The Ferrero North America division of the Ferrero Group has opened its first chocolate processing facility on the continent — and third in the world. The new chocolate plant stands as a 70,000-sq.-ft. expansion at Ferrero’s manufacturing campus in Bloomington, Ill., and produces such iconic products as Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, Butterfinger and Crunch, according to an announcement distributed by the company this week.
The Bloomington campus also pumps out products for the Raisinets and 100 Grand brands, and it is expected to also open a new $214 million Kinder Bueno production facility later this year.
The new chocolate processing facility adds to the company’s manufacturing footprint in the state of Illinois, with Butterfinger and Baby Ruth products processed in Franklin Park, Ill., and Keebler products on the South Side of Chicago. Further, Ferrero opened a new Innovation Center and R&D Labs in downtown Chicago.
Outside of Illinois, Ferrero has invested in its Brantford, Ontario, Canada, plant and added distribution centers in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona. It invested in Oregon’s hazelnut growers as well, the release noted. Today, Ferrero North America employs more than 5,100 people in eight offices and 12 plants and warehouses in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.
