Barry Callebaut opens Malaysian Asia Pacific business excellence centre
The firm's facilities in Malaysia will be home to multilingual talents of more than 100 staff. Pic: Barry Callebaut
A key focus of industry support will be placed on Barry Callebaut’s newly-opened Asia Pacific Business Excellence Centre (APAC BEC) in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, reports Neill Barston.
The facility for the Swiss-headquartered global chocolate and cocoa group is set to serve as a centre of excellence, providing a focal point across its financial and accounting services, information management and technology, customer service, and corporate and shared service functions.
It will be staffed by more than 100 employees, and stands as the company’s third site in Malaysia, alongside its manufacturing location in Port Klang, and another cocoa factory in Pasir Gudang, Johor, both of which also house a research and development laboratory.
As the business noted, a further prime driver of its latest site has been to enhance its customer services through delivering optimisation and automation solutions, with the new location anticipated to offer a strong hub for the business. The company noted that Malaysia’s track record as a centre for finance was a key factor in its decision to base its latest facilities there – Robert Kotuszewski, managing director for Barry Callebaut Malaysia (left of pic below), opens the new site with Jo Thys, chief operating officer for the business.
According to the company, its operations in the country began with a 60% stake in Kuala Lumpur Kepong Cocoa Products Sdn Bhd (KLK Cocoa), a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (a Malaysia-based multinational company involved in plantations, manufacturing, retailing and property development) in 2008.
At the time of acquisition, that particular business was regarded as one of Asia Pacific’s leading cocoa and chocolate manufacturers, which had given Barry Callebaut a notable regional foothold in the chocolate confectionery segment, and it has now been operating for 30 years in the region.
Since the acquisition, KLK Cocoa has changed its name toBarry Callebaut Malaysia Sdn Bhd, with its second site in the country following in 2012, when it acquired Petra Foods’ Cocoa Ingredients Division and integrated its cocoa factory in Pasir Gudang into its existing company.
In a wider context, the company has operated in Asia Pacific since 1997. The new APAC BEC in Malaysia underlines its long-term commitment to this Region, with the business making a number of investments in the country over the years, including manufacturing, research and development of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products. This has enabled it to provide end-to-end capabilities in the region, encompassing cocoa sourcing and logistics centre, two cocoa and chocolate application labs, a cocoa R&D centre, in addition to its cocoa and chocolate factories.