The new GDC, comprising a low bay and a fully automated high bay warehouse (together more than 60,000 square metres) will serve as a logistics hub for the global distribution of chocolate produced by Barry Callebaut.

This includes the majority of products in the Gourmet & Specialties and Decorations segment, as well as solid chocolate for food manufacturer customers. The new GDC allows Barry Callebaut to consolidate its activities currently located across several locations in the region of Aalst, Belgium. This will optimise and increase the efficiency of Barry Callebaut’s product distribution, the company believes.

Barry Callebaut will rent the GDC based on a long term rental contract. The handover of the site is expected for the third quarter of 2021. In addition to the 85 people currently employed, Barry Callebaut expects to have additional vacancies based on the projected growth for the GDC activities.

“The global expansion of our products has increased rapidly in recent years, and we anticipate that this trend will continue in the future. The new Global Distribution Center is an adequate solution that responds to our growth, increases efficiency for our customers as well as employees and guarantees improved mobility at the same time. In addition, the development of the GDC is a textbook example of the implementation of our ‘smart growth’ strategy,” said Massimo Garavaglia, President, Region EMEA of the Barry Callebaut Group.

The new site is said to support Barry Callebaut’s goal to become carbon positive by 2025, as described in the Group’s sustainability plan, Forever Chocolate. The logistics hub will be fully energy-neutral, certified by BREAAM, by investing in, amongst others, solar panels, use of materials with low life-cycle cost, geothermal energy, charging stations for electric vehicles, and extensive facilities for cyclists.