|
“With its first-ever U.S. chocolate processing facility, Ferrero
will create new jobs and economic opportunity in the Bloomington
region, and will carry forward Illinois’ proud food
manufacturing tradition,” said Gov. Pritzker. “Companies like
Ferrero continue to choose Illinois thanks to our talented
workforce and our role as a transportation hub for the nation
which makes our state a number one choice for production,
innovation and global distribution. We thank Ferrero for its
vote of confidence in Illinois and look forward to supporting
the company’s continued success here.”
The new facility is an expansion of Ferrero's existing
Bloomington manufacturing center and will process chocolate for
Crunch, 100Grand, Raisinets, and other Ferrero products for the
North American market. The $75 million project will add 70,000
square feet to Ferrero's current Bloomington footprint, and as
many as 50 new jobs. This builds on a significant economic
impact generated annually by the company – with over $300
million in output in Illinois alone, and with over 300 full-time
staff, making it one of the largest employers in McLean County.
“The ability to process 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 an
world leader in global confectionery,” said 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’s continued investment in Illinois is a testament to
the caliber of our talent, the strength of our infrastructure,
and our direct access to markets across the country and around
the globe,” said Sylvia Garcia, Acting Director of the Illinois
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). “Under
Governor Pritzker’s leadership, Illinois is committed to
upholding our status as the leading Midwest destination for food
production – and supporting new and existing companies in their
plans to innovate, fuel jobs and produce their household brands
from right here in Illinois.”
“We are so fortunate to have a global corporation like Ferrero breaking ground,”
said Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe. “Their confidence in Bloomington can
only strengthen our already vibrant business community.”
Ferrero has made North America a focus for investment in recent years, including
a new management of a facility in Franklin Park, and continued growth at its
Bloomington production and distribution center. The company’s footprint in the
market now totals eight offices and ten plants and warehouses in North America,
including a cocoa processing plant in Brantford, Ontario.
Ghafari Associates provided architectural and engineering design services for
the project, and The Austin Company is responsible for the engineering and
construction of the new facility, an expansion to Ferrero’s current operations
on Beich Road. Construction will create an estimated 300 jobs in the next two
years.
Ferrero worked in partnership with the Bloomington Normal Economic Development
Organization, City administration and the Illinois Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to locate sites, in addition to securing support
from the Bloomington Enterprise Zone.
As home to one of the nation’s largest food processing clusters – Ferrero is in
good company with a growing base of Illinois companies – including sister
venture Ferrara Candy Company, based in Chicago; Mondelez in Chicago; ADM in
Chicago/Decatur; Kraft Foods in Champaign; and Conagra in Chicago. Pritzker
administration officials cut the ribbon on a $100 million expansion and new
distribution facility built by the Ferrara Company in DeKalb this past June – a
project that 1.6 million new square feet online and added 500 jobs for the
state.
Manufacturing is a leading industry in Illinois – with over 18,000 companies
doing business here and collectively supporting a $100 billion annual GDP.
Investments by the administration will position the state and its residents to
seize on the jobs being forecasted in the years ahead – with 4.6 million new
jobs created nationwide in the next 8 years alone.
To support the continued growth of manufacturing companies in Illinois today and
for the future, the Pritzker administration has taken several actions to invest
in its workforce, with new training in high growth industries, and the
development new business development tools, including the apprenticeship tax
credit, which encourages investment in high tech job training.
[Illinois Office of Communication and
Information]
|
|
