Nestle, the Largest Food & Beverage Company in the World Continues Global Growth

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The world's leading food & beverage company Nestle S.A. (OTC: NSRGY) (Vevey, Switzerland) is also Switzerland's largest industrial company. It all started back in 1866, when Henri Nestle, a pharmacist by trade, began experimenting and researching to develop a healthy and economical alternative to breastfeeding for mothers who could not feed their infants at the breast. He successfully developed a baby formula, saved a child's life with it and later formed Nestle.

Nestle, in Swiss German, means "little nest" and thus the company's trade mark you find today on all Nestle products depicting a mother bird feeding her young, was born. After successfully launching an infant formula, a condensed milk product was also developed and in 1875 the company invented chocolate milk and never looked back.

Today, Nestle has 508 manufacturing plants throughout the world and employs over a quarter million people generating over $33 billion in annual sales.

In the U.S., they operate a beverage division, a confections and snacks division, a foodservice division, a prepared foods company, a pet care company and three research and development centers.



Click the Tune In! button and listen to an interview with Nestle's Norman Ross as recorded on the Industrialinfo.com Radio Show during coverage of the Siemens Exider Train last week on its visit to Detroit.

Products include coffee, water, dairy products such as Nestea and Nesquick and shelf stable items like Carnation. They produce breakfast cereals, infant foods, power bars, culinary products, frozen foods, ice cream, meats, dough's, pasta, pizzas, sauces, confectionary products, pet foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Recent acquisitions include Dreyer's Ice Cream and Chef America and in March of last year, the company opened a new $165 million plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas (PEC 20000751) and is currently investing $7 million in an expansion of their Hot Pockets plant in Mount Sterling, Kentucky.

Internationally, in southern Krasnodar Region of Russia, the company has begun construction on a new $120 million coffee plant that will produce Nescafe instant coffee when completed in August of 2005.

In the U.S., the company operates 51 manufacturing plants, five distribution centers, and has 59 sales offices and 22,000 employees across the country. Nestle USA netted over $11 billion is sales in 2002 and was also named America's Most Admired Food Company for the sixth consecutive year by Fortune magazine.

For details on the 51 Nestlé's manufacturing plants, including phone numbers, plant management contacts, addresses, and much more contact Industrialinfo.com's Member Center at 1-800-762-3361.