Building a new factory is always a challenge; ensuring the equipment selection, rules for operation, staffing levels and production capacity are all in sync with the business plan is no mean feat. Cadbury, facing these challenges with the build of a new Chewing Gum factory in Poland (see figure1), turned to simulation as a way of addressing some of these questions.

Saker Solutions' model enabled Cadbury to prove that the new facility would deliver the required volumes,
justify the equipment selection criteria, the sizing of the conditioning stores, as well as gaining an appreciation of the shift patterns, operational rules, cleaning regimes and scheduling profiles. In addition the model helped in reviewing the actual ingredient usage and scrap levels anticipated by the plant.