Mars Confectionery Supply GmbH has announced a further investment in NRW to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the Viersen site. The US food company plans to modernize the production facility on the Lower Rhine by 2026 at a cost of around 40 million euros. It is already one of the largest Mars plants for chocolate products, for which the brand is probably best known. Mars has been producing Twix and Balisto chocolate bars in Viersen since 1979.
The company plans to increase production volume in Viersen from the current 59,300 tons per year to 70,000 tons by 2026/27. Among other things, a new packaging line will be installed, which is scheduled to come on stream at the end of 2024. This will allow the approximately ten million chocolate bars produced each day to be packaged directly on site.
Over the past 45 years, Mars has established itself as a major player in the Lower Rhine industrial region. Approximately 320 employees from more than 30 nations work in Viersen. In addition to Viersen, there are other NRW sites in Cologne and Minden. Mars employs approximately 2,300 people at six locations throughout Germany.
