US-based agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has opened two manufacturing plants in China in order to increase its capacity to meet the growing demand in the country for value added food ingredients and animal nutrition products.
The company has opened a production plant in the northeastern part of the Tianjin city which will produce Fibersol soluble dietary fiber. It also opened a feed-premix plant in the eastern city of Nanjing.
Fibersol soluble dietary fiber is marketed through a joint venture between ADM and Matsutani Chemical Industry Co. The solution helps food and beverage makers to enhance the presence of fiber in their products without affecting the flavour, consistency and colour.
The Fibersol plant in Tianjin, with a production capacity of 15,000 metric tons a year, intends to address the growing needs of food industry to meet customer demands.
ADM CEO Juan Luciano said: "As more and more Chinese citizens enter the middle class, we expect that demand for Fibersol and other value-added food ingredients made by ADM will remain robust well into the future."
The company's other facility in Nanjing will produce nutritional premixes which can be added to animal feeds in order to optimize good health and growth of the animals. The premixes will contain vitamins and minerals, amino acids such as lysine and threonine, among other ingredients.
ADM estimates to produce around 30,000 metric tons of premix products a year at this facility. Apart from this facility, the company also operates premix manufacturing units at Tianjin and in Dalian, with a fourth facility under construction in Zhangzhou.
Juan Luciano said: "As China continues transitioning from a manufacturing-driven economy to a consumption-based economy, its middle class will continue to expand, and meat consumption will continue to grow.
"We therefore are confident that demand for the livestock feeds and feed ingredients we produce will continue to increase over the course of the next decade."
With the addition of two new facilities, ADM hopes that these new components add to its growing returns. The company's growth strategy also includes improving its existing businesses and augmenting operational efficiencies at all of its manufacturing facilities.
Since its establishment in the 1990s in China where it acquired an animal feed premix plant in Dalian, ADM has grown to become one of the leading exporters of agricultural products to Asia, with the company selling a broad range of food ingredients and animal feeds throughout its sales network offices in Asia Pacific region.
Recently, the company completed the acquisition of some assets of Eaststarch C.V., which is ADM's 50-50 joint venture with Tate & Lyle. The acquisition has added to ADM's business of corn wet mills in Bulgaria and Turkey. It owns around 50% stake in a wet mill in Hungary. The combined capacity of the Bulgaria, Turkey, and Hungary facilities is estimated to be 200,000 bushels. These facilities produce sweeteners and starches. The Hungary facility manufactures ethanol for beverage, fuel and industrial purposes.
