Mondelez International: £75million Investment Opportunity For Historic Bournville Site
24 Jan 2014 --- Mondelez International announced £75m of potential new investment for the Bournville manufacturing site in Birmingham, with the aim of securing the next generation of chocolate manufacturing at Bournville.
This investment in four state-of-the-art new lines will reinforce Bournville’s position at the heart of the British chocolate industry, making it the best place in the world for the production of chocolate bars like Cadbury Dairy Milk. It will also modernise and improve the site’s capability in manufacturing iconic assortments brands like Cadbury’s Roses and Heroes – the first significant new investment in assortments manufacturing for thirty years.
Securing the £75 million investment depends on a successful conclusion to the employee consultation being announced. This will focus on improving capabilities, reducing costs and changes to ways of working that, combined with the investment, will help to close the competitiveness gap between Bournville and its competitors as well as sister factories in Germany and Western Europe.
The aim is to secure Bournville’s long term future by enabling it to compete more effectively with manufacturing facilities in other European markets.
Under the plans developed by the leadership team at Bournville and approved by Mondelez International:
- Mondelez International will invest in the creation of four state-of-the-art new lines.
- Two of the new lines will be in assortments, providing the most significant investment in assortments manufacturing in 30 years.
- There will be two new lines for chocolate bar production with space to grow further, replacing existing out-of-date lines.
This new investment builds on an initial £33m investment announced in 2011, and on a range of existing initiatives to cut costs and improve competitiveness.
As a next step to a more competitive manufacturing operation, the leadership team at Bournville will consult with employees to agree ways of working changes that aim to:
- Bring everyone at Bournville together to improve competitiveness
- Identify ways to work more flexibly so that the site is more responsive to changing customer and consumer demand
- Invest in training and development to equip people with the skills and capabilities required
Neil Chapman, Manufacturing Director Chocolate UK, Mondelez International, said:
“Bournville has a proud manufacturing heritage and we are committed to ensuring it continues and
becomes a world class manufacturing site. This investment would secure the site’s future for the
next generation.
“The competitiveness gap we have identified means we are already missing out on important
opportunities to grow. Through our consultation, we want to hear as many ideas as possible from
our employees on how, alongside our £75 million investment, we achieve improvements that boost
competitiveness, thereby securing the next generation of manufacturing at Bournville.”
Maurizio Brusadelli, President of the UK and Ireland at Mondelez International, said: “This
substantial investment in Bournville manufacturing will strengthen the competitive advantage of the
facility on an international level, and will deliver a strong platform for developing our people and
skills for the future. It will also contribute to the company’s strategic goals of driving growth and
improving margins.”
