Cargill to double capacity at Belgian chocolate facility

$48-million facility to double capacity during the next two years

Earlier this week, Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business broke ground on a $48-million (€35 million) investment that will double the capacity of its Belgian chocolate production facility in Mouscron during the next two years. Cargill Chocolate

The additional capacity will meet growing demand for chocolate in confectionary, bakery, dairy and artisanal applications from European customers.

Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business provides its customers with a large variety of Belgian chocolates, including custom made recipes and chocolate of sustainable origin. The investment will increase capacity of both liquid dark or milk chocolate and solid chocolate drops and chunks. The new facility will source raw materials like cocoa butter from Cargill’s integrated cocoa processing plants in The Netherlands and in France.

“With this investment, Cargill demonstrates its commitment to providing our customers with a broader and more bespoke service and enlarged range of chocolate recipes to meet their individual needs,” said Jos de Loor, president, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate. “The extension of our state-of-the-art facility in Mouscron along with our food ingredient expertise will support our cocoa and chocolate growth strategy.”

The new production lines will be operational in summer 2014 and will lead to the creation of approximately new 40 jobs during the next two years.

Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate facilities in Belgium 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 more than 50 years.

With more than 30 years experience in B-to-B reporting, writing and editing — the bulk of which was dedicated to covering the bakery, confectionery and snack industries — Pacyniak has chronicled changes within the food industry since the early 1980s. A Boston University journalism degree graduate, he worked for a variety of publications before joining BNP Media in 1994 as editor of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine. In 2001, he took over as editor-in-chief of Candy Industry until 2018.