Business boss opens Cadbury line with a promise

Opening the new production line on Friday (August 21), Javid said: “I want every part of the UK to grow and do well. But for far too long a lot of it has just been about the south east. The Midlands already has so much going for it with great household names like Cadbury so it has the potential and the people.”

The government’s long-term economic plan for the Midlands was to make it “the engine for growth” in the UK. “We want to help businesses and support those who want to work hard and get on – adding £34bn to the Midlands economy by 2030 and creating 300,000 extra jobs.”

300,000 extra jobs

During his visit to the site near Birmingham, the business secretary said the government planned to work with manufacturers to encourage greater inward investment and boost UK exports.

For Britain to prosper every part of the country needs to fulfil its potential, said Javid.

“The Cadbury brand has its history in Birmingham and the new production lines will help to secure its future here too,” he added.

The new production line is part of a £75M investment in Bournville, announced by Mondelēz last year, and will make Cadbury Roses and Heroes assortments and Cadbury Dairy Milk bars.

The investment will “secure the next generation of chocolate manufacturing at the site”, said the firm. 

‘Next generation of manufacturing’

Mondelēz International’s president of northern Europe Mary Barnard said:  “We were delighted to welcome the secretary of state to Bournville to officially open the first of our new state-of-the-art manufacturing lines. This marks an important milestone in our journey to secure the next generation of manufacturing at this iconic site.”

The firm’s  £75M investment in Bournville was not just about new machinery, the business was also investing in the people who work at the plant. “We welcomed the opportunity for Mr Javid to visit our new training facility and meet with apprentices and operators to hear first-hand about the new skills, knowledge and qualifications they are gaining.”

While visiting the chocolate factory, the business secretary toured the production line and a new training facility to meet apprentices and staff.

Mondelēz employed more than 4,000 people in the UK across nine sites. Those included: five manufacturing sites, a global centre of excellence for chocolate research and development in Bournville, and global science centre in Reading.