NETHERLANDS – Swedish confectionery and nuts company Cloetta is planning a new manufacturing plant at an undisclosed location in the Netherlands as part of efforts to transition to environmentally friendly manufacturing.

The company said the new “sustainable greenfield facility” will enable growth and accelerate the expansion of its margins.

Construction work on the new facility will start next year and the new site is expected to be fully operational in 2026, Cloetta revealed.

The new facility is expected to replace three existing factories -two in the Netherlands and one in Belgium – which the company plans to shut down once the new facility enters production.

The Sweden-based owner of the Candyking and The Jelly Bean Factory brands revealed that about 350 employees would be affected by the closure of the factories. 

Cloetta said the majority of staff will be offered a position in a new facility which, according to a company spokesperson, will be situated close to its existing facilities in the Netherlands.

The company said the new “sustainable greenfield facility” will enable growth and accelerate the expansion of its margins.

It suggested this change – which follows a review of its manufacturing network – would generate additional annual EBIT in the range of SEK160-180m (US$16-18 million).

Cloetta said the new facility will also reduce the company’s greenhouse emissions and will support its recently unveiled sustainability agenda which aims to lower the company’s carbon emissions by 30%.

Henri de Sauvage-Nolting, CEO of Cloetta, said: “The start of the manufacturing modernisation programme we announced today underscores our determination to become a world-class food tech company.

“A modern production facility would provide a setting for high-quality and competitive confectionery manufacturing as well as opportunities for future expansion.”

Nolting further noted that such an investment would enable significant progress towards Cloetta’s long-term profitability target and our commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative.

“At the same time, these potential changes would impact many of our colleagues and we are committed to supporting them in this transition,” he added.

Cloetta said the overall program would incur capital expenditures, including capitalized interest, of approximately SEK 2.5 billion (US$250 million) over the coming four years.

Other costs include impairments of up to SEK100m (US$10m) net of sales of assets and non-recurring cost in the range of SEK 300 to 350 million (US$30 to 35 million).

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