Nestlé Invests $53M to Focus on Frozen, Chilled Foods

SOLON, Ohio Nestlé S.A. will invest $53 million to establish a new building that will expand the existing R&D facility in Solon. The new center will be designated as a global Product Technology Center (PTC), dedicated to frozen and chilled foods research, and will serve Nestlés businesses worldwide. Construction is expected to begin this summer with plans for the facility to be operational in late 2014.

The glass-faced facility located on 18 acres will house offices and labs for approximately 100 scientific, professional and technical staff. The 144,000-square-foot building also will include a pilot plant where new recipes and the latest technologies will be tested and evaluated.

The decision to expand the research and development capabilities in Solon reflects the growth in size and complexity of Nestlé's frozen and chilled food businesses.

"We are pleased that the R&D effort first established in Solon in 2001 to serve our regional needs has matured into a global Product Technology Center. We currently operate 11 Product Technology Centers around the world. PTC Solon will become the twelfth of these important centers of excellence for Nestlé. Here we will establish a critical mass of technology expertise and product knowledge for our global Nestle frozen and chilled foods business," said Johannes Baensch, Nestlé's Global Head of Research and Development.

While the new PTC will serve Nestlé business units worldwide, it will continue to support the following domestic brandsSTOUFFER'S® and LEAN CUISINE® prepared meals and snacks, HOT POCKETS® and LEAN POCKETS® brand sandwiches, BUITONI® refrigerated pastas and sauces; NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® refrigerated (and in test, frozen) cookie dough, as well as the DIGIORNO®, CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN®, TOMBSTONE® and JACK'S® brands of frozen pizza.