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Mars plant facts

By Mike Pehanich, Plant Operations Editor

PlantServices.com

Pilot plants: Cleveland, Tenn., Elizabethtown, Pa., and two pilot plants in Hackettstown, N.J.

Engineering headquarters: Corporate engineers for Mars Snackfoods U.S. are centered in Hackettstown, N.J. They work closely with the 300-head R&D department in Hackettstown.

Bet you didn’t know: Mars also has a cocoa research farm in Brazil.

Largest plant: The Mars plant in Waco, Texas, is one of the largest chocolate factories in the world. One of its lines is capable of producing 90,000 to 100,000 tons of bars per year.

Most complex: The Cleveland, Tenn., plant, which makes M&M’S and Twix Bars, “can handle enormous complexity,” says supply chain vice president Harald Emberger. “Its core competency is its ability to handle large volume output yet make extremely rapid changeover.”

Best-dressed plant: Mars spent $70 million in the past year upgrading and expanding its factory in Elizabethtown, Pa., which produces chocolate liquor and Dove chocolates. “We added equipment to bring it back to state-of-the-art layout,” says Emberger. “We now have the platform to supply future market needs.”