KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Barry Callebaut has officially opened its Asia Pacific Business Excellence Center (APAC BEC) in Petaling Jaya, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), which will function as a center of excellence, providing support across the company’s financial and accounting services, information management and technology, customer service, and other corporate and shared service functions.
The facility is home to more than 100 employees and is Barry Callebaut’s third site in Malaysia. The company also operates a chocolate and cocoa factory in Port Klang and another cocoa factory in Pasir Gudang, Johor, both of which also house a research & development laboratory.
The Asia Pacific Business Excellence Center of Barry Callebaut
One of the main reasons why the company set up this new Center is to provide a better customer service experience through service optimization and automation. “As we continue to grow in the Region, this growth needs to be supported by a strong hub that will focus on improving our processes and efficiencies,” says Barry Callebaut in a press release.
“Prior to setting up APAC BEC, our strong customer service, information management and finance teams were located at our Port Klang factory site, providing shared resources to the region. With this new Center, we are highly confident that we can focus on and deliver the highest level of service while attracting the best talent.
When deciding on the location for this Center, Malaysia topped the chart. Malaysia is a country renowned as a financial and shared services hub, plus it has an extremely strong talent pool. Our existing presence in the country and all these other factors led us to believe that we could build a business excellence center at pace and scale and deliver an improved customer experience across the Region.”
Barry Callebaut’s History in Malaysia
Barry Callebaut’s story in Malaysia started with the acquisition of a 60% stake in Kuala Lumpur Kepong Cocoa Products Sdn Bhd (KLK Cocoa), a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (a Malaysia-based multinational company involved in plantations, manufacturing, retailing and property development) in 2008.
At the time of acquisition, KLK Cocoa was one of Asia Pacific’s leading cocoa and chocolate manufacturers. This partnership allowed Barry Callebaut to tap into the strong local expertise in Asia Pacific and expand their footprint in this Region.
Since the acquisition, KLK Cocoa has changed its name to Barry Callebaut Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Then came the second manufacturing site in Malaysia in 2012, with the acquisition of Petra Foods’ Cocoa Ingredients Division.
Barry Callebaut has operated in Asia Pacific since 1997. The new APAC BEC in Malaysia underlines the long-term commitment to this Region.
