RIBBON CUTTING AT THE COCA-COLA HBC PLANT IN GAGLIANICO: INNOVATIVE SUSTAINABILITY HUB DEDICATED TO THE PRODUCTION OF RECYCLED PLASTIC BOTTLES (rPET)

An rPET PREFORM PRODUCED IN GAGLIANICO SAVES 70% CO2 COMPARED TO A VIRGIN PET PREFORM

The company is today celebrating the rebirth of its second Piedmont site, transformed by the Group's largest investment – over 30 million euros – into an innovative plant to recycle up to 30,000 tons of PET every year

Gaglianico (BI), 11 November 2022 – The Coca-Cola HBC Group, which with Coca-Cola HBC Italia is the main bottler of The Coca-Cola Company brand products in Italy, officially inaugurates today the Galianico plant for the production of recycled PET (rPET) bottles in the presence of the Regional Councilor Elena Chiorino, the Mayor Paolo Maggia, the President of Confindustria Piemonte Marco Gay and the President of the Biellese Industrial Union, Giovanni Vietti.

Thanks to an investment of over 30 million euros, the largest of the Coca-Cola HBC Group which adds to the more than 100 million euros in sustainability invested in the country in the last 10 years alone, the factory - in disuse for 8 years - has beenreconverted and converted into an innovative plant capable of transforming up to 30,000 tons of PET per year into new preforms¹ in 100% recycled PET intended for bottling the company's beverages. The site, which will eventually employ 41 employees, covers a total area of 18,000^m2 powered by 100% electricity from renewable sources, carries out 4,700 quality controls a day and has, among the first in Italy and in the world, some of the most advanced technologies to date.

PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is one of the plastics for food packaging that is 100% recyclable for several times that does not lose its basic properties during recycling and therefore reduces the need to produce additional virgin plastic material. Furthermore, according to a study commissioned by the company to IFEU (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research) and validated by Eco3, referring to the 0.66L format, the use of recycled PET also has positive implications in terms of CO2 emissions. Specifically, the lower energy demand of the technology installed in Gaglianico, together with the use of 100% electricity from renewable sources, lead to a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions in the production of the rPET preform, compared to the production of the same virgin PET preform in another plant. 

"We want to continue to invest and do our part both to move towards a real circular economy in the country and to contribute to the development of innovative projects in an area to which we are particularly attached, despite the difficulties of our sector related to the increase in the cost of raw materials and energy." - says Frank O'Donnell, General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Italia - "This renovated plant shows that giving companies the opportunity to do business and invest allows them to innovate and be more sustainable, unlike taxation which instead blocks any possibility of development."

"Today is a historic day for our territory: thanks to Coca-Cola HBC Italia for the trust and great entrepreneurial spirit shown, despite the difficulties dictated by the pandemic and taxation." – continues Elena Chiorino, Councillor for Labour of the Piedmont Region – "As the Piedmont Region we support ecology, supporting all those companies that for us already represent the first garrison to protect the environment, just as Coca-Cola HBC Italia has demonstrated by bringing employment to our territory through the Piedmont Labour Agency, an instrumental body of the Region, innovation and technology. Ours is a policy to support companies that know how to look to the future with a view to development and sustainability that is environmental, economic and social. Today represents the tangible demonstration of how Piedmont is, in fact, an attractive region and able to create the conditions to bring investments and contribute to the relaunch of our territory. Our thanks go to Coca-Cola HBC Italia which has chosen and believed in the Biella area: strengthened by this experience we will continue to push on the accelerator by working hard to attract other businesses that can guarantee a future of innovation and growth in terms of economy and employment to our Region".

"The return of Coca-Cola HBC Italia to the Gaglianico plant represents an exciting and significant moment as long as it allows us to strengthen a deep bond between the company and our community, confirming the good things built in past years on a social level." - adds Paolo Maggia, Mayor of Gaglianico - "We are proud to be able to offer the Biella area a production site with a high environmental value based on the circular economy that will be able to make a concrete contribution to the sustainable development of our nation."

The Gaglianico plant is a further confirmation of the importance of Piedmont for Coca-Cola HBC Italia, a region in which it is already present with its sales force, and the Roccaforte di Mondovì (CN) plant where Lurisia waters are bottled. A recent study by SDA Bocconi showed that, thanks to its presence in the area, the Coca-Cola2 system generates 21 million euros (0.02% of regional GDP) for families, businesses and the State, and creates more than 1,800 jobs, including related industries. These numbers are set to grow in the coming months, thanks to the new direct and indirect jobs generated by the Gaglianico plant. 

1 - By preform we mean the PET bottle (virgin or recycled) before blow molding that gives it the shape by which it is commonly known 

2 - The Coca-Cola System is composed of the companies Coca-Cola Italia, Coca-Cola HBC Italia and Sibeg