Cargill furthers interest in European chocolate market
in Mouscron, Belgium thanks to a €17 million (US $20 million)
investment.
The firm believes that the development of the facility will enable it to significantly help meet the growing needs of its customers in the cocoa business.
Construction at the site will begin in early 2006 and, as well as increasing production capacity of liquid chocolate, will include a production line for solid chocolate. The development will also house a state of the art product development and application laboratory.
Cargill vice-chairman, Guillaume Bastiaens, spoke on the company's commitment to furthering its presence in the European Market:
"Our corporate strategy puts great emphasis on meeting our customers' needs and this investment will significantly help us to do so in the cocoa business, especially in the industrial chocolate sector."
Cargill is a relative newcomer to the European industrial chocolate market, entering in 2003 with the acquisition of OCG Cacao Sal. Since then facilities in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK have strengthened its position. Earlier this year the company bought an industrial chocolate facility in Klein Schierstedt, Germany.
Michel Goemaere, managing director of Cargill's chocolate business in Beligium, said:
"This investment will enhance our base product portfolio which will be a platform to further develop our value-added business. It will strengthen our chocolate offering to customers and reinforce Cargill's position as one of the most significant industrial chocolate producers in Europe."
