Dairy Milk back where it belongs
£15m investment will see bars made exclusively in Bournville
CADBURY’S famous Dairy Milk chocolate bar is to be brought back from Europe and made exclusively in Bournville again, 115 years after it was launched.
An investment of £15 million in new production line facilities will allow the bar to be made only in Birmingham once more.
Parent company Mondelez said production costs five years ago at Bournville were three times that of factories in Germany and other European countries.
But investment had increased the factory’s production capacity by more than 30 per cent.
In 2020, Bournville produced 35,000 tonnes of Cadbury Dairy Milk – equivalent to 234 million tablets.
The new investment will see that figure add another 12,000 tonnes of capacity, meaning an additional 125 million bars which would have been made at other sites in Europe.
Louise Stigant, the UK managing director of Mondelez International, said that the sum would include £11 million for the new line itself and an additional £4 million to boost production of “chocolate mass to meet current demand and anticipate future needs.
She said: “At a time when manufacturing in the UK is facing significant challenges, it has never been more vital to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our business.
“We now have an opportunity at Bournville to further invest in its future as the home and heart of Cadbury by bringing more Cadbury Dairy Milk production to Bournville.”
The site currently employs 1,300 people out of a 4,000 strong workforce across the UK, while parent company Mondelez International (formerly Kraft) has 80,000 employees around the world.
The move to bring all production back home will not create new jobs but enable 40 seasonal workers to go full time. It will also avoid the need for any compulsory redundancies, while enabling 13 staff to take voluntary redundancy.
“We are making sure we can continue to be a world class chocolate manufacturer so we are really trying to improve the facilities at Bournville,” said Mrs Stigant.
The plan will be facilitated by moving some Easter egg production to a partner company, Magna.
Mrs Stigant said the plan was “a creative way of bringing Cadbury Dairy Milk back to the UK, which we are proud of – it will also give another 50 seasonal workers a significant, guaranteed minimum time of work.”
Mondelez has invested £80 million in Bournville since 2014 to “modernise the site and drive efficiencies.”
Mrs Stigant added: “Each lockdown
and different tiers has had an impact on how and when chocolates are bought and consumed, but overall volumes are static.
“Eating chocolate is still creating moments of joy as part of a balanced diet and I am really proud of the way work we have done to keep our employees safe from Covid-19.”
Joe Clarke, the Unite national
officer for food, drink and agriculture welcomed the move. He said it was a vote of confidence in the UK workforce adding: “To complete consultations and negotiations to deliver this fantastic investment, even in the midst of the Covid restrictions, is a credit to the trade union representatives, the members and the business.”