Mondelez International is investing nearly 74m zlotys ($18m) to add a new line to a chocolate production plant in Poland.
The investment at the site in Skarbimierz will see the US giant install a production line to make seasonal chocolate. The line is expected to be operational by next year.
Mondelez expects the new move to make the plant in Poland “a key centre” for seasonal chocolate production in Europe.
Plant director Oleksandr Turchenko said: “The investment in a new production line in Skarbimierz is another important step in the implementation of our development strategy in the region.
“Thanks to the high level of automation, modern technologies and solutions, we are not only increasing our production capacity but also supporting the development of the seasonal product category in Poland.”
Mondelez expects the investment to create 50 new jobs at the factory, which already employs more than 600 people. Overall, Mondelez has more than 5,100 staff in Poland.
The facility, spanning 65,000m2, features ten “advanced” production lines, making products such as Milka, Oreo, Cadbury and 3Bit.
On 11 December, Mondelez announced a $9m share buyback programme amid reports the Toblerone maker was exploring the potential acquisition of chocolate maker Hershey.
Shares in Mondelez, which dipped 48 hours earlier after Bloomberg reported a “preliminary approach” for Hershey, rose after a multi-pronged announcement that included news of a buyback.
Alongside the $9bn of share repurchases, Mondelez declared its regular quarterly dividend and said its acquisition strategy is “focused on bolt-on assets” similar to its recent deals for Greece’s Chiptita and Mexico’s Ricolino.
The same day, Bloomberg reported The Hershey Trust, the US snacks maker’s controlling shareholder, had rejected Mondelez’s approach for being too low.
