China's first methionine plant will be put into operation soon, ending the country's dependence on imports of the important supplement used in animal feed additive.
The plant in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, is a joint venture by China National BlueStar Co Ltd and its fully owned French subsidiary Adisseo Group.
The factory, owned by Bluestar Adisseo Nanjing Co Ltd, or Adistar, will have an annual production capacity of 70,000 metric tons in the initial stage.
China needs about 120,000 tons of methionine annually, and is totally dependent on imports, according to Bluestar.
"The total production capacity of the plant is expected to be 140,000 tons a year to meet the growing demand both in China and in other Asian countries," said Ru Chengjun, executive vice-general manager of Adistar.
The plant will become one of the lowest-cost liquid methionine production facilities in the world when it's operating at full capacity, Ru said.
The new plant is just part of the company's overseas strategy.
As a subsidiary of the State-owned China Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, Bluestar acquired the then third-largest methionine producer in the world, Adisseo, for $565.4 million in January 2006, in China's largest overseas mergers and acquisitions deal in France.
After the acquisition, the company helped Adisseo France turn from losses into a profit in fours years.
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