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    • From left Lukas Duursema, Siemens Country Manager for Kenya , Eric Nyakundi, Electrical Engineer at CCBA’s Embakasi plant, and Humphrey Van Der Merwe , Manufacturing Director – CCBA Kenya at the handover event
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Source: Siemens AG |

Siemens contributes to Coca-Cola Beverages Africa’s vision in advancing digitalization

Digitalization provides flexibility to boost efficiency in Food and Beverage

At Siemens we believe in investing in the long-term and creating value for our customers and the societies we operate in

NAIROBI, Kenya, October 28, 2019/APO Group/ --

Developing digitalization capabilities through skills development; Digitalization provides flexibility to boost efficiency in Food and Beverage.

The Nairobi Bottler’s Embakasi Plant based in Nairobi, Kenya, which is a fully owned subsidiary by Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), received a Totally Integrated Automation training rig from Siemens Digital Industries South Africa (www.Siemens.com) to enable skills development in Digitalization Technologies.

The training rig completed with an extensive portfolio under Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) will serve as a pivotal role in training apprentices, trainees and current employees to understand the current and future value of Food & Beverage manufacturing plant operations.  It will prepare engineers and technicians to take complete value of the latest automation solution and develop themselves for carrying out technical activities related to migration and management of S7-1500 PLC, HMIs, Servo Drives etc. This rig was configured and supplied in conjunction with International Energy Technik (IET), a local Kenyan Company and a Siemens Partner.

As Eric Nyakundi, Electrical Engineer at CCBA’s Embakasi plant, explains, “It perfectly fits into our business goals and overall strategy of capability development and asset care strategies. The bulk of our control systems are based on Siemens Products hence the direct transfer of skills and knowledge acquired in training to our manufacturing facilities. This is in in line with the new supply chain philosophy of growing and developing engineering capacity in our manufacturing facilities and the overall asset care strategy.”

Nyakundi further states, “The automation teams the machine specialists, the electrical artisans and the apprentices at CCBA will be trained on this rig. These teams are responsible for supporting the manufacturing facilities in realising the company business goals in manufacturing.

“The soft drink market is characterized by frequently changing and often short-lived trends. Soft drink manufacturers must always be able to rapidly adapt their production to new requirements – and to always work efficiently and produce optimal quality. Digitalization gives them the flexibility they need to accomplish this while also boosting energy efficiency, states Ralf Leinen, Senior Vice President for Siemens Digital Industries, Southern and Eastern Africa. Siemens and CCBA have a historic successful partnership in Africa. Digital Industries is proud to have contributed towards a fully automated solution that can assist with engineering skills.”

Siemens also created a 3D point cloud scan of the entire plant. This data from the scan can be utilized with Siemens NX platform tool to analyze and plan projects. This is a step closer towards digitalization, where engineering time will reduce thereby reducing time to market. Automation products, showcased in the rig, help in collecting the necessary data of process and packaging lines, which ultimately can value add information in the NX tool for further analysis.

“Ongoing education and training have a positive effect for both business and society. At Siemens we believe in investing in the long-term and creating value for our customers and the societies we operate in. We will continuously support CCBA’s vision in shaping their digital future,” concludes Sabine, Siemens CEO, Southern and Eastern Africa.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Siemens AG.

Media Contact:
Boitumelo Masike
Tel: + 27 83 393 0629
Email: Boitumelo.masike@siemens.com

About Siemens AG:
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) (www.Siemens.com) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of efficient power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. With its publicly listed subsidiary Siemens Healthineers AG, the company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30, 2018, Siemens generated revenue of €83.0 billion and net income of €6.1 billion. At the end of September 2018, the company had around 379,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.Siemens.com.