Kraft expands Production Capacity at Belgian Chocolate Factory

The state-of-the-art production line, which is entirely automated and cost $15 million, will take the factory’s annual production capacity in Halle from 60,000 to 80,000 tonnes, once it is fully operational. The new facility marks Kraft’s largest investment in the European chocolate sector in 15 years. It aims to allow the group to tap into the lucrative and growing premium chocolate market. In 2007, this segment grew 14% in Europe and 26% in Belgium. Kraft operates two chocolate plants in Belgium. The Herentals factory processes cocoa into a semi-finished product which is then sent to the Halle manufacturing site, where Côte d’Or, Milka, Freia and Marabou chocolate items are produced. Halle was chosen as the location for the line thanks partly to its geographical proximity to Kraft’s main European markets for chocolate, namely Belgium (33%), France (33.4%), Germany (8.5%), the Netherlands (7.8%) and Scandinavia (3.8%).