Western Cuba opens state-owned MSMEs with bottled water line

HAVANA, Cuba, August 5 (ACN) With the start of production of bottled water in 330-milliliter formats, the state-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) El Copey S.U.R.L. officially began operations in the municipality of Madruga, in the western province of Mayabeque, the first entity of its kind in that western territory.

According to the Mayabeque newspaper today, this transformation responds to an instruction from Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who, during a visit to the province promoted the conversion of the former Porfirio Ruiz Seco Base Business Unit into a Limited Liability Single-Person Commercial Company to strengthen the autonomy, flexibility, and responsiveness of the local industry.

The new entity, attached to the Beverage and Soft Drink Company (Ember), produces natural mineral water and soft drinks in different formats and flavors under the Tinajito, Fronda, and Fresquito brands.

El Copey has working capital and raw materials to produce six months, stated Nestor Lorenzo Lazo, general manager of Ember in Mayabeque.

He explained that the company started with a line of water purchased in China and still uses the El Copey brand, to highlight the identity of the area, which is rich in trees bearing this name, and to pay tribute to Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, who drank the crystalline waters.

The company produces natural mineral water, or Copey table water, from a pipeline approximately three kilometers long, which passes through modern ozone technology for processing and purification, built for 2024.

It has Italian machinery that allows it to package up to 16,000 bags of soda daily.

In addition, Ember plans to install solar panels to cover the plant's electricity consumption and contribute energy to the National Electric System. In the long term, an international economic partnership is being considered that could attract foreign investment and boost the state's development.