Mondelēz International has announced the opening of what it describes as the 'factory of the future' in the Middle East country of Bahrain.
Mondelēz invested some $90 million in the state-of-the-art biscuit manufacturing plant, which will be used to produce Oreo cookies and Barni soft cakes, as well as serve as a hub for exports to the Gulf region and a number of African states, reducing the company's logistics costs.
"The Middle East and Africa are priority markets for us," commented Maurizio Brusadelli, EVP & President, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Mondelēz International.
"We're confident in our selection of Bahrain as the preferred location for our plant, due to its business-friendly environment, skilled local workforce and excellent transport links, all of which will be instrumental to the success of our growth plans."
Investment
The site is the group's second major investment in Bahrain over the past 10 years. An adjacent manufacturing site has been producing Kraft cheese and Tang powdered beverages since 2008.
The new, 250,000 square metre manufacturing facility has production capacity of nearly 45,000 tons per year.
Commenting, Daniel Myers, Executive Vice President, Integrated Supply Chain, Mondelēz International, said that the new facility "is a great example of how we’re building a world-class supply chain, with Factories of the Future in strategic locations around the world designed to simplify operations, increase flexibility, improve productivity and meet the growth demands of our Power Brands".
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
