Confectionary giant Mondelēz International has inaugurated a new pilot plant for driving research and innovation in gum and candy products at its global technical centre in Wroclaw, Poland.
The company has invested $5 million (€4.4 million) in the new plant, which is expected to create around 50 new jobs.
Innovation Hub
The new addition is a part of the company’s previously announced $65 million (€57.3 million) investment in R&D hubs, which are strategically positioned around the globe.
Vice-president RDQ for biscuits and gum and candy in Mondelēz International, Kevin Powell, said, “With this new investment, we will be able to surprise and delight our consumers and shoppers with exciting new combinations of technologies, formats, fillings and much more.”
The technical centre in Wroclaw already serves as an R&D hub for a wide range of products, including iconic global and local brands including Oreo, belVita, Milka, Cadbury Dairy Milk, and Toblerone.
'Important Market'
The executive vice-president of research at Mondelēz, Rob Hargrove, said, “Poland is one of our most important markets in Central Europe, with an impressive manufacturing network, and Wroclaw is a modern city that’s open to investments.
"Embedding one of our largest Technical Centres here clearly signals the importance of Poland and Europe within our global R&D network.”
The Wroclaw centre is spread across an area of 12,500 square metres, and comprises large pilot plants, as well as analytical and sensory labs for experimenting with new ideas.
It employs more than 200 experts including scientists, engineers and other specialists from 28 counties across the world.
Mondelēz International has ten other technical centres in East Hanover, New Jersey, in the United States; Curitiba in Brazil; Bournville and Reading in the UK; Thane in India; Singapore and Suzhou in China; Saclay in France; and Munich in Germany.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
