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Dec 23,2007-Jan 13,2007 |
Ferrero chocolate factory lands in Canada
Alba-based group sets up its first North American branch in Brantford
By Luigi de Biase
Originally Published: 2006-01-22
The chocolate factory is being built for real. Not in Munich, where Mel Stuart's cult movie (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 1971) was shot, but in Brantford, Ontario, a 90-minute drive from Toronto. This is where Ferrero, the Alba-based agri-food corporation, is building its new industrial complex. Construction should be completed by the end of February: an area of 900,000 square feet for an investment close to €250 million (about Cdn$350 million). This is Ferrero's first production plant within NAFTA, the only one in North America.
Brantford is just the latest step in a journey that started in the Seventies with the export of Nutella and Tic Tac, flagship products in the corporate portfolio, and continued thanks to a capillary network of distributors across Canada. Strengthened by the success obtained in the Eighties with Rocher and Kinder Surprise, the Ferrero group increased its advertising budget and developed its own sales infrastructure, establishing a mixed model that includes brokers and Ferrero sales offices. The corporate body consolidated by incorporating logistics, marketing and human resources. Nowadays, the Canadian branch of the group has 150 employees. The Brantford plant will create 650 jobs, a number that should double within the next two years. For the moment, the stated goal is to gear up to full production capacity within 90 days, thus ensuring the coverage of the North American market on time for Christmas 2006.
The choice of Brantford is not due to chance. With its 80,000 residents, and located halfway between Toronto and the border with the State of New York, this Ontario town is rapidly becoming one of Canada's most important logistical centres. A quarter century ago, the closure of two big manufacturing industries in the area had brought unemployment up to 24 percent. Today Brantford is capable of attracting investments from numerous companies, thanks to a policy of incentives and support. The alimentary industry is particularly welcome: Western Waffle, Maidstone Bakery and Tim Hortons have already decided to take advantage of the local economic climate. "Even if the economy tanked, people would always need to eat. And when people are depressed, they buy chocolate," remarks mayor Mike Hancock, who has even decided to name a street after the new plant: Ferrero Boulevard.
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