Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism visits ABL, voltic Ghana

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism has called on the management of Accra Brewery Limited and Voltic Ghana Limited, both subsidiaries of SABMiller Plc to enable members to familiarize with operations of the brewing industry.

Mr. Gregory Metcalf, Managing Director, took the delegation through a detailed background and history of the brewery and some of the projected plans of the two companies, a statement from the companies said.

Mr. Metcalf said despite difficult times in the past, Accra Brewery was able to persevere, bringing it to its present state.

SABMiller acquired Accra Brewery in 1997, and in 2008 acquired Voltic Ghana Limited, the leading bottled mineral water company in Ghana.

Currently, the two companies employ about 900 people on a permanent basis, while providing indirect employment to 17,600 income earners in the agriculture, industry, trade, transport and commerce sectors.

Mr. Metcalf also talked about Accra Brewery’s newly installed Chibuku Shake-Shake commercial plant, with a capacity of 100,000 hectolitres, which was commissioned in March this year.

He described Chibuku Shake-Shake as an opaque beer and emphasized that it is brewed from locally grown maize and sorghum. He also mentioned the brewery’s readiness to invest and expand further in Ghana.

The members of the committee sampled the Chibuku Shake-Shake brand and were then taken on a tour of the brewery. This gave them the opportunity to acquire first-hand knowledge of the processes in producing the various brands and see the new Chibuku Shake-Shake commercial plant.

Mr Isaac Osei, Member of Parliament for Subin and the Ranking Member of the committee, was enthusiastic about the proposed new investments by Accra Brewery and Voltic Ghana.

He said it was gratifying to note that after several years of difficulty, Accra Brewery had managed to become market leader with a modern manufacturing plant.

“All in all, I think the two companies are very impressive, especially the skills training they offer their staff. We hope other companies can emulate the things being done by Accra Brewery and Voltic Ghana,” he added.