Cargill Unveils U.S. $82 Million Upgrade to its Cocoa Processing Facility in Wormer, the Netherlands
WORMER, the Netherlands, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Cargill's cocoa and chocolate business has officially marked the completion of upgrades to its cocoa processing facility in Wormer, the Netherlands following a U.S. $82 million (€57 million) investment.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20120419/526965 )
Cargill has opened a new Center of Expertise for cocoa and increased the cocoa powder production capacity at its Wormer facility enabling Cargill to strengthen its ability to offer customers greater product innovation and increased levels of service.
"This investment is another demonstration of Cargill's commitment to providing our customers with a broader and more bespoke service to meet their individual needs," said Jos de Loor, managing director, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate. "This new world-class facility, along with our existing network and our food ingredient expertise will support our cocoa and chocolate growth strategy."
The upgrade is in response to growing customer demand for high quality cocoa powders that are tailor-made to individual customer specifications. The Wormer facility processes cocoa liquor into cocoa butter and powder offering customers globally over 100 types of cocoa powder with a diverse variety of flavours and colours under the premium Gerkens® brand.
The new Center of Expertise brings together all of Cargill's cocoa quality, technology and innovation expertise. The combination of its team of experts and its new state-of-the-art facilities mean Cargill is able to work more closely with customers to develop new products containing cocoa ingredients, as well as partner on product development and formulation, while ensuring high standards of quality and food safety. The Center includes an ISO 17025 accredited quality control laboratory, a pilot plant for product and process development, as well as an expanded expert taste panel to support sensorial evaluation for cocoa liquor and powder products.
The investment has also enabled Cargill to open a new, fully automated cocoa powder warehouse and distribution center in the port of Amsterdam with very high food quality and safety standards. The warehouse will provide an efficient storage capacity, storing three times as much product per square metre as conventional warehouses in the port of Amsterdam. Better transport and capacity planning will also result in more than 10 per cent reductions in CO2 emissions on existing transport and customer shipments.
"The Netherlands has been a focal point of Cargill's cocoa and chocolate business for many years," continued de Loor. "Our new Center of Expertise will offer our customers even greater innovation and insight, while upgrades to our production and storage capacities will mean they will also benefit from higher quality and customer service."
Cargill's cocoa and chocolate facilities in the Netherlands are part of its wider cocoa and chocolate network in Western Europe, Africa, Brazil, Canada and the United States. Cargill has been supplying quality cocoa and chocolate products to customers around the world in the chocolate, confectionery and food industry for over 50 years.
Photo caption:
Official opening of Cargill cocoa facility extensions and Center of Expertise for cocoa by H. Poelma, Cargill (Managing Director Cocoa), the Mayor of Wormerland P. Tange and J. Commandeur, Cargill (Operations Director Cocoa).
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About Cargill
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 139,000 people in 65 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to sharing its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit http://www.cargill.com.
About Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate:
Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate offers the food industry a wide range of both standard and customised cocoa and chocolate ingredients to be used in delicious bakery, confectionery, and dairy applications all over the world. Our product range includes high quality Gerkens® cocoa powders, chocolate including Wilbur®, Peter's® and Veliche®, coatings, fillings, cocoa liquors and cocoa butters. With years of experience in technical food expertise Cargill supports its customers in new recipes and new product development.
Our facilities in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Germany, Ghana, the Netherlands, UK and the USA are fully dedicated to produce in accordance with the highest food safety standards.
To secure a good quality and sustainable supply of cocoa beans we have our own cocoa bean sourcing operations for buying, handling and/or exporting of cocoa beans in Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia and Vietnam. Presence in all the leading producing countries allows Cargill to oversee the supply chain from beans at origin to cocoa and chocolate products on our customers' doorstep. In addition, extensive market research and analysis proves to be a source of valuable information to our customers.
About the Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program
The Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program is working to secure the long term sustainability of cocoa production and to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and their families.
By teaching sustainable agricultural practices and introducing more business transparency it is enabling farmers to increase their yields and incomes. As well as strengthening the cocoa supply chain, the program is improving livelihoods in cocoa farming communities by supporting better access to education and healthcare.
In partnership with a range of organizations the program is making a real and lasting difference, and jointly with customers is working towards a sustainable future for mainstream cocoa.
CONTACT: Wendy Garbutt: +44-1932-861174, wendy_garbutt@cargill.com
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