With the opening of two plants in China on two consecutive days this week, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has increased its capacity to serve growing regional demand for value-added food-ingredients and animal-nutrition products.

Earlier this week, ADM CEO Juan Luciano joined government officials and representatives from Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the northeastern coastal city of Tianjin, marking the opening of a plant to produce Fibersol soluble dietary fiber. Luciano stood alongside officials from the eastern city of Nanjing to mark the opening of a feed-premix plant —ADM’s third in the country.

Fibersol — sold and marketed through an ADM/Matsutani joint venture — enables food and beverage manufacturers to increase the fiber content of their products without impacting flavor, color or viscosity, according to the company. With the global market for soluble dietary fiber growing at an annual rate of 13%, the Tianjin plant’s production capacity of 15,000 metric tons per year will help address food industry customers’ increasing demand, according to the company.

Meanwhile, the Nanjing facility will manufacture nutritional premixes that can be added to animal rations to promote good health and optimal growth. Such premixes typically contain various vitamins and minerals, amino acids such as lysine and threonine, and other ingredients. ADM will manufacture an estimated 30,000 metric tons of premix products per year at the Nanjing facility. The company also owns premix production facilities in Tianjin and in Dalian, and a fourth is currently under construction in Zhangzhou.

By expanding ADM’s geographic footprint in two value-added businesses, the Fibersol and feed premix facilities advance the strategic growth component of ADM’s framework for growing returns. That framework also includes efforts to optimize the company’s existing businesses and drive operational efficiencies at its production facilities.

History
ADM began operations in China in the mid-1990s, when the company acquired an animal feed premix plant in Dalian, in the country’s northeast. ADM has grown to become one of the top exporters of agricultural products to Asia, and the company markets an extensive range of food ingredients and animal feeds and feed premixes through its network of sales offices located throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

SOURCE: ADM