Stollwerck factory in Cologne closes

Cologne-based chocolate manufacturer Stollwerck is still experiencing upheaval, two years after being acquired by the Swiss cocoa and chocolate giant Barry Callebaut AG. The Stollwerck factory in Cologne is to be closed down next spring. It is said to be unprofitable and seems not to fit into Barry Callebaut’s strategies. Stollwerck ran up a deficit of € 36 m in 2003, following a loss of €20 m the previous year. At the same time,managing director Richard Crux will leave the company at the end of October 2004,his successor will be Stefan von Klebelsberg. Barry Callebaut plans to bring all its production activities under the leadership of one, centrally controlled Operations unit.Its 30 factories worldwide will then only produce those products “which they are best at”. This concept is already in operation on the pre-supplier side,now it is the turn of those factories producing end-consumer products.The Stollwerck factory in Cologne is one of those that will fall by the wayside, only the administration will remain in place,with some 250 employees. Norderstedt specialises in producing boxed chocolates Those products currently produced in Cologne will be relocated to other factories within the group, but mainly to the Van Houten factory in Norderstedt which specialises in producing boxed chocolates. The factory in Cologne,with a production capacity of 7,000 tons is no match for the one in Norderstedt with a capacity of 30,000 tons. Closing the Cologne factory is not a new idea, in fact its efficiency was doubted even before the Barry Callebaut takeover. The pressure to cut costs became stronger after the major losses of the past two years.