Nutriad expects 100% hike in output from US expansion

13-Jan-2015 - Last updated on 13-Jan-2015 at 13:37 GMT

A Belgium headquartered feed additive producer says it is investing $4m in a new facility in the US to double capacity, meet ambitious growth targets, and ensure compliance with FSMA.

The expansion in Illinois by Nutriad will bring all its US activities - offices, laboratories, and production site - under “one roof”, which has not been the case for the past 10 years, said Keith Klanderman, president of Nutriad Inc.

And, critically, he said the new 50,000 plus square foot (half a hectare) manufacturing facility will enable US production of the company’s feed palatability and digestibility performance enhancer products.

“We expect a 100% hike in output as a result of this investment – current US production capacity is in the range of 2.5 million lbs and we envisage that doubling within a short time frame,” he told us.

Market leader in feed palatability products

He said Nutriad is regarded as the North American leader in feed palatability products including flavors, sweeteners and masking ingredients.

However, the new production facilities, said Klanderman, should help the company accommodate the transition that is currently taking place in the US marketplace in terms of a migration away from the use of certain antibiotics in livestock farming.

“Increasingly, the US consumer is demanding antibiotic free meat products, and we are aiming to support the feed manufacturing and livestock producers as they address that trend, with a particular emphasis set to be placed on our yeast based products.

We would expect growth of around 12% arising out of these initiatives,” said Klanderman.

Nutriad engages with both large US feed manufacturers as well as the vertical integration companies that tend to dominant the US swine and poultry sector. It also targets dairy farming operations through feed blender companies and dairy nutritionists and consultants.

FSMA compliance

Another driver for the Illinois expansion, said Klanderman, was the need to ensure Nutriad’s feed additive manufacturing processes adhered to new requirements under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

“The new production environment complies with quality control measures under the new regulation,” he added.

The investment, said Klanderman, will also strengthen the logistics capabilities of the company and will help to support its six warehouses located across Canada, the US, and Mexico through the roll out of a just-in-time production strategy, for example.