American agribusiness and food company Cargill announced a €3.5 million (about $3.9 million) project this week to add a fifth gourmet chocolate line and new chocolate tanks to its production plant in Kalmthout, Belgium.
“This investment strengthens the extended gourmet chocolate offerings that we acquired with Cargill’s purchase of Smet in 2019,” Inge Demeyere, the managing director of the Cargill’s chocolate activities in Europe, said in a company release. “With the complementary offerings of Veliche gourmet couvertures and Smet decorations, we are able to provide additional choice and meet increased demand in the gourmet segment, including our industrial customers.”
New chocolate tanks and piping will enable the company to serve its customers with greater flexibility, according to Cargill. The project will also expand Cargill’s innovation capabilities at the site.
“With Smet, a leading Belgium-based supplier of chocolate and sweets decoration, we have worked hard to uphold our customer’s trust ensuring deep customer intimacy and high speed-to-market with decoration technology, enhanced production capabilities, and a wide-ranging product portfolio,” said Demeyer.
Cargill revealed plans to acquire Smet, a Belgium-based chocolate and sweets decorations producer, in early 2019, Powder & Bulk Solids reported. Last September, the company invested $5 million to add new production capabilities for chocolate with reduced sugar at its Mouscron, Belgium manufacturing plant.
