Work on the building plans for the new factory has been ongoing for over four years. Sustainability is a high priority in all project phases. innocent is changing the traditional approach to building, design and running a factory. Using reusable energy, handling water sustainably and treating waste as a resource will enable innocent to minimise the new factory’s CO2 emissions. Choosing Rotterdam as its new base means production takes place as close as possible to where the ingredients arrive. This means that fewer kilometres will need to be driven. Annually, this will save around 13,000 truck journeys.
Rotterdam Food Hub
The factory will open in 2021. Production will start in the first quarter of 2021 and the factory is expected to be fully operational by 2022. 400 million bottles of chilled juice will be produced each year for 17 European countries. innocent is investing $250 million (€223 million) in the factory.
innocent is the first company to establish itself in the Rotterdam Food Hub, the 60-hectare new business park on Calandkanaal that the Port of Rotterdam Authority is fitting out with optimal facilities for agrofood sector companies. For instance, the Rotterdam Food Hub will have access to multiple berths especially for inland vessels and warehouses will be located immediately adjacent to the quays to enable refrigerated and frozen cargo to be stored, processed or transported quickly.