BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — There will be roughly 200 new jobs coming to central Illinois now that a high end chocolate maker is buliding a new factory in nearby Bloomington.
Ferrero has announced plans to build a brand new Kinder Bueno plant in a planned $214 million expansion.
Governor J.B. Pritzker spent part of Wednesday announcing the news at a groundbreaking ceremony.
“This expansion is an affirmation of the quality of Illinois’ workforce and our state’s reputation on the global stage,” he said.
“Central Illinois is one of the hottest growth areas,” Pritzker continued.
It will be the first U.S. Kinder Bueno chocolate production facility in the entire country, adding to Ferrero’s current workforce of more than 1,400 employees.
The full expansion will add 169,000 square feet dedicated to producing Kinder Bueno, a popular premium chocolate bar that launched in the U.S. in 2019.
Construction on the new facility is expected to be completed in 2024.
As part of the expansion, the company received an Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit, which stipulates a goal of investing $103 million and creating 75 jobs over the next two years.
Ferrero also partners with Heartland Community College on an apprenticeship program that strengthens the workforce pipeline by training and certifying maintenance workers at the plant.
