Mondelez International has opened a new R.&D. technical center in Wroclaw, Poland. The facility is specially designed to develop new products and technologies across all of the company’s brands, including Oreo, belVita and Milka.
The Wroclaw facility is the latest of nine previously-announced R.&D. hubs Mondelez plans to build by 2018. Four other technical centers already exist in East Hanover and Curitiba, Brazil, as well as Bournville and Reading in the U.K. The company plans to open centers in Mexico, China, India and Singapore by 2018. The project is expected to total $65 million.
Rob Hargrove, Mondelez
Rob Hargrove, executive vice-president of research, development, quality and innovation for Mondelez
“With these advantaged technical centers, we’re focusing our investment in research, equipment and capabilities, driving innovation to support our growth strategy, margin and quality platforms,” said Rob Hargrove, executive vice-president, research, development, quality and innovation. “These R.&D. hubs will improve speed, efficiency and effectiveness, while increased scale will enable us to more quickly address evolving consumer needs.”
This Wroclaw facility will house a diverse group of nearly 250 scientists, engineers and other specialists from many different countries. In addition to innovation labs and a large pilot plant, the site contains what the company calls a “collaboration kitchen.” The 102,250-square-foot space exists for employees to experiment with new ideas and formulations.
“Poland is one of our most important markets in Central Europe, and Wroclaw is a modern city that’s open to investment,” Mr. Hargrove said regarding the company’s latest site selection. “Embedding one of our largest technical centers here clearly signals the importance of Poland and Europe within our global R.&D. network.”
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