Obolon CJSC becomes a co-owner of the Okhtyrka Brewery JSC The company was the first in Ukraine to receive a $40 million loan from EBRD without a government guarantee. The money is used to finance core strategic programs.
OBOLON CJSC is the industry’s first enterprise to receive an international certificate for ISO-9001 Quality Management System version 1994, which confirms the high level of all processes and capability of a Ukrainian enterprise to make world-class products.
Nyva Obolon Scientific and Production Association is established in Chemerivtsi, Khmelnytsky Region, which from then on is involved in selective work, breeding, testing, commercial propagation of seeds of promising barley varieties, and provides Obolon CJSC with high-quality raw materials.
Zhyvchyk soft drink enters the market and promptly wins wide public recognition. It is made from natural raw materials only. Later, other manufacturers followed this example and started production of juice-containing beverages.
New types of products are released: «2000» beer, Cola Nova, Obolon Orange A. C. E. soft drinks.
OBOLON CJSC affirms high organization of the corporate quality management system and obtains a certificate of the ISO-9001 standard version 2000. The production of Zhyvchyk Unique soft drink containing fructose instead of sugar is started.
In order to reduce environmental load, a PET bottle recycling plant with capacity of 500 kg/hour was commissioned in Oleksandria, Kirovograd Region.
The OBOLON brand is recognized as a «Golden Trademark».
With the launch of the new Europe’s largest bottling line with maximum capacity of 110 000 bottles per hour, the OBOLON plant is ranked among three largest brewing plants of Europe. A new brewing system is put into operation. The Company invested as much as $18 million in this large-scale project. The new brewing system is equipped with three mash-mixing vessels, wort boiler, whirlpool and the largest lauter tank in Ukraine, with a diameter reaching 11.5 m A new youth brand, Hike Premium, goes on the market. Limited production of Hike Premium is used for the first time as an innovative approach within the brand strategy.
Oleksandr Slobodyan, President of OBOLON CJSC, heads the «TOP-100. Best top managers of Ukraine» rating. OBOLON CJSC wins the All-Ukrainian contest for «Best Employer of the Year» within the group of enterprises employing 1001 to 5000 people. A new trademarks, «Desant» beer and «Prozora» drinking water, were introduced to the market.
OBOLON is recognized as one of the best taxpayers of Kyiv. A new brewing system and filling lines with capacity of 39 000 b/h (PET bottles), 50 000 b/h (glass bottles) and 60 000 cans/h (0.5l, 0.33l and 0.25l aluminum cans) are put into operation.