{"id":19926,"date":"2026-06-09T10:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/19926\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T10:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:45:12","slug":"cargill-strengthens-belgium-as-strategic-european-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/19926\/","title":{"rendered":"Cargill strengthens Belgium as strategic European hub"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>MECHELEN, Belgium \u2014 In a move that underscores Cargill \u2019s commitment to the Belgian market, the company announced two recent expansions at its Izegem edible oils bottling site and its Mouscron gourmet chocolate facility, along with a new extrusion pilot plant at its Vilvoorde Innovation Center. The approximately \u20ac56 million total investment enhances the company\u2019s operational and research &amp; innovation capabilities. It also supports Cargill\u2019s ability to serve growing demand for edible oils, premium chocolate products and customer-led innovation.<\/p>\n<p>In just 12 months, Cargill has transformed its largest edible oil bottling facility in Europe into an even stronger foodservice hub. With a \u20ac21 million investment, around 60% of the site was transformed focusing on nearly doubling its capacity and developing automation and innovation intended to improve efficiency and reinforce long-term supply reliability.<\/p>\n<p><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.comunicaffe.com\/linkout\/189844\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"notrack\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"RANCILIO_2026_05_R_C5-CRONO_550x90\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781001911_182_RANCILIO_2026_05_R_C5-CRONO_550x90.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"90\" style=\"opacity: 1 !important;\"\/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>The expansion also includes two new dedicated foodservice production lines enabling flexible production and reinforcing its strong capabilities in serving foodservice customers.<\/p>\n<p>In Mouscron, linked to its current gourmet chocolate production site, Cargill\u2019s \u20ac30 million investment adds an impressive 10,500 sqm of additional production space, almost doubling the company\u2019s gourmet chocolate production capabilities. The expansion strengthens Cargill\u2019s ability to help gourmet chocolate customers respond to seasonal demand, develop more tailored products and shorten lead times. The expanded site will produce Cargill\u2019s premium couverture chocolate range Veliche and support artisanal foodservice customers, restaurants and food manufacturers.<\/p>\n<p><a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.comunicaffe.com\/linkout\/177511\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"notrack\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Woc Brusells-2026\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781001911_179_Woc-Brusells-2026.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"90\" style=\"opacity: 1 !important;\"\/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Cargill has also strengthened its European R&amp;D capabilities in Vilvoorde through a \u20ac5.4 million investment in a new extrusion pilot plant at its Innovation Center. The facility supports rapid prototyping, ingredient functionality testing and customer collaboration across food, feed and pet food applications, and builds on the previously announced \u20ac45 million investment in Cargill\u2019s food innovation center in Vilvoorde. Together, these investments strengthen Cargill\u2019s broader European R&amp;D network.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBelgium is a key strategic hub for Cargill in Europe, thanks to its strong food industry, close customer connectivity, and advanced logistics infrastructure that enable efficient supply across Western Europe,\u201d said Geert Maesmans, Vice President of R&amp;D for Cargill\u2019s Food business in EMEA and Cargill\u2019s Belgium country lead. \u201cThese investments not only strengthen our local food R&amp;D and production capabilities but allow us to continue to grow with our customers and provide them with more diverse and innovative food solutions across Belgium and the EMEA region.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The recent investments add to Cargill\u2019s broader footprint in Belgium, where the company has operated since 1953 and today employs more than 1,500 people across 9 locations spanning production, R&amp;D and regional coordination functions.<\/p>\n<p>Together, the Izegem, Mouscron, and Vilvoorde investments reinforce Belgium\u2019s position in Cargill\u2019s European network and support the company\u2019s focus on supply, innovation and more sustainable production.<\/p>\n<p> <a data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.comunicaffe.com\/linkout\/177597\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"notrack\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"TriestespressoGIF (700 x 120 px)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781001912_148_TriestespressoGIF-700-x-120-px.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"90\" style=\"opacity: 1 !important;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MECHELEN, Belgium \u2014 In a move that underscores Cargill \u2019s commitment to the Belgian market, the company announced&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,12148,12698],"class_list":["post-19926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-belgium","tag-belgium","tag-cargill","tag-commodity-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116719748864388429","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}