Angola's President, Joo Lourenço, officially inaugurated the newly built US$45 million Dulceria Nacional factory, which will produce a wide range of biscuits, candy, and chocolate brands. Arcor Group, an Argentine multinational confectionery company, and Webcor Group, one of Angola's major food manufacturing entities, collaborated to create Dulceria Nacional.
The Angolan Head of State cut the ribbon in the presence of some members of the Executive, representatives of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Angola, and businessmen, among others.
Dulceria, located in Luanda's Viana's Industrial Complex and spanning over 11,500 m2, is a world-class production facility outfitted with cutting-edge technology. It has three production lines, one of which is dedicated to making the famous Bon o Bon chocolate at a rate of 3,500 tonnes per year.
It will soon begin producing cookies with a 7,000-tonne capacity as well as sweets with a 5,000-tonne capacity per year. Dulceria Nacional will supply the Angolan market as a result of this, and with the establishment of the second phase, the company plans to expand into other Sub-Saharan markets such as South Africa, Mozambique, Congo, Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana.
"This collaboration will contribute to the diversification and growth of the economy, direct and indirect job creation, and the development of the Angolan market through the manufacturing of long-established brands and the inclusion of products tailored to the preferences and needs of local consumers," said Fernando Di Giusto, General Manager of Dulceria Nacional.
It currently employs more than 150 people, who are supported by qualified and experienced technicians and operators from Argentina, Brazil, and Italy. Once all production lines are fully operational, the total number of employees is expected to reach 500.
"The new factory represents yet another milestone in Webcor's history of direct investment in Angola, highlighting the Group's commitment to expanding its local production footprint in the region," said Wissam Nesr, Webcor Group CEO.
The candy factory follows the opening of a new wheat mill in Lobito by Webcor's subsidiary, Grandes Moagens de Angola. According to Webcor, the Lobito mill's construction began in November 2018 and included the reconstruction of a colonial-era silo, the installation of new metal silos, as well as cleaning and transportation equipment.
The silos, which can unload grain ships at up to 300 tonnes per hour and perform pre-cleaning at 150 tonnes per hour, have a total storage capacity of 66,000 tonnes of grain. Furthermore, the plant is ready to load trucks and railway wagons to complete the logistics loop, and it is prepared to increase its storage capacity by another 16,000 tonnes in the future.
The new processing facility is an addition to the company's wheat mill, which is located in the heart of Luanda's port and features cutting-edge machinery with a processing capacity of 1,200 tonnes of wheat per day.
