Ferrero North America has broken ground on a new chocolate processing facility in Bloomington, Ill. It will be the Ferrero Group’s third facility that processes chocolate and its first outside of Europe.
The new facility is an expansion of Ferrero’s existing Bloomington manufacturing center and will produce chocolate for Crunch, 100Grand, Raisinets, and other Ferrero products for the North American market. The $75 million project will add 70,000 sq ft to Ferrero’s current Beich Road footprint and add as many as 50 new jobs.
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“The ability to process high-quality chocolate here in North America is instrumental to building on our important growth in this market, which is advancing Ferrero towards our goal of being a world leader in global confectionery,” says Todd Siwak, president and chief business officer of Ferrero North America. “I am so happy that we are able to reach this important milestone in Illinois, the heart of America’s food and confections industry.”
Ferrero has made North America a focus for investment in recent years, including the expansion of its North American headquarters in New Jersey; new distribution centers in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia; and significant development of facilities in Franklin Park, Ill., as well as Bloomington. The company’s footprint in the market now totals eight offices and 10 plants and warehouses in North America, including a cocoa processing plant in Brantford, Ontario.
Ghafari Associates provided architectural and engineering design services for the bid documents associated with the project. Additionally, Ghafari will provide technical support and on-site construction supervision. The Austin Company is Ferrero’s design-build partner responsible for the engineering and construction of the project.
The new facility is set to open in spring 2023.
