Nestle upgrades Guangzhou ice cream plant

Nestle SA, the world's largest food company by revenue, has more than doubled its daily ice-cream cone production capacity to 2 million units at its ice cream plant in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

The move is part of its plan to triple the capacity at the site by 2016 compared with 2011, said Daniel Lutz, senior vice-president of the ice cream & chilled business unit of Nestle Food & Beverage Division, Greater China region, on Friday.

Nestle will also replace old production lines at the plant, according to the plan, which will receive 500 million yuan ($79.60 million) in investment.

As the ice cream market on the Chinese mainland is growing by about 8 percent a year, Nestle is seeing an annual double-digit growth, said Roland Decorvet, chairman & CEO of Nestle, Greater China.