Mondelēz International has announced plans to invest £15 million (€17.1 million) into its Bournville site, in the UK.
The investment includes £11 million to create a new production line for Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets, as the company consolidates the majority of its tablet production at the site.
Production Capacity
The new line will enable the production of 125 million more large sharing bars at Bournville annually, with additional capacity for potential future growth.
In addition, £4 million has been earmarked towards increasing the chocolate making capacity at the site, to ensure sufficient chocolate mass to meet current demand and anticipate future needs.
Commenting on the announcement, Louise Stigant, UK managing director, Mondelēz International said, "it has never been more vital to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our business" amid the significant challenges facing the UK manufacturing industry.
Stigant added that the "investment will continue the modernising of our production processes at Bournville and ensure we are meeting the need for a highly efficient and robust supply infrastructure for our iconic Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets."
Improved Efficiency
This recent investment follows a total of £80 million invested into the Bournville site since 2014, aimed at improving efficiency, which lagged behind similar factories in Europe. As a result of the previous investment, efficiency rose by 30% at the site.
Roberto Gambaccini, Bournville manufacturing director, Mondelēz International credited the previous investments with making the Bournville factory "much more competitive across our manufacturing network, particularly when it comes to producing high volume products such as Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets."
Gambaccini said that he hopes that this recent investment will allow the producer to take "full advantage of the efficiencies that modernisation, and upskilling can create to continue the growth and success of the Bournville site.”
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
