Al Rabie Saudi Foods Co Ltd., a producer of dairy products and juices in Saudi Arabia, has announced it will invest $50 million on an expansion project.
The company said the expansion will raise the production volume from the current level of 250 million litres to 750 million litres.
Al Rabie said the expansion would utilise state-of-the-art equipment and help double consumption of the company’s products.
“The investment sustains the momentum of Al Rabie’s strong performance in 2008, which was highlighted by a 10 per cent increase in demand for the company’s products,” it said, adding it was able to penetrate new markets such as the US and Venezuela.
“We shall also be coordinating closely with our partners such as Tetra Pak to further improve our commodities,” said Monther Al Harthi, Al Rabie’s general manager.
Included in the company’s 2009 agenda is the strengthening of ties with long-term partner Tetra Pak. Al Rabie will coordinate with the Swedish food processing and packaging company in the development of new packaging and bottling technologies and designs. Al Rabie was the first dairy and juice company in the Middle East and the third internationally to use TetraPak’s Tetra Prisma aseptic packaging.
Al Rabie was founded in 1980. Its home base, Saudi Arabia, currently accounts for almost 70 per cent of the Gulf’s food and beverages sector.  The company expects to benefit from an expansion programme it initiated in 2008 which involved enhanced distribution particularly into non-traditional channels.