HARIBO of America has selected Gilbane Building Company of Milwaukee as the general contractor for its first North American manufacturing facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

"The strategic decision to build a manufacturing facility in North America is of great importance to the HARIBO Group, and we are thrilled to take this next important step in the process," said Hans Guido Riegel, managing partner of the HARIBO Group. "HARIBO is the fastest growing confectionery brand in the U.S., and our production facility will support continued long-term growth while also allowing us to be part of the Pleasant Prairie community. Our customers and consumers in the U.S. expect us to deliver the HARIBO products they love quickly and reliably. With the new plant we are living up to this responsibility."

Gilbane Building Company will be responsible for all construction and work-site management. Construction on the 136.8-acre facility is going to begin as soon as possible in 2020.

"It's a great honor to partner with HARIBO, and we're so pleased we earned the team's trust to deliver this world-class manufacturing complex," said Adam Jelen, senior vice president, Gilbane Building Company, Milwaukee, Wis. "Like HARIBO, Gilbane is committed to quality and being part of the community. We're looking forward to the next steps on this exciting project and to continuing our longstanding commitment to Southeast Wisconsin."

The factory involves a multi-phase build, and upon completion, it will amplify HARIBO's ability to get confectionery products to U.S. customers and consumers with more speed and efficiency than ever before.

"HARIBO will invest well above $300 million in our state-of-the-art facility, the largest project in our 100-year history," said Wes Saber, chief financial officer, HARIBO of America. "In addition to that investment, we're going to create up to 385 direct HARIBO jobs in phase one of our build and up to 4,200 indirect jobs upon completion of our full build as per an independent economic study. It's important to us to be exemplary corporate citizens and give back to the places where we live and work, so we're proud of the relationships we've already built as we become part of the fabric of the community."