Cadbury unwraps plans for new factory

Cadbury Schweppes today unveiled plans for a new £70m (€104m) chewing gum factory in Poland as it said trading in 2005 was in line with expectations.

The soft drinks company is the world’s second largest gum maker behind Wrigley with brands such as Trident, Hollywood, Stimorol and Dirol.

The factory in Poland is expected to open in 2008 as Cadbury spends more money on developing new gum products after agreeing to sell its European soft drinks business for £1.27bn (€1.88bn).

Cadbury chief executive Todd Stitzer said: “It is an important investment which will enable us to continue to deliver strong growth and innovation from our portfolio of gum brands.”

The announcement came as Cadbury delivered a trading update for 2005.

The company, which will use the money from the sale of brands including Schweppes, Orangina and Oasis to tackle its debt mountain, said trading was “in line with expectations” while revenue growth was expected to be around the top end of its goal range.