CHICAGO _ Mondelez International, the maker of Oreo and Ritz crackers, will invest $65 million in nine research and development labs globally, according to a Mondelez news release Wednesday.
Only one of the nine "advantaged technical centers" will be located in the U.S., a facility in East Hanover, N.J., that's already in operation. Mondelez, a global snack and confectionery company headquartered in suburban Chicago, is redesigning its research and development network through a "combination of new and existing technical centers that will be more flexible and agile in responding to the company's growth and innovation needs," the release said.
"These hubs will enable improved efficiency, effectiveness and accelerated project delivery, while the increased scale across key markets will provide rapid access to changing consumer needs and trends," said Rob Hargrove, executive vice president of research, development and quality, in the news release.
The other facilities will be located in Mexico City; Bournville, England; Reading, England; Wroclaw, Poland; Thane, India; Suzhou, China; Jurong, Singapore; and Curitiba, Brazil.
The two United Kingdom labs are also already in operation. The rest will be built over the next two years.
