Swiss firm Nestle SA is to set a new dairy processing facility in Brazil to produce the Ninho and Molico brands, announced the firm Wednesday. The new milk factory will be constructed in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The investment is for an estimated 163 million Brazilian reals. The 20,000 m2 factory in the city of Três Rios will produce UHT and ready-to-drink (RTD) milk products by the end of the year.

The installation of production lines – for soy-based milk brand Sollys, Nestlé Fast, and RTD beverages under the brands Alpino, Nescau and Neston – aims to produce around 124,000 tons of milk products a year, said Nestle. The investment was announced by Ivan Zurita, Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Brazil, and Sergio Cabral, Rio de Janeiro State Governor.

It will create over 1,000 direct and indirect new jobs. Commenting on the move, Mr Zurita reiterated that Nestle chose the State of Rio de Janeiro for its 31st industrial factory in Brazil due to its growing importance for the Nestlé business in the country. The investment reinforces Nestlé’s commitment to Brazil, he said.

Sérgio Cabral, Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, said the investment will bring about economic revitalization in the state. Sergio expects Nestlé’s investment to substantially contribute to the development of Rio de Janeiro’s economy.

Adopting state-of-the-art production technologies and equipment for product packaging and innovative raw material collection, the facility will promote the efficient use of energy and water, illustrating Nestlé’s commitment to environmental sustainability, said Nestle.

The factory – which will supply products to the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and São Paulo – will furthermore provide an opportunity to improve the milk production in the region, where initial milk supply is around 200,000 litres a day.

The factory will be the third production site in the State of Rio de Janeiro under the Nestlé umbrella. The Jacarepaguá factory produces Nestlé ice cream products, while the Petrópolis plant supplies Nestlé bottled mineral water.

The new Brazilian investment follows the 120 million reals (over CHF 61 million) expansion of Nestlé’s 63-year-old plant in Araraquara, Brazil, in summer 2009, increasing the production of aseptic brands Ninho and Molico. It also follows the inauguration of Nestlé’s largest ready-to-drink aseptic products factory in Anderson, Indiana, in the United States, in March 2009.

17th March 2011