Growth market

FMC to expand global production by one-third with new Thailand plant

By RJ Whitehead

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Asia Thailand Southeast asia

FMC to expand global production by one-third with new Thailand plant
Eager to move forward with supplying the fast-growing Asian market, food technology major FMC has broken ground on its major new microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) manufacturing facility in Rayong, Thailand, through which FMC expects to increase its global capacity by over one-third. 

The plant’s development comes in the wake of FMC announcing that it will invest more than US$100m in Southeast Asia’s first fully integrated colloidal MCC manufacturing and blending site. 

Quicker supply links

Today we answer the call of our customers and the marketplace to help meet the growing demand for innovative food and beverage products in Asia​,” said Mike Smith, vice-president of FMC BioPolymer. “This state-of-the-art site, which increases our global MCC capacity for the food industry by 35 percent, will allow us to more easily and quickly supply the Asian marketplace with our MCC products and the tailored blends we deliver to meet customer needs​.”

The new facility is expected to come on line in late 2014 and will be fully integrated with MCC production, blending, packaging and warehousing. The Thailand facility will initially manufacture colloidal MCC, which is widely used as a key ingredient in food and beverages. However, the facility’s design will allow for future volume expansion and the manufacture of different product lines for both the food and pharmaceutical markets. 

Wider growth

We are continuing to invest in a great business to grow with our Asian customers​,” said Michael Wilson, president of FMC Specialty Chemicals. 

The company now has a technical centre in Singapore, which opened last year, while the new Asia Innovation Centre in Shanghai is scheduled to be completed later this year. “These are all symbols of our long-term commitment to support our growing customer base in this region​,” added Wilson.

The new Rayong plant is FMC’s third manufacturing facility for MCC. The company recently completed expansion at its BioPolymer MCC sites in Newark, Delaware, in the United States, and Cork in Ireland. 

The company is also investing to broaden its line of food ingredients with the recent acquisitions of natural colours and pectin companies, making FMC the only business that can claim to integrate both texturants and colours for the food industry.

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