No Fata Morgana

A huge wall circled the site on the outskirts of Tripolis. Jalal Husni Bei, Junior Manager at Rauch’s partner in Libya honked the car horn twice. The huge gate opened, the car moved forward, and Jürgen Rauch was gobsmacked. There stood an entire fruit juice factory and two new buildings, including used bottling plants.

Rauch had often discussed the idea of production in Libya with the long-term importer. It would certainly make sense. Rauch juices were hugely popular in Libya and a plant would be capable of producing the required quantities. But there were always good reasons to say no … And now the Libyan partner had simply done it himself.

But it's not that easy to make quality juice. During a tour of the plant, Jürgen Rauch indicated some shortcomings in the system to his partner. “We definitely can't use that for bottling”. But Rauch doesn't bail on its long-term partners. Both men agreed that specialists from Rauch would help to get the factory off the ground in line with the usual quality expectations. And then it would be possible for Rauch to invest.

But in 2011 civil war unfolded in Libya. With the help of a mighty army, the dictator Gadhaffi was overthrown by the people. However, the end of the conflict didn't result in a stable, peaceful government, but rather the land has been divided ever since ... Despite this difficult and dangerous climate, Rauch kept its end of the bargain and together with its partner in Libya it established production in Libya. In 2013 a courageous team launched licensed production.