Nespresso has invested CHF 117 million (about US$126 million) to expand its Avenches production centre in Switzerland to meet increasing consumer demand and support international development. This expansion will create 50 new jobs by the end of 2022.
The investment supports the increase of production capacity, by including three new production lines, and the expansion of its distribution centre, augmenting the current logistics capacity.
“This investment speaks of our long-term sustainable business approach,” says Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso.
“All Nespresso coffees sold worldwide are produced in Switzerland. Over the past eight months, we have announced a total of CHF 270 million investment in both our Romont and Avenches production centres. We are very proud to be able to continue to invest in Switzerland and support our economy, even more so in challenging times such as these.”
The Avenches production centre acts as Nespresso’s global distribution centre, shipping capsules to more than 80 countries around the world, and is dedicated to the production of Nespresso Original and Professional coffees as well as Starbucks by Nespresso.
“In the current context, I consider Nespresso’s announcement as very good news. This very important investment demonstrates the attractiveness of this region, including in the industrial sector,” says Philippe Leuba, Director of the Department of Economy, Innovation and Sport of the Canton of Vaud.
“By creating several dozen additional jobs, Nespresso is expanding its Avenches site and strengthens the positioning of the Swiss Food Nutrition Valley, an initiative launched by Nestlé and the Canton of Vaud to promote Switzerland as an innovation hub in the field of food and nutrition.”
The expansion of the distribution centre is set to start in July 2021 and is expected to be fully operational by September 2022. The three new production lines are planned to be operational by March 2022.
Nespresso opened its production centre in Avenches in 2008, with an initial investment of CHF 300 million, later complemented with CHF 200 million invested in its infrastructure and operations in Avenches.
A positive impact on the local economy
Over the past 10 years, in addition to ongoing investment in its business, Nespresso has invested CHF 700 million in its three Swiss-based production centres in the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg.
In 2020, despite the pandemic situation, Nespresso recruited more than 150 new employees for its three production centres in Switzerland.
“I welcome the expansion project and I am delighted with the 50 additional jobs that will boost and sustain the attractiveness of our local economy,” says Roxanne Meyer Keller, Mayor of the Avenches town.
Sustainable operations
While investing in supporting its operations, Nespresso is also committed to its sustainability ambition, that every cup of Nespresso coffee has a positive impact on the world. All three Nespresso production centres are “zero waste to landfill” and production processes have been optimised to ensure heat and water are recovered and reused whenever possible. All green coffee is delivered to its production centres by rail.
In the Avenches production facility, the energy generated during the production processes is used to heat the factory, saving, per year, the equivalent of the electricity consumed in 700 households in Switzerland. The green coffee pre-heating system in place allows to save a total of 357,000 cubic metres of natural gas per year.
