Soft-drinks manufacturer Kofola CeskoSlovensko has been fighting “wild water” that has impacted production at its plants in the Czech Republic.
In recent days, central Europe has been hit by torrential rain that has caused significant flooding across the region, as well as deaths in Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic.
The flooding has affected Kofola’s Czech production facilities in Opava, Krnov, Hanušovice and Litovel.
“We have taken maximum measures to minimise damage at all locations, for which I would like to thank all our people very much. Although we were well prepared in advance, more than a century of water hit Krnov, which strongly affected the lives of our employees and, of course, did not avoid our production plant and warehouses either,” Kofola CEO Jannis Samaras said.
“The water level in Krnov reached a higher limit than in the dramatic year 1997 when my father and I were sitting on the roof of the factory.”
Samaras said all Kofola staff are “well”, according to reports he has received.
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By GlobalDataKofola is pumping out water from its factory in Krnov, which is its largest production facility. The company is trying to start the backup power plant for the site because the energy supply in the town of Krnov has been damaged. As of yesterday (16 September), the town was without power.
The group’s site further west in Hanušovice, which houses its Holba brewery, was also “largely under water” during the flood, although water did not damage production equipment.
“It is premature to summarise now the damage caused by the flood to our individual locations. However, we believe that the most dramatic moments are behind us,” Samaras said.
Kofola has indicated that it is able to cover and ship the “vast majority” of products from another production in Hradiště in the Czech Republic and from Slovakia.
The company’s portfolio includes its flagship carbonated beverages Kofola and Vinea, as well as its water brands Radenska, Studenac and Rajec.
Kofola has 11 production plants across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia and Croatia. It employs roughly 2,000 staff.
Last year, Kofola entered beer with the acquisition of local brewer Pivovary CZ Group for an undisclosed sum.
The deal allowed the soft drink producer to branch out into the beer market, which Kofola has said is a “stable segment” with room for growth in export markets.
