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

The Nairobi Bottler’s Embakasi Plant based in Nairobi, Kenya, a fully owned subsidiary by Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), received a Totally Integrated Automation training rig from Siemens Digital Industries South Africa 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. This rig was configured and supplied in conjunction with International Energy Technik (IET), a local Kenyan Company and a Siemens Partner.

Eric Nyakundi, Electrical Engineer at CCBA’s Embakasi plant, asserted that the training perfectly fit into the company’s business goals and overall strategy of capability development and asset care strategies. He added that the bulk of the plant’s control systems are based on Siemens Products hence the direct transfer of skills and knowledge acquired in training to its manufacturing facilities.

“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,” he added

“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, said Ralf Leinen, Senior Vice President for Siemens Digital Industries, Southern and Eastern Africa.

Siemens also created a 3D point cloud scan of the entire plant. 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