Novus invests in production expansion for partner
The Missouri-based animal health and nutrition company announced Friday that it was working with its partner Arkema, Inc. to expand the manufacturing capacity for several raw materials for use in feed additives, including methylmercapto-propionaldehyde (MMP).
The decision to increase production of MMP and other compounds was made to ensure a consistent supply of raw materials and support the growing demand for animal nutrition products, said Jeff Klopfenstein, Novus International’s methionine business unit president.
“The project is on schedule for start-up during summer 2021,” he told FeedNavigator.
The feed additive elements produced at Arkema’s facility in Texas include those used in the production of Novus’s Alimet feed supplement – a product that supplies methionine, the company said.
Raw material production
The decision to expand manufacturing capacity at Arkema’s facility was part of an investment review with its partnering company, Novus reported.
“During an investment review, the parties involved conduct front-end engineering design studies to determine the capital estimate for the investment,” added Klopfenstein.
The facility expansion is intended to double the amount of the raw material MMP that is available for Novus, the company said.
The additional production of raw materials for use in Novus products is anticipated to support the company’s global market presence and customer needs, said Klopfenstein. “As the demand for meat, milk and egg production grows globally; our customers need increased availability of methionine sources that protect their performance, like Alimet feed supplement – we also see that solutions that help reduce feed costs are also in high demand,” he added.
The increased production of ingredients for the company’s feed additive products also helps support its industry position, he said. “Our leadership position in methionine and aggressive growth in chelated trace mineral and enzyme solutions strategically positions Novus well into the next decade,” he added.
“We project methionine demand to grow by approximately 5-6% per year, and thus by 2020 another world-scale methionine plant would be required to supply requirements all over the world,” he said. “As a leading supplier of methionine, Novus is committed to serving our customer’s demands and growing with them.”
New facility update
In addition to supporting the expansion of Arkema’s facility, Novus is in the process of designing a new feed supplement manufacturing plant to be located in Calhoun County, Texas. The site will make the Alimet feed additive.
Novus released information on the location of the upcoming facility in November 2017.
“Project Newton is also in the final stage of front-end engineering design studies to determine the capital estimate for that project in preparation for a final investment decision,” said Klopfenstein. “Following that, we anticipate that construction would be completed around the end of 2020.”
The new Novus facility is expected to add an additional 120,000 metric tons to its annual 320,000 metric ton production of Alimet, a methionine hydroxyl analog (HMTBa) feed supplement product, the company said.
