Company Profiles - Irn Bru

History

Irn-Bru is a Scottish carbonated soft drink, for long advertised as "Scotland's other national drink" (next to Scotch whisky).It is produced in westfield Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire by A.G. Barr of Glasgow, since moving out of their original Parkhead factory in the mid-1990s, and at a second manufacturing site in Mansfield, England. In addition to being sold throughout the United Kingdom, Barr's Irn-Bru is available throughout the world and can usually be purchased where there is a significant community of people from Scotland. Innovative and sometimes controversial marketing campaigns have kept it as the number one selling soft drink in Scotland, where it competes directly with global brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

United STATES

Irn-Bru and Diet Irn-Bru have been formulated since 2002 by A.G. Barr plc to meet the regulations for food colouring of the U.S. Foo and Drug Administration (FDA). Ponceau 4R used in the UK formulation is prohibited by the FDA. Barr uses alternative food and drink colourants manufactured by a U.S. company approved by the FDA. The product labelling also meets U.S. labelling standards on nutritional information and bar code. Compliant Irn-Bru is solely imported by Great Scot International in Charlotte, North Carolina, who supplies distributors and retailers throughout the U.S. It is only supplied in 500 mL

By Mark and John

Company Profiles - Starbucks

 15 million people in Ethiopa depend on the coffee sector; this generates 60 % of the wealth. So starbucks keep them afloat.






 Starbucks helped differentiate Ethiopan coffee from coffees from other countries. It strengths their confidence of the coffee growing and exporters of the country.





 This means theres an increasing demand for Ethiopian coffee in the worldwide market.





 Increases the income and living stanards of the coffee producers.





 Increased the price of coffee.





 Starbucks have increased the amount theyre paying for the coffee beans by 60% to help them out.





 Through Fairtrade the small-holder families and farmers can get better incomes for their hardwork.





 This allows their children a good opportunity to go to school. And hold onto their land.





 For every coffee they sell a litle profit goes to the Fair Trade. When other major companies would not.

By Laura, Alanah and Rebecca

Company Profiles - Nike

Who are Nike?

Nike is an International Corporation

They make a whole load of sportswear and trainers.

Although they are an American based company, most of their goods are made in sweatshops in developing countries.

Where are the Sweatshops Located?

Most of Nike’s sweatshops are located in the following countries;

South Korea

Vietnam

Taiwan

China

Indonesia

Sweatshops

Within China and Vietnam, the workers in the sweatshops are forbidden from forming independent trade unions.

This helps Nike out as it means there are no groups or organisations fighting for better rights on behalf of the workers.

The Reason For Sweatshops

These sweatshops save Nike a lot of money due to the very lenient labour laws in the chosen countries.

Due to these laws, Nike were able to force 8 year old kids to work a nine hour shift making trainers and goods for the European market.

Nike are currently working alongside the governments of these countries to make labour laws stricter.

By Craig

Company Profiles: Rio Tinto

Rio Tino is a UK/Australian mining firm with headquarters in London and Melbourne. It was formed in 1873 by a UK-led buyout of a Spanish firm by Scottish industrialist Hugh Matheson

The company has made many takeovers over the years and is focused on mining iron ore, copper, gold, diamonds, uranium and coal. It operates on six continents and first struck it lucky in Spain and then later in Rhodesia.

Rio Tinto's turnover is somewhere in the region of $60 billion with a net profit of around $15 billion.

The firm was recently embroiled in a spy scandal involving its biggest customer: China. Four Rio Tinto employees were arrested in Shanghai on charges of corruption and industrial espionage in July 2009. One of the employees was accused of bribery during contract talks. Rio Tinto and China seem to have put all this behind them as it was announced Rio Tinto has signed a joint venture with the state owned Chinese Chinalco organisation based in Beijing to search for copper.

Environmentalists have been concerned with Rio Tinto's activities in Indonesia, in particular the Grasberg Mine, which greens have said has vastly damaged the local environment, something denied by Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto has also been plagued with disputes with workers of late ranging from Papua New Guinea to California and indeed Australia itself. Criticisms levelled at the firm are that it has ignored trade union legislation and also show a disregard for human rights. Eventually in the case of Papua New Guinea Rio Tinto lost out to people power in what was called the Coconut Revolution.

Rio Tinto's influence and reach is massive. It is a firm to keep an eye on and perhaps invest in if one ever has any money!