BIGGA bottler Wisynco has unveiled ambitious plans to beat the high cost of energy in Jamaica so that it can compete internationally, particularly in Trinidad and the US.

The company is investing US$6.1 million ($535 million), much of it on more efficient equipment at its plant in White Marl, Spanish Town, and is looking at building a 20-megawatt solar power farm nearby.

The new machinery includes a ¤1 million ($110 million) stretch-blow moulder from the French company Sidel that will use 40 per cent less energy to melt plastic and 30 per cent less to blow it into bottle shapes.

The moulder, the first of its kind, will make 31,500 bottles per hour in 14 moulds, compared to 28,000 on the existing machines, said Devon Reynolds, the director of manufacturing.

Wisynco is close to producing 10 million cases (typically with 24 bottles each) per year even before the new equipment arrives.

The company has identified a 40-acre site for its solar farm across the Rio Cobre and plans to approach the Government and JPS to let it feed excess electricity into the grid during the day so that it can draw down power at night, since it operates around the clock.

However, new legislation may be necessary before that project can go ahead.

It is also looking at a co-generation scheme, using a liquid propane gas generator to both power its chilled water system and produce carbon dioxide, which, after being purified, would make the bubbles in its soft drinks.

A dedicated diesel generator currently makes the CO2.

The investment will include an expanded biological waste-water treatment plant to purify water — used to clean the equipment — before it is released into the environment. It is due to be comissioned by October.

Methane from the treatment plant will be used to power a boiler that dries the filled bottles to get rid of condensation before they are labelled.

Water for the beverages is drawn from wells on site.

Managing director William Mahfood said the investment will not only expand the company’s capacity — adding 100 jobs — but will help it to compete with rivals in Trinidad which enjoy much lower energy costs.

The company will also be building its presence in the US market, having recently signed a deal with Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery, whose president and CEO, Lowell Hawthorne, won last year’s Jamaica Observer Business Leader Award.

Beverages make up half of Wisynco’s earnings, and 70 per cent of that comes from its four domestically developed brands Wata and Cran Wata, energy drink Boom, and its flagship soft drink, Bigga.

International brands such as Coke fill out its drinks portfolio.