TOKYO — Yamazaki Baking, Japan’s largest baking company, plans to invest $183 million in a new baking plant, the company’s first new facility in 28 years, according to an article in the Nikkei Asian Review. The plant will help the company meet growing demand for grab-and-go sandwiches and snacks, the newspaper said.
According to the Nikkei Asian Review, the bread and bun bakery will be built on the site of a plant in Kobe, Japan, that currently makes frozen dough. The plant is expected to be operational by 2018 and will be Yamazaki’s fifth bakery in the Kansai region, increasing production capacity in the region by about 10%, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.
The newspaper noted Yamazaki last built a new bakery in 1990, in Anjo, a city near Nagoya, Japan. Since that time, the company has increased its capacity by buying and repairing existing facilities, the Nikkei Asian Review said.
Founded in 1948 by Tojuro Iijima, Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd. began as a provider of baked foods in the post-World War II era, when most of Japan was still experiencing severe food shortages. In the ensuing years, the company has expanded its offerings, introducing bread and other products from around the world into the Japanese market and contributing to the enhancement of Japanese lifestyles and dietary culture. Today, the company is Japan’s largest baking company with a lineup that includes bread, sweet buns, Japanese-style confectionery, Western-style confectionery, processed bread and prepared rice and side dishes, as well as jam, desserts and prepared foods in retort pouches.
In the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, Yamazaki had net income of 11,095 million yen ($105 million), which compared with 12,048 million yen in fiscal 2014. Net sales during fiscal 2015 totaled 1,027,199 million yen ($9,682 million), up from 995,011 million yen a year ago.
