production Cocoa
Lindt & Sprüngli has announced a £60.3 million (CHF 74 million) into the expansion of its cocoa mass plant in Olten, Switzerland.
Meeting market demand
L
indt & Sprüngli is strengthening its commitment to Switzerland as its home base by investing, yet again, in the expansion of capacity at its production facility in Olten. By 2024, around 74 million Swiss francs will have been
invested into the expansion of the Lindt Cocoa Centre, which manufactures cocoa mass for all Lindt production plants in Europe.
Construction works have begun and marks the first significant milestone for this major project. As a long-standing Swiss company with a history going back more than 175 years, Lindt & Sprüngli is deeply committed to Switzerland as a business location and invests continuously in the expansion of its three sites in Kilchberg, Olten and Altendorf. Cocoa mass has been manufactured in Olten for the Lindt brand
since 1991, initially exclusively for the production facility in Kilchberg near Zurich. Now, the significance of the plant in Olten for the Lindt & Sprüngli Group has increased, evolving into the largest and most important cocoa mass plant within the global production network. Lindt & Sprüngli is one of the few major manufacturers to produce
chocolate from “bean to bar”. This begins with the purchase of the cocoa beans, continues with the production of its own cocoa mass, and ends with refining this into premium chocolate. The Olten facility plays a key role. All European production facilities are supplied with Swiss cocoa mass from Olten. The cocoa mass delivered from Olten then undergoes
32 Kennedy’s Confection December 2021
further processing and refinement, to rigorous Swiss manufacturing standards, at the production facilities in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France. Marco Peter, CEO of Lindt & Sprüngli Switzerland, commented: “The
expansion and modernisation of the Lindt Cocoa Centre will enable us to increase the capacity of the plant by 50% from 2024 and to keep pace with anticipated market demand. “Together with the last expansion in 2018, a total of over 100 million Swiss francs will have been invested in the Olten facility within a very short period.” The focus for 2021 was on the additional expansion of production and of production-related areas at the plant. The expansion includes new production lines, a new loading bay
for cocoa mass, a state-of-the-art laboratory, and the redesign of the plant’s administrative offices. This is expected to significantly alter and influence the exterior design of the plant. In addition, optimised plant logistics regarding inbound and outbound deliveries will lead to an improvement in the flow of traffic using the public infrastructure around the plant premises. Dieter Weisskopf, CEO of the Lindt & Sprüngli Group, added: “Our
new investment of around CHF 74 million is evidence of our firm commitment to Switzerland as a business location. The new capacity provided by the plant’s expansion into an ultramodern and efficient cocoa mass production facility will thus secure the long-term supply of all the production sites in Europe and the future growth of the Lindt & Sprüngli Group as a whole.”
KennedysConfection.com
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