Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/725667
41 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2016 Banif credit card holder to cruise the Med! Banif Bank customers who spend €800 or more on their Banif Credit Card between 1st September and 31st December will be eligible to participate in a grand prize draw* for a seven day cruise on the Costa Fascinosa that sails from Malta to Barcelona, Marseille, Savona, Na- ples, Palermo and back to Malta. Included in the prize is a balcony cabin for two persons complement- ed with meals, drinks plus any ap- plicable taxes on the cruise accom- modation. All customers need to do is pay for purchases with their Banif Credit Card in Malta, Gozo, abroad or online, and once they spend €800 or more, they will automatically be entered in a competition to win a fantastic cruise holiday in the Med- iterranean. One participant will then be randomly selected through a computer-generated draw and asked a skill question in order to claim the prize. What's more, Banif Credit Card holders can tap into a world of op- portunities opened up by their Visa Card, which allows them to make payments and have access to their funds anywhere in the world. Key features include free travel insur- ance, free purchase protection in- surance, an interest free period on the outstanding balance of up to 51 days and automatic monthly repay- ments. These benefits, and many more, are available across the range of Banif's Cards - the Classic Credit Card, Gold Credit Card, PAVI Credit Card and Manchester Unit- ed Credit Card. Detailed information, including full terms and conditions can be found on the Bank's website www. banif.com.mt/cruise-competition. Alternatively one can contact the Bank's customer care team on 2260 1000 or visit a Banif branch. Farsons inaugurates €27 million beer packaging facility Simonds Farsons Cisk plc inau- gurated a state of the art beer packaging facility at its Brew- ery in Mrieħel following a €27 million investment. This latest investment in its operational fa- cilities enables Farsons to pro- duce and package beer and other beverages in exportable packages and so opens up new horizons for the future. The facility was inau- gurated by the Prime Minister of Malta Dr Joseph Muscat, fol- lowed by a blessing by the Arch- bishop Mons Charles J Scicluna. Farsons Group Chairman Mr Louis A Farrugia said: "This fa- cility is another important mile- stone as it makes it possible for the Group to implement its vi- sion of establishing itself as a regional player within the bev- erage sector. This major invest- ment closely follows the €12.5 million investment in the new Brewhouse, completed in 2012. Through our long-term master plan, we have replaced most of our critical operational assets in- vesting €135 million in 26 years. Now, Farsons is well placed to benefit from these investments for years to come." "Moreover, we have also invest- ed in our brands commissioning an international design agency to upgrade the packaging livery, now at par with the world's best. We have been working on devel- oping our export business over a number of years and achieving steady progress. During 2015, we exported the equivalent of four hundred 20ft containers, while the number of export markets we have managed to penetrate has continued to increase. We now cover a total of 15 countries across 5 continents. Clearly, this investment now gives us the abil- ity to extend our export reach even further, in line with our business aspirations for the fu- ture. "Our investments are not only in the plant, the infrastruc- ture and our brands but also in re-training and upskilling our workforce. It is our dedicated and committed workforce which is bringing our vision to life and enabling us to reap the benefits of our investments while re- maining a totally owned Maltese Group led by Maltese manage- ment selling Maltese brands in Malta and other markets," added Mr Farrugia. Group Chief Executive Mr Nor- man Aquilina said that the beer packaging facility has a footprint of 4,500 square metres, on three f loors, and encompasses three packaging lines: two for return- able and non-returnable glass bottles, and a canning line. The new lines will bring about im- proved quality and productivity along with increased efficiency through automation, lower en- ergy consumption and water re- duction. The project entailed the in- volvement of construction and technical expertise provided by Maltese and foreign companies coordinated by Farson's project team ably led by Chief Operating Officer, Engineer Ray Sciberras. Mr Aquilina said: "Farsons now has the impressive capacity to package 30,000 bottles and 40,000 cans per hour to high Eu- ropean standards. The extensive bottling and canning machinery originates from Europe and the United States and has arrived in no less than 90 containers. The facility also has two f loors for warehousing of all packaging materials, giving us some 57,000 cubic metres of storage space. The structure and design of this building along with the layout of the packaging plant has been built in a way to optimise on the targeted efficiency whilst also giving us the productive f lexibil- ity in terms of the different pack- aging requirements and maximi- zation of storage capacity." "While dedicating more re- sources to new product develop- ment, Farsons will remain fully aligned with the latest trends in beverage consumption. Mov- ing forward, we will continue to focus on further innovation and internationalisation of our busi- ness. This will continue to be the focus of our growth strategy. To- day marks a very important step in this direction," concluded Mr Aquilina. Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat and Farsons Group Chairman Mr Louis A Farru- gia, in the presence of Farsons Group Chief Executive Mr Norman Aquilina, press- ing the button which officially marked the inauguration of the €27 million beer packaging facility World Travel Award for Radisson Blu, Golden Sands THE Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands was presented with the awards for 'Malta's Leading Resort' and 'Malta's Leading ho- tel Suite' during the 23rd annual World Travel Awards 2016, held in Sardinia, Italy, on Sunday the 4th of September. Hotels & Resorts from around the world eagerly await the pres- tigious annual World Travel Awards, an event that acknowl- edges, rewards and celebrates ex- cellence across all the sectors of the global travel and tourism industry. Ernest Barry, Chief Operating Of- ficer, said: "Together with my team at the Resort we are very happy to have received such excellent recog- nition for the work we do. The judg- es for the Leading Resort Award assess all aspects of our operation with specific emphasis on the sat- isfaction levels of our guests. We work very hard as a team to ensure that we deliver the most memorable experience no matter the reason for visiting the resort and this award reaffirms that we are delivering a consistently outstanding service. The Leading Hotel Suite award also recognises the unique and exclusive suites at the resort as the leading ac- commodation on the Island. We are all very proud to carry the World Travel Awards seal of recognition." The World Travel Awards are voted for by travel and tourism professionals world- wide, and this accolade recog- nises the commitment to excellence which each organisation has dem- onstrated in the last twelve months. The Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Sands was also nominated for other prestigious awards in- cluding 'Malta's Leading Business Hotel', 'Malta's Leading Spa Resort' and 'Europe's Leading Hotel Suite'. Star line up for EY Conference 'The Future is Today' is the theme of this year's EY's national confer- ence to launch the Malta Attrac- tiveness Survey being held on 7 October, with an extensive line-up of over 60 speakers. Last year over 500 delegates took part and this year an even higher turnout is ex- pected. Keynote speeches will be de- livered by the Hon. Dr. Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta, Hon. Dr. Simon Busuttil, Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Pax- man, author, eminent broadcaster and journalist, and Jan Peter Balk- enende, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Prof.Jan Krzysz- tof Bielecki, former Prime Minis- ter of Poland and Chairman of the Partners Board EY Poland and Paul Brody Technology Sector Strategy Leader EY United States will also attend. A number of other speakers will also be contributing to the various discussion panels and breakout sessions. The support and partici- pation of various top-level private sector, regulatory and government representatives, as well as mem- bers of the diplomatic corps is also evidence of the calibre of this con- ference. During the event, the results of a survey carried out amongst foreign firms and investors already operat- ing in Malta will be unveiled. The delegates also benefit from sig- nificant networking opportunities with their local and foreign coun- terparts. The survey results and post-event report are subsequently widely distributed globally and showcase Malta as a forward-look- ing investment destination. This survey has become the benchmark consulted by prospective investors around the world. The event is supported by The Malta Chamber of Commerce, En- terprise & Industry, GO plc, HSBC Bank Malta plc, Malta Gaming Au- thority (MGA), ICON Studios Ltd, FinanceMalta, Konnekt Search & Selection Ltd, The Westin Drag- onara Resort, Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, Malta Freeport Corporation, Malta Stock Exchange plc, Valletta Cruise Port plc, Mizzi Motors Ltd, Malta In- vestment Management Co Ltd (Mimcol), Studio Seven Co. Ltd, Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government, Malta Indus- trial Parks Ltd, Bank of Valletta plc and Malta Enterprise. Early registration is highly rec- ommended by visiting eymaltaat- tractiveness.com