F&N launches RM31.5m UHT line in Kuching

PETALING JAYA: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&NHB) has launched a new RM31.5 million ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing line at its plant in Kuching to meet growing demand in East Malaysia.
In a statement yesterday, F&NHB said the first-of-its-kind UHT line in Sarawak, will allow the group to capture increasing demand with an added capacity of 3.4 million cases a year.
The group CEO Lim Yew Hoe said the new line will better position the group to serve the local market and improve its environmental footprint.
“Localising production has always been an integral focus for the F&N Group as it enables us to be part of the local community. This indirectly helps us to better understand the needs of our customers in the local market.
“Furthermore, with a plant in Kuching, we can minimise the need to ship finished goods from Peninsula Malaysia which will substantially reduce our carbon footprint,” he added.
The group said the investment towards the line was part of over RM300 million capital expenditure budgeted for two years to ensure the sustainability of the group’s business for the future.
The new line is expected to offer the group an estimated annual savings of RM2.8 million in logistics cost over the next decade, it added.
“Within this small 7.4-acre site, we have a carbonated soft drink (CSD) canning line, a CSD polyethylene terephthalate (PET) line, a cordial line, a bag-in-box (BIB) line and now we have a brand new UHT line,” Lim said.