Gummy bear maker to open first US factory

German confectionary giant Haribo plans to open its first US factory in Wisconsin by 2020, the maker of gummy bears said in a statement Friday.

"We're planning to build one of the biggest facilities in the confectionary industry," said Haribo of America chief financial officer Wes Saber in a statement.

Haribo executives in Germany gave the go-ahead to buy a lot in Kenosha County, southeast Wisconsin, to host the new factory.

"Haribo is building a $242 million manufacturing facility in SE WI with 400 good-paying jobs! Sweet," Wisconsin governor Scott Walker tweeted on Thursday.

Present in the US since 1982, Haribo's American division currently operates from offices in Rosemont, Illinois.

The firm had been "searching for a site for its first US production facility for several years already," said Haribo of America chief operating officer Rick LaBerge.

But its move comes as many German firms are troubled by the prospect of import tariffs after tough talk on trade from President Donald Trump.

Chancellor Angela Merkel brought business leaders on her first visit to the White House last week, hoping to convince the Republican chief of German industry's contribution to the US economy with production and jobs as well as imports.

Founded in Bonn, western Germany in 1920, Haribo today employs around 7,000 people worldwide and makes 100 million gummy bears a day.

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