Mondelez International has announced plans to invest $90 million in a new biscuit plant in Bahrain in order to meet rising demand from the Middle East & Africa for biscuit brands such as Oreo, Ritz and TUC.
In a statement, Mondelez said that the planned facility would be its most advanced manufacturing site in the region, and In the initial two- to three-year phase the new plant would operate four biscuit-manufacturing lines with a total capacity of nearly 90,000 tons per year.
Daniel Myers, Mondelez Executive vice-president, Integrated Supply Chain, said: “This investment in Bahrain is part of our ongoing supply-chain reinvention plan”, adding: “We’re implementing several such initiatives around the world to capitalize on growing demand, while also reducing costs and improving productivity. We’re pleased with our progress in regions, such as Mexico and India, where we’ve already begun to invest.”
Mondelez said that its supply-chain reinvention plan was expected to deliver $3 billion in gross-productivity savings, $1.5 billion in net savings and $1 billion in incremental cash over the next three years.
“We are investing for the future and are very grateful to the government of Bahrain for its long-standing and unwavering support of our investments here,” Vishal Tikku, Mondelez’s Area Vice-President for the Middle East, speaking in a joint ceremony with Bahrain’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Hassan Fakhro. “We are seeing very rapid growth for our iconic brands across emerging markets, including the Middle East and Africa.”
Source: Mondelez / Food Business News