Food ingredients giant Danisco is set to invest further into Mexico with the announcement this week that the company is to construct a DKK 40 million production plant for speciality pectin in Tecomán, Mexico.
The new plant, expected to be operational in April 2004, will produce low ester pectin made from citrus peel, used in particular in jam with low sugar content, fruit blends for sweets, bread and dairy products and as a stabiliser in yoghurt.
According to the company, the decision to expand production at the Mexican-based plant involves, among other things, certain transportation benefits. Current production in Grindsted, Denmark will terminate.
'The investment in Mexico will enable us to more than double our present capacity, reduce production costs and offer our customers entirely new products,' said Hans Henrik Hjorth, president of Danisco Textural Ingredients.
The decision to invest in Mexico comes just a few months after Danisco's pectin plant in the Czech Republic began growing its capacity by 40 per cent. The Czech plant is expected to reach the increased capacity in September this year.
Danisco asserts that it is currently the world's second largest producer of pectin with a market share of approximately 25 per cent.