27 November 2009 - South American aseptic milk brands Ninho and Molico will benefit from Nestle's new production plant in Brazil that aims to produce 100 million litres of drinking milk annually.

With an investment of R$ 120 million (CHF 70 million), the 63-year-old plant in Araraquara, which produces the Nestle sweet condensed milk Moça, will generate more than 1,600 direct and indirect jobs in the region.

Ivan Zurita, chairman of Nestle Brazil, said: "Since April this year, when we entered the premium milk market, Nestle has been providing the consumer with extremely high-quality milk. This new plant reinforces Nestle's image as a nutrition, health and wellness oriented company."

He added that the prospects for growth from the production site and the collection of raw materials from south of Ribeirão Preto and Minas, will create a positive impact on the dairy industry in these regions which have suffered from the credit crisis since last year.

Present at the opening of the new plant were Geraldo Alckmin, Secretary of State for Development, Marcelo Barbieri, Mayor of Ararquara and Francisco Jardim, Superintendent of the Ministry of Agriculture in Sao Paulo.

According to the Brazil Milk Association, Nestle and its DPA subsidiary were the main milk buyers in Brazil in 2008, with 1.9 billion litres of milk. Nestle has a network of suppliers with more than 48,000 direct and indirect producers.

The Brazilian investment follows the inauguration of Nestle's largest ready-to-drink aseptic products factory in Anderson, USA, in March 2009. At 880,000 sq. ft. (almost 82,000m2), the site is dedicated to meet growing consumer demand of Nestle Nesquik Ready-to-Drink and Nestle Coffee-Mate Liquid products in the USA.Between August 2006 and June 2008, Nestle invested USD 359 million (over CHF 365 million) to construct the factory and distribution centre, the Company's largest single capital investment in its history.

Last August, the company announced it will invest USD 170 million (over CHF 173 million) to expand the facility to more than 1 million sq. ft. (over 92,000m2) by 2011. In total, over 500 jobs will have been created in Anderson by 2011.