Major investment of $200 million into Mondelēz Czech biscuit factory
Mondelēz International has confirmed it has made ongoing investments totalling $200 million over the past four years into enhancing its biscuit manufacturing facility at Opava, in the Czech Republic.
The site employs around 1,000 people, and produces some of its core brands including Oreo, belVita, Milka and Cadbury, targeting the European market.
According to the company, its Czech investment in the follows in a 50-year tradition at the location, and is part of the company’s strategy of growth and enhancement of supply chains.
The business has also appointed Luca Zaramella, senior vice president of corporate finance as its executive vice president and chief financial officer from August.
He will oversee the company’s global finance, information and technology solutions and shared services functions, reporting to Dirk Van de Put, chairman and chief executive officer. In addition, he will be a member of the Mondelēz International leadership team.
Zaramella will replace Brian Gladden, who will leave the company after ten years as a public company CFO to pursue an opportunity outside of the sector.
“The investment in our Opava plant is a great example of our global effort to build a world-class supply chain that reduces complexity and increases flexibility while being cost-conscious,” said Daniel Myers, executive vice president, integrated supply chain.
“We’re focused on winning with our consumers and customers, and we’re becoming a more nimble organisation as we simplify and modernise our operations and production capacity for today and the future,” added the senior executive, who said its changes would help the company become more efficient, and also enable it to make essential investments in its brands and workforce.
“Our growth story in Europe continues thanks to the investments we have made in Opava, one of the most modern factories in our network and a leading producer of biscuits for our European markets,” said Hubert Weber, executive vice president and president, Mondelēz Europe.
He noted that several of the company’s biscuit brands, including Oreo, Milka, Cadbury, TUC and Chips Ahoy!, grew revenue double digits in Europe last year.
Weber added: “The five state-of-the-art manufacturing Lines of the Future installed here have enabled us to improve the speed, efficiency, effectiveness and quality of our biscuit production, while improving competitiveness in the European market.
“The modern production lines enable us to meet growing demand from European consumers for our power brands, while other factories in our network continue to produce the local and regional heritage brands that consumers have loved for generations. In all cases, we apply the same high standards for quality and taste, as well as ensuring we reduce our impact on the environment.”
