The Pokrov chocolate factory was launched ten years ago in 1997, when it was owned by Germany's Stollwerck, one of Europe's largest and oldest sweet makers. Kraft Foods bought the factory in 2002, and output increased to 60,000 metric tons in 2006 against 51,000 in 2005.
A 100-meter production line with a capacity of up to 4 metric tons an hour will churn out 14 bars of chocolate per second, initially producing the well known brands Milka and Alpine Gold, but there are plans to expand the range.
Apart from creating new jobs in Pokrov, the company has also built several sports grounds for children and held competitions there in the past few years in a move to promote social responsibility and a healthy lifestyle.
Kraft Foods also owns an instant coffee packaging plant in the Leningrad Region in northwestern Russia and over 100 regional outlets across the country.
Kraft Foods Rus is a subsidiary of Kraft Foods Inc., the world's No.2 producer of packed foods with over $34 billion worth of sales. Kraft Foods produces and sells its products in 155 countries.
Apart from chocolate and chocolate sweets, Kraft Foods also produces Carte Noire, Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees and Estrella chips in Russia.
