Robertet Flavors Completes US Facilities Expansion

The expansion reflects the company''s commitment to meeting growing demand for large-scale liquid flavor business from beverage customers, as well as supporting growth in overall flavor sales.

17 Dec 2009 --- Robertet Flavors has completed a 110,000 square foot building expansion program that significantly increases the company''s flavor manufacturing capabilities. The expansion reflects the company''s commitment to meeting growing demand for large-scale liquid flavor business from beverage customers, as well as supporting growth in overall flavor sales.

The thirty-million dollar capital investment provides Robertet with U.S.-based flavor facilities that now total 220,000 square feet. Robertet's state-of-the-art headquarters and production facility, which first became operational in 2000, is situated on a fifteen acre campus in central New Jersey, while an adjacent, 65,000 square foot facility is dedicated to powdered flavors production and dry blending operations.

The extensive increase in flavor capabilities includes equipment capable of processing an additional 70,000 gallons of liquid materials in a variety of batch sizes. Distributed among a number of emulsion, beverage base blending, and bulk storage tanks, the majority of the tanks are installed on load cells and have heating and cooling capabilities. Several of the jacketed tanks are equipped with in-line homogenizers dedicated to high-volume emulsion production.

In addition, the facilities feature greatly expanded refrigerated, frozen, and ambient warehouse storage as well as high speed packaging capabilities. Utilizing the latest production technologies, these enhanced operational capabilities will help further consolidate Robertet''s reputation for providing quality products in an efficient and highly flexible manner.

The liquid expansion, sited on the main campus, was designed to operate as a separate, self-contained building with separate utility controls, enabling each section to act as a backup production facility to the other, a key element of Robertet's business continuity planning.

"Combined with Robertet''s powdered flavors facility expansion, currently ramping up to full production on an adjacent property, the Robertet Group's commitment to the U.S. market has resulted in a near-tripling of Robertet Flavors'' production capabilities," said Mr. Peter Lombardo, President of Robertet USA.

"Complementing a number of global expansion projects, including a major building program now underway at the Robertet Group''s corporate headquarters in Grasse, France and a new facility in China, our investments at Robertet Flavors leave us well positioned to play a significant role in the growth of the U.S. flavor market," added Mr. Lombardo.