Mr. Vivek Chhabra, President of Thai Drinks Co., Ltd. and President of Sermsuk Public Company Limited, said, "Crystal plans to extend our production capacity to fully cover all regions of the country within 2017 to meet high market demand for quality drinking water. We are starting with the Northeastern region, one of Sermsuk's strategic priorities, due to the area's high demand for drinking water, proven with 28% sales growth for Crystal over the previous year. Crystal is one of the key brands in the ThaiBev Group that will drive significant growth for our healthier beverage portfolio. The continual growth has resulted in Sermsuk's plant in Nakorn Ratchasima producing Crystal at full capacity. Through our synergy with the ThaiBev Group, Sermsuk is opening a new Crystal production line at the Kankwan Factory in Khon Kaen's Nam Pong district. Located in the central part of Northeastern Thailand, it is well positioned to refresh consumers, especially in the upper Northeast provinces, with high-quality Crystal drinking water even fresher, faster, and closer to home. This location is also a major hub for many modern trade distribution centers, so products can be delivered to consumers faster."
The new production line employs state-of-the-art, world-class technology. Sermsuk ensured that the design is completely environmentally friendly, starting from the concept through to the bottle forming stage. The production for the new PET bottles will use 20% less energy and 8.7% less plastic. which will reduce the total quantity of plastic used by 43,200 kilograms each year. The Kankwan facility also meets the strict certification requirements of the NSF international production standard as well as many other quality standards and all local regulations. Bottling and distributing Crystal in the Northeast will enable Sermsuk to fully utilize its production capacity and manage distribution costs more efficiently.
Crystal launches new PET packaging design in the Northeast
Mr. Chhabra said, "We are celebrating the new production line by launching a new packaging design for Crystal's complete line of PET bottles. Being introduced to consumers in the Northeast as the first region in Thailand, the new PET packaging design gives the bottle the sparking look of actual crystal, reflecting its high quality and inspiring consumers to grab a Crystal and go. The new packaging design features a pattern of an outstanding illuminated crystal stone that accentuates its dimensions and reflects a more modern brand image. The bottle also highlights Crystal's NSF certification, which clearly assures consumers that they are choosing drinking water that meets the highest certification standards.
"We are confident that the extension of our production capacity, including the start-up of new Crystal production lines to cover all regions in Thailand within 2017 and a new PET packaging design, will increase Crystal's strength in product distribution, brand popularity, and sales nationwide. This will contribute to our ability to grow Crystal's total market share while paving the way to achieving the leadership position in the Thai drinking water market. This will also drive sustainable growth for Thai Bev's non-alcohol beverage portfolio, which will make a major contribution to meeting ThaiBev's Vision 2020 goals," concluded Mr. Chhabra.