Wouter DeSmet (left), Nestle coffee expert, trains a coffee farmer in Yunnan. Fu Jing / China Daily

Nestle continues to expand investment in China, demonstrating its "confidence in and commitment to the Chinese market", according to the management of the world's largest food and beverage company by revenue.

The company announced in late March it would continue its five-year plan to inject 500 million yuan ($81.33 million) into the ice cream industry to establish long-term, sustainable business in Guangdong province.

In 2012, the first investment phase was completed with the installation of state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment for cones, which is expected to increase the production capacity to over 2 million cones per day, making the Guangzhou factory Nestle's largest cone manufacturing facility in the world.

"Investing in new production lines in the lively Guangdong province does not only demonstrate our confidence and determination towards China's ice cream market, but also benefits Nestle by satisfying consumers' continuously growing demand," said Roland Decorvet, chairman & CEO of the company's operations in China.

Also, Nestle's new production line of 5-gallon bottled water for delivery to private and commercial customers started operation at Nestle Waters factory in Tianjin in mid-April.

With advanced technology and an energy-efficient design, the new production line can fill 2,000 bottles of water per hour, greatly improving capacity and efficiency.

The factory covers an area of more than 16,000 square meters, with an annual production capacity of nearly 280,000 tons. Since the factory was constructed more than 14 years ago, Nestle has continued to increase investment and production capacity.

As a result, Nestle's sales revenue has continued to grow in northern China, especially in the company's core markets - Beijing and Tianjin, according to Gilles Duc, business manager in charge of water sales for Nestle operations in China

Also, Nestle is not looking exclusively at metropolises as investment destinations. It is also eying inland provinces to further expand its development while giving an economic boost to local communities.

The company announced in early April that it is making a significant investment in Pu'er, Yunnan province to establish the Nescafe Coffee Center, which will provide training and infrastructure for farmers and promote the region's coffee industry.

The complex will comprise a coffee-farming institute, modern warehousing, a testing laboratory and a consumer experience center.

Nestle has been working in Yunnan since 1988, helping the local community develop an industry that produces high-quality coffee, said Heiko Schipper, managing director of the food and beverage division of the company's China operations.

"As a multinational company that has made a long-term commitment to the Pu'er coffee industry, Nestle relishes the kind of opportunity that Pu'er offers to create shared value - helping a local economy develop while providing Nestle with a fantastic product," Schipper said.

With a long history in China, the company attaches importance to corporate social responsibility and creating shared value.

In the recent Ya'an earthquake, the Nestle donated food worth 2 million yuan to the disaster-hit areas.

A global leader in nutrition, health and wellness, Nestle also has a network of nutrition research centers worldwide.

This allows the company to link a strong technological drive with deep consumer understanding in order to meet the nutritional needs and preferences of local consumers.

The food company has enjoyed a long history of stable partnerships with rural communities and seeks to improve farmers' living standards, environmental practices and water usage.

It has built mutually beneficial relationships with dairy and coffee farmers, who have benefited tremendously from the free training as well as financial assistance Nestle provides to develop their skills.

Environmental issues are another focus of the company.

The Nestle Environmental Management System provides the framework to ensure that the company's business decisions are sustainable, environmentally sound and economically viable.

Thanks to continual efforts, Nestle in China has reduced water and energy consumption by approximately 60 percent per ton of products manufactured over the past decade.

"We are striving to make contributions in a bid to fuel China's economic prosperity and providing quality and safe food series," said the company executives.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/24/2013 page3)