The flavour compounding production at Barneveld will be transferred to Givaudan's German and Swiss sites in a move designed to "optimise European capacity utilisation", according to the company.
The move will affect some 130 employees in the Netherlands, and the transfer of production will start in October this year, reaching its expected conclusion in December 2005.
Givaudan said that it would continue to maintain a strong marketing and sales presence in the Netherlands, as well as its state-of-the-art centre for flavour creation and application for its Dutch and European customers. Barneveld would also remain Givaudan's centre of excellence for flavour ingredient production, the company said.
The Dutch transfer follows the decision last year to move flavour production from Milton Keynes in the UK to the German plant in Dortmund, again as part of an efficiency drive.
Givaudan is the world's largest flavours and fragrances group, and its decision to consolidate production of flavours arm underlines the importance of this business. The flavours unit posted growth of 5.4 per cent in the first quarter, taking sales to SF423.2 million, with strong gains in particular from the savoury, confectionery and beverage segments.
In Europe, flavour sales were particularly strong in eastern Europe, Iberia, and the Scandinavian countries, and company said it would continue to focus on the savoury segment, where it has a number of innovative new products in the pipeline.