Nestlé launched Nescafé Dolce Gusto in Spain in 2007, a single-dose capsule beverage system for preparing coffee and hot or cold drinks, and a year later decided to invest 150 million euros in the Girona soluble coffee factory to incorporate the production of the capsules.
Since then, the multinational's commitment to this production center has not ceased. Investments have been added to increase the productivity and competitiveness of a center that has become one of the main production points for coffee products of the Swiss multinational in the world.
The group has just announced a new contribution of resources, about 100 million euros until 2025, to reinforce the manufacturing of single-dose capsules and the filling of soluble coffee. The investment will also include the installation of state-of-the-art technology which, combined with automation and digital technology, will accelerate the improvement of the company's logistics and sustainability.
The company has announced that this investment will imply "an increase in production capacity," which will allow "maintaining the current level of employment in the factory and creating new job opportunities in the coming years," although it has not specified them. At the Girona facilities, at the end of 2021, 870 people worked, compared to 250 in 2008.
According to the factory director, Jordi Jaen, the project is "a step forward in consolidating the plant as a benchmark within the multinational", and an opportunity to incorporate advances in processes such as Spray Dry technology, atomization drying equipment to improve the quality of encapsulated and soluble foods. However, the brand has admitted that the reorganization of some activities will lead to the closure of the decaffeinated coffee manufacturing area, one of the processes with the longest history at the Girona plant, which was built in 1968.
Innovation and digitalization, key to the future of the Girona plantThe management of Nestlé Spain falls, since last July 1, to Jordi Llach who took over from Jacques Reberand that wants to deepen the group's innovation and sustainability. The Spanish division closed the 2021 financial year with sales exceeding 2,145 million euros, 4.5% more than the previous year in comparable terms. A growth that is consolidated both in the increase in sales in the domestic market, which reached 1,397 million euros (representing a 4% increase), and in exports. Specifically, exports contributed a total of 748 million euros (an annual increase of 5.7%) to the turnover and now represent 35% of total sales.
By products, the company reported that the coffee category experienced greater growth thanks to Nescafé Dolce Gusto, Nescafé instant coffee and the good reception among consumers of capsules compatible with the Nespresso system, Nescafé Farmers Origins. To all this, the consolidation of the Starbucks brand as a pillar of business growth is added. For its part, Nespresso has revolutionized the category with the new Vertuo system, based on innovative technology that offers consumers the highest quality coffees with a generous and distinctive crema, even in the longest cups, reinventing again the way to enjoy coffee, according to the group.