Cadbury India, part of Mondelez International, signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government for setting up its largest manufacturing plant in the Asia-Pacific region. The plant will be located at Sri City, which is a multi-product special economic zone near Chittoor district. It will be spread across 134 acres entailing an investment of R1,000 crore in the first phase.
The plant will be commissioned in four phases and will be functional by mid-2015, according to Manu Anand, president, India and South Asia, Mondelez International. The project is expected to be completed by 2020 having an annual capacity of 250,000 tonnes.
The multi-category manufacturing plant is expected to provide employment to about 1,600 people in its full capacity. The company already has plants in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The proposed plant is also expected to help over 4 lakh farmers who can become suppliers of milk and sugar. ?With the proposed multi-category manufacturing plant, we look to ensure long-term business sustainability and focus on domestic market sales followed by exports as well,? he said. While refusing to give sales targets, however, he said that the company continues to grow at a good rate, though there are some recessionary moments as well. ?Since we have a range of products across various price points, we are aiming for a good growth,? he added.
The company operates is five categories which include chocolate confectionary, beverages, biscuits, gum and candy. According to Anand, the company would be consuming about 5 lakh liters of milk and 100 tonnes of sugar a day during the plant?s full capacity.
In the first phase, the company would manufacture chocolates biscuits and expand to make its entire range of products. Besides, as part of its progressive plan, the plant would have ancillary units for its raw materials consumption such as cocoa, milk, sugar and packaging materials.
