $10 million loan to Sandora.
Sources:
http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/index.php?id=4&listid=30527
http://www.unipack.ru/news_one/15453/
http://www.ukrindustrial.com/news/index.php?newsid=42457
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/pressroom/ifcpressroom.nsf/PressRelease?openform&E14DDDBC20413B2485257097005E8128
