FDBusiness.com

Mondelēz International has invested $200 million since 2014 in its Czech Republic-based Opava biscuit manufacturing facility, which employs nearly 1,000 people and produces Power Brands like Oreo, belVita, Milka and Cadbury, for the European market. The investment builds on Opava’s proud heritage of more than a century as a biscuit-making centre and supports the company’s global growth strategy to create a best-in-class integrated supply chain and to deliver consumer-inspired quality and innovation that meet changing consumer preferences.

“The investment in our Opava plant is a great example of our global effort to build a world-class supply chain that reduces complexity and increases flexibility while being cost-conscious,” says Daniel Myers, Executive Vice President, Integrated Supply Chain. “We’re focused on winning with our consumers and customers, and we’re becoming a more nimble organization as we simplify and modernize our operations and production capacity for today and the future. By undertaking these changes, we’re making our company more efficient, creating the fuel we need to invest in our brands and our people – our most important assets – and deliver sustainable, profitable growth for our shareholders.”

“Our growth story in Europe continues thanks to the investments we have made in Opava, one of the most modern factories in our network and a leading producer of biscuits for our European markets,” says Hubert Weber, EVP and President, Mondelēz Europe. Weber notes that several of the company’s biscuit brands, including Oreo, Milka, Cadbury, TUC and Chips Ahoy!, grew revenue double digits in Europe last year.

Hubert Weber.

Hubert Weber continues: “The five state-of-the-art manufacturing Lines of the Future installed here have enabled us to improve the speed, efficiency, effectiveness and quality of our biscuit production, while improving competitiveness in the European market. The modern production lines enable us to meet growing demand from European consumers for our Power Brands, while other factories in our network continue to produce the local and regional heritage brands that consumers have loved for generations. In all cases, we apply the same high standards for quality and taste, as well as ensuring we reduce our impact on the environment.”

The biscuits produced at Opava are made with as little energy usage, water and waste production as possible, while the plant as a whole is a zero-waste-to-landfill facility. Oreo cookies produced at Opava are part of the company’s global Cocoa Life commitment that focuses on sustainable cultivation of cocoa, while the wheat used in biscuits produced there is increasingly sourced through the Harmony program that promotes biodiversity and good environmental practices in wheat production in Europe. By 2022, 100 percent of the company’s European wheat needs will be covered by the Harmony program. Through these signature sustainable agriculture programs, the company ensures that the raw materials used are of the highest quality and grown in thriving farm communities.

The Opava plant joins other Mondelēz International Sites of the Future that have opened or been upgraded over the last few years, including sites in Sri City, India; Salinas, Mexico; Bournville, United Kingdom; and, most recently, the new manufacturing facility that opened in Bahrain in April.