Kraft Foods has officially opened its $40-million state-of-the-art production plant at Bahrain International Investment Park (BIIP).

The chief guest at the event was Dr Hassan Fakhro, Bahrain’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, while Dr Majeed Bin Mohsen Al Alawi, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, was present.
The factory will produce annually 60,000 tonnes of Kraft cheese and powdered beverages for the Middle East and Africa region.
“This region being of significant importance as an emerging market to Kraft Foods, our new state-of-the-art facility will enable us to increase our production and distribution efficiencies to cater for the growing Middle East and Africa market demands”, said Maurizio Calenti,   group vice president Kraft Foods and president of Kraft Foods Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Each minute 100 jars of Tang, 250 jars of cream cheese spread and 550 cans of cheddar cheese pass through the production lines.  The plant utilises advanced manufacturing equipment from Germany and USA, which ensures world-class quality and efficiency standards, said Andrew Travis, Kraft Foods Bahrain plant director.
The new plant is expected to contribute S120 million per year to Bahrain’s economy through wages, raw and packaging material supply and shipping and distribution operations. Bahrainis will comprise 20 per cent of the workforce once the current hiring process is completed.
Bahrain was selected as the ideal location to construct the Kraft Foods manufacturing plant due to its central location in the region, robust infrastructure and rapidly developing business sector.