Cargill to Develop Industrial Chocolate Facility at Mouscron, Belgium

05/12/05 Cargill is to invest €17 million (US$20 million) in its OCG industrial chocolate plant in Mouscron, Belgium.

Construction at the site is to begin in the first quarter of 2006 and will significantly increase the facility’s production capacity of liquid chocolate. When completed, the investment will also include a production line for solid chocolate such as flakes, drops, chunks and other inclusions and establish a state-of-the-art product development and application laboratory.

Following a meeting with the mayor of Mouscron, Guillaume Bastiaens, vice-chairman of Cargill, said: “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. As Belgium is in the heart of Europe and is central to our European chocolate production facilities, Mouscron is the obvious choice for such an investment.”

Cargill first entered the European industrial chocolate market in December 2003 with the acquisition of OCG Cacao SA. Earlier this year, Cargill acquired an industrial chocolate facility in Klein Schierstedt, Germany, to further strengthen its presence in the European chocolate market and the company now boasts a network of facilities in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK.

Construction at the Mouscron site is due to be finalised by the end of 2006 and once completed, it will create employment for an additional 25 people.

Michel Goemaere, managing director of Cargill’s chocolate business in Belgium, 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.”