Nestlé to build third Swiss Nespresso site

Making nespresso capsules swissinfo.ch

Multinational food giant Nestlé has announced plans to build a SFr300 million ($328 million) factory in canton Fribourg for the production of coffee capsules for its Nespresso brand.

The new factory will result in the direct creation of some 400 jobs over the long term, Nestlé said in a statement on Thursday.

The factory, to be based in Romont, will be the third Nespresso production site in Switzerland and follows similar investments in production and distribution sites in Orbe and Avenches.

In a statement, Patrice Bula, executive vice president responsible for Nespresso said the new production site was needed to “provide the capacity needed to sustain growth in Europe and develop our brand globally”.

Construction on the Romont factory, which will be operational in 2015, is due to begin by the end of the year. Nestlé said the factory will use energy produced by its coffee roasting machines to heat the building. 

Developed 25 years ago by Nestlé, sales of Nespresso products grew 20 per cent to SFr 3 billion in 2011.

However in recent years, the brand has been locked in a bitter legal dispute in an attempt to stop outside companies from producing generic, cheaper coffee capsules for Nespresso machines. The issue is still before the courts.