Coca-Cola İçecek's (CCI) chairman Tuncay Özilhan and CEO Burak Başarır evaluated the company's 2014 results, economic impact in Turkey and goals and projects for the near future. Özilhan declared that they have invested close to USD 2 billion in ten countries from 2005 to 2014 and that they plan to open three new plants in 2015 in Dushanbe-Tajikistan, Astana-Kazakhstan and Multan-Pakistan.

Özilhan said that Anadolu Group entered the non-alcoholic beverages sector in the second half of 1990s and underlined that they devoted the first 10 years to establishing the infrastructure necessary for the rapid growth of the company. Stating that they have used the following 10 years to develop expertise, Özilhan said: "We united all our country operations under the single roof of Coca-Cola İçecek and went public. We continued our growth. Following our success in Turkey, Pakistan operations joined CCI, which is one of the biggest markets within our operational geography. Our success does not occur by chance. There's a lot of human capital and strong leadership behind our success. Our executives that gain experience move on to lead other operations".

Evaluating CCI's past performance, CEO Burak Başarır said that the company quadrupled its volume and sextupled its sales revenue within the past 10 years and reached a compound annual growth rate of 15% in volume and 19% in sales revenue. Emphasizing CCI's success as the first Coca-Cola bottler to be included in the United Nations Sustainability 100 Index, Başarır stated that in 2015 the company will increase its total production capacity by 12% with the opening of three new factories in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan.

Highlighting the company's contribution to economic growth Başarır said: "We reach every corner of Turkey with 300,000 sales points spread across the country. We achieved this success as a family of 30,000 people. Today, for every job that it creates, Coca-Cola system enables 10 jobs in many different sectors in Turkey. Every TL 1 value created by Coca-Cola yields to TL 6.8 in the Turkish economy. Our operations generate income for 145,000 farmers". Başarır also emphasized that the company has contributed TL 2.7 billion to the public treasury through direct and indirect taxes within the past 10 years.

Underlining that CCI, as part of the Coca-Cola system, contributes in terms of both employment and added-value to the country's economy, Başarır further explained: "There's a huge economy behind the soft-drink bottle that one sees in the supermarket. A single bottle of Coca-Cola creates business for many sectors during its journey from the plant to our tables. Many sectors, from agriculture to energy, logistics to retail, play an important role in the production of each single bottle. To name a few examples, we can mention the development of the cooler sector, our local glass package supplier becoming a supplier for other Coca-Cola operations abroad, and the start of aluminium package manufacturing as some major examples of our significant contribution to various sectors in Turkey".

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