Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI), the soft drink division of South African Breweries (SAB), is the leading soft drink business in the SABMiller group and remains one of the largest producers and distributors of Coca-Cola brands in the southern hemisphere. It accounts for approximately 60% of Coca-Cola sales in South Africa, and with SABMiller’s combined sparkling soft drink volumes, it’s part of the top five Coca-Cola bottlers in the world.

The company’s history dates back to 1976 when it was first established in Johannesburg.

Today ABI operates primarily across the upper central region of South Africa, from the KwaZulu-Natal east coast through Gauteng, and west of Rustenburg in the North West province. Its brands are distributed in South Africa only.

Via this footprint, ABI reaches some 30 000 direct and 20 000 indirect customers on a weekly basis. These include all types of outlets: from tuck-shops and spazas, to supermarkets, restaurants and wholesalers. Supporting this reach are 3 700 employees and six world-class manufacturing plants in Phoenix (Durban), Devland (west of Johannesburg), Midrand, Pretoria, Premier and Paulpietersburg (Valpre).

ABI in Midrand is rated as the most technologically advanced manufacturing facility in the whole of Africa.

The company is an active corporate citizen, focusing mainly on HIV/AIDS awareness and people development, which includes a wide range of workplace training programmes.

www.abi.co.za