Nestlé has announced it will invest nearly CHF 17 million ($17.6 million) in a new operations center in Uruguay to better support customers locally.

The new location will include a production plant and a distribution center, as well as Nestlé Uruguay’s headquarters.

More than half of the total investment in equipment will be for green technologies, including the use of renewable energy sources.

The modernization of production processes will further improve the production of soluble coffee, powdered chocolate beverages, baking premixes and mashed potatoes.

Laurent Freixe, Executive Vice President and CEO Zone Americas at Nestlé, attended a ceremony to mark the begin of construction at El Parque Industrial Zona Este near Canelones, Uruguay.