Barry Callebaut has completed the move of its Japan’s chocolate factory from Amagasaki to Takasaki. The new and larger facility, which was officially inaugurated in November, offers an initial annual production capacity of 22,000 tonnes of chocolate and compound products. The total amount invested is EUR 15.4 million. Situated in the Gunma Prefecture, the new factory in Takasaki is located about 100 km north of Tokyo. The highly automated site encompasses approximately 17,000 m2. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Juergen Steinemann, CEO of Barry Callebaut, said: “Our new factory in Japan underlines our commitment to our customers in Japan by continuing to invest in the development of our production capabilities and introducing new products in the local chocolate market. We are truly proud to have created one of the world’s most modern chocolate factories in Japan,” said Fumitaka Nakano, Barry Callebaut’s Managing Director for Japan.

The opening of the new facility in Japan strengthens Barry Callebaut’s position as the market leader in the manufacturing of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products in Asia Pacific. Just two months ago, the company opened a new cocoa bean processing factory in Indonesia in partnership with local manufacturer P.T. Comextra Majora.  Barry Callebaut now operates five cocoa bean processing factories, four chocolate factories, four R&D centers and three Chocolate Academy™ centers across the Asia-Pacific region.