Confectionery giant Mondelēz International has opened a new $90m biscuit manufacturing plant in Bahrain.
The new 250,000m2 plant will manufacture the confectionery and snacking firm’s power brands that include Oreo cookies and Barni soft cakes among other products for consumers in the Middle East and Africa.
It will have a production capacity of around 45,000 tons per annum.
Mondelez said that the new plant will also serve as a hub for exports to the Gulf region, the Levant and Africa, thereby helping the company cut down on delivery costs while improving freshness of its products.
Mondelez International Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa EVP & president Maurizio Brusadelli said: “The Middle East and Africa are priority markets for us, and we’re confident in our selection of Bahrain as the preferred location for our plant, due to its business-friendly environment, skilled local workforce and excellent transport links, all of which will be instrumental to the success of our growth plans.”
The newly opened biscuit manufacturing plant is located near the company’s existing manufacturing facility, which has been producing Kraft cheese and Tang powdered beverages for more than 10 years.
About 150 direct jobs will be created by the new biscuit plant, said Mondelez. The company claimed that its two manufacturing sites in Bahrain will help in sustaining more than 12,000 indirect jobs in the local economy.
Mondelez International integrated supply chain executive vice president Daniel Myers said: “This investment in Bahrain is a great example of how we’re building a world-class supply chain, with Factories of the Future in strategic locations around the world designed to simplify operations, increase flexibility, improve productivity and meet the growth demands of our Power Brands.”
Mondelez had invested over $75m in the first plant, which has been in operations since 2008. The company had announced its plans to build the biscuit manufacturing plant in October 2014.
Earlier this year, Mondelez opened a new global technical center in Jurong, Singapore, which will focus on innovation and development of new products and technologies.
The technical center will work on some of the company’s brands like Clorets, Oreo biscuits, Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, Stride, Trident, Halls, The Natural Confectionery and Dentyne gum.
