OREANDA-NEWS. June 22, 2012. In order to improve its competitive position, Orkla Brands Russia will in June 2012 start a large-scale project of optimising and modernising its production capacities.

The project involves all the factories in Orkla Brands Russia, located in St. Petersburg, Leningrad oblast, Ekaterinburg and Ulyanovsk, and is planned to be finalised by the end of 2013. The total volume of investments in the project is about RUB 850 million.

“This is an important step in our long-term commitment in the Russian chocolate and confectionery business, and by modernising and investing in our production facilities, we will increase our competitiveness,” says Paul Jordahl, CEO of Orkla Brands International.

The first stage of the project will be the relocation of the Krupskaya production capacities from the center of St. Petersburg to the existing Pekar facilities in the Lomonosovsky region of Leningrad oblast. The headquarter of Orkla Brands Russia will remain in St. Petersburg.

Relocating Krupskaya production lines to the Pekar facilities will increase the production capacity, simplify the logistics and make the company more cost efficient and competitive. There are also possibilities for further expansion, with new modern production lines for producing chocolate tablets and assorted sweets.

“New efficient equipment and optimisation of our production facilities will make us more competitive and also contribute to economic development in the regions where we are present. We have a perspective of further expansion by developing new confectionery brands and innovative products. At the same time, we will continue to pay thorough attention to the production and maintaining of historical brands and popular trademarks, such as “Belochka”, “Mishka na severe” and “Osoby”, under the Krupskaya brand name,” says Vadim Ter-Israelyan, CEO of Orkla Brands Russia.

Orkla Brands Russia was established in February 2011 as a result of a merger of OJSC “Confectionery Factory named after N.K.Krupskoy” and OJSC “Confectionery Association

“SladCo”. The company is among the leading top five of the Russian confectionery industry and produces all main types of confectionery products at factories in Saint-Petersburg, Leningrad oblast, Yekaterinburg and Ulyanovsk. In 2011, Orkla Brands Russia had a turnover of RUB 8,5 billion and 3,000 employees. The headquarter is located in Saint-Petersburg. Orkla Brands Russia is part of Orkla, which is a leading supplier of branded consumer goods to the Nordic market, and with strong positions also in the Baltics, Austria, India and Russia.