Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company opens Global Innovation Center

15/09/05 Affirming the Wrigley Company's ongoing commitment to long-term growth and strategic innovation, Bill Wrigley, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, marked the official opening of the Company's Global Innovation Center on Chicago's Goose Island.

The world-class facility, located on the northern tip of Chicago's Goose Island, will serve as the nerve center of the global confectioner's commitment to innovate, diversify and meet the needs of future generations of consumers.

The 153,000 square-foot main building houses flexible laboratory and office space to maximize collaboration and the ability to support new projects and equipment as needed; immediately adjacent to the east is a 40,000 square- foot pilot plant. Wrigley estimated total investment in the facility at $45 million to date.

Over the past four years, the contribution from new products has averaged nearly 20% of Wrigley's global sales, up significantly from the 5-6% rate of the late 1990's. As a result of this activity and other strategic business moves, the Company's sales growth has averaged 12% since 1999, more than double the rate of the previous five-year period.

The Wrigley Company is a recognized leader in the confectionery field and the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of chewing gum, with global sales of more than $4.0 billion. The Company markets its world-famous brands in more than 180 countries. Three of these brands - Wrigley's Spearmint®, Juicy Fruit®, and Altoids® - have heritages stretching back more than a century. Other brands include Doublemint®, Life Savers®, Big Red®, Boomer®, Pim Pom®, Winterfresh®, Extra®, Freedent®, Hubba Bubba®, Orbit®, Excel®, Creme Savers®, Eclipse®, Airwaves®, Alpine®, Solano®, Sugus®, Cool Air®, and P.K. ®.

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