Guala Closures East Africa (GCEA), a screw-top manufacturer, has put in KSh 570 million to set up a factory in Nairobi.
The firm launched the Nairobi plant on Monday with the aim of eliminating fake drinks in the Kenyan Market. One out of every five goods sold in major towns in Kenya is a counterfeit.
Its new factory looks to serve local alcohol manufacturers in Kenya and East Africa, incorporating the latest technology to curb counterfeiting.
GCEA currently supplies caps to leading brands like Kenya Wine Agencies Limited (KWAL) and EABL.
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Counterfeiting haunts Kenya’s manufacturing sector. According to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, the government loses KSh 200 billion annually to counterfeits.
Moreover, illegitimate products pose a challenge to public health and security, let alone undermining the income of producers.
“GCEA closures will help fight counterfeit products in African alcohol markets which are posing a severe threat to public health, security, and the economy of the country,” said GCEA MD Sadanand Hanagodimath during the launch.
The KSh570 million plant will be it’s second in Africa, furthering Guala Closures’ globalization strategy. Previously, Guala set up a plant in Cape Town in 2012, its first one in Africa.
The company plans to double its operations in Kenya.
“For us, internationalization is a decisive and strategic growth factor. We are not stopping here, we will double the size of our production plant in Kenya and we are embarking on a new challenge in Belarus.” Said Guala Closures Group CEO Marco Giovannini.
