Nespresso has announced a CHf160 million (about US$170.5 million) investment to expand its Romont production centre in Switzerland. The expansion is intended to meet increasing consumer demand and support international development in the coming years.
“Despite the challenging times we have all been living in, this strategic long-term investment reconfirms Nespresso's continuous business success and leadership in the portioned coffee segment, which we pioneered back in 1986,” says Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso.
“It also demonstrates our continued commitment to our Swiss roots and to the long-term economic development of the region and the country, with which we share values of quality, innovation and expertise.”
The capsule giants says its investment in the “world class 'sustainable by design' production centre” will create 300 jobs over the next 10 years, while also increasing third party employment and local and regional business development.
“These are the kind of announcements that feel good in times of crisis. Nespresso confirms that large international groups can produce competitively in our region. It's also an investment that strengthens our region in the bio-economy field with which I'm very pleased,” says Olivier Curty, State Councillor and Director of Economic Affairs and Employment at the Canton of Fribourg.
The construction of the second production hall is set to start in June 2021. It will result in an augmented capacity of 10 new production lines dedicated to producing Nespresso coffees for the Vertuo and Professional ranges. The first new production lines are expected to be fully operational by June 2022.
The Romont factory, inaugurated in 2015, is the centre of production for Nespresso's Vertuo coffees, now available in 21 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia.
In the last two years, Nespresso strengthened its operations in Romont with the addition of four new production lines and the creation of 50 new jobs, while inaugurating a new Product Development Center and a Coffee Campus in 2018.
All Nespresso coffees distributed worldwide are produced in Switzerland. Over the past 10 years, Nespresso has invested CHf700 million (about US$746 million) in its three Swiss-based production centres in the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg.
“Thanks to Nespresso, Romont has become the reference for coffee. This new investment is a gift for an entire region and the pursuit of an extraordinary adventure. It is up to us, political leaders, to ensure that everyone finds their place in a healthy and sustainable development,” said Willy Schorderet, Préfet de la Glâne (Prefect of the Glâne).
While investing in supporting its operations, Nespresso says it’s 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. In the existing facility in Romont, the heat from the coffee roasters is recovered and used to pre-heat the green coffee and the factory itself. Any excess heat is redistributed to the local community.
Romont was the first production centre in Switzerland, and thus the first factory for Nestlé in Switzerland as well, to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification in 2015. The new production hall announced today will be built based on the same LEED principles that have guided the construction of the Romont production centre back in 2015.
Some of the initiatives carried out by Nespresso to meet the LEED requirements include the use of 20 per cent recycled construction materials and an 18 per cent decrease of the site's energy consumption thanks to heat recovery from the roasters, triple glazing, and the use of LED lighting.
The LEED certification extends Nespresso's sustainability commitments and forms part of its global sustainability strategy, The Positive Cup.
For more information, visit www.nestle-nespresso.com
