VEVEY, SWITZERLAND — A planned €45 million ($60.6 million) extension to a Wagner factory in Otzenhausen, Germany, will strengthen the frozen pizza business of Nestle S.A. Production at the factory is set to increase to 350 million products annually from 70 million products annually once the new extension is fully operational in 2013.

Nestle entered a joint venture with Wagner in 2005 and increased its stake in the company to 75% in 2010. Wagner branded frozen products include Big Pizza, Piccolinis and Die Backfrische. Pizza varieties include reduced fat, whole grain, lactose-free and organic.


“We are not here just to look at a building site,” said Werner Bauer, executive vice-president for Nestle and chief technology officer. “We are here to envisage the future.”

Nestle last year acquired the frozen pizza business of Kraft Foods Inc., a move that added brands such as DiGiorno, Tombstone, California Pizza Kitchen, Jack’s and Delissio.