Kemin announces $30m investment on home turf
As the family owned company approaches its 50-year anniversary in 2011, it is looking to expand, starting at home with the building of new headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa.
Still in the town where the business began, the building project will include 5 manufacturing facilities, 3 research labs and a corporate headquarters building.
To be built on a 20-acre site in the south east of Des Moines along the new SE Connector roadway, the new facilities will cost over $30m.
New jobs
Explaining the need for the building work, Dr Chris Nelson, Kemin CEO, said: “Due to continued growth over the last several years, we have outgrown our facilities in Des Moines, Iowa.”
Kemin decided to stay in Des Moines where the company was founded in 1961. Nelson said a key factor in the decision to remain in the town was a decision by the Iowa Legislature to retain an existing research and development tax credit.
He told NutraIngredients-USA.com: “If this tax credit had been cut or removed, much of the research expansion that will take place in Des Moines would have taken place outside the United States.”
In addition to the investment in new infrastructure, Kemin expects to be able to create 98 jobs in the areas of research, marketing, information technology and support functions, as a result of the investment.
In addition to the Des Moines expansion, Kemin also has plans to grow its global footprint that now includes operations in 60 countries and manufacturing facilities in 8 counties. In a statement, the company said it is actively evaluating expansion opportunities in Brazil, Russia, India and China.
In terms of the areas where Kemin sees the best growth possibilities, company president Jeff Flora, said: “While we see growth coming from numerous health platforms, we feel that cognition, sports nutrition, anti-aging, vision care and pre-diabetics are significant platforms of interest for Kemin Health.”
Founded in 1961, Kemin produces of nutritional ingredients for all levels of the feed and food supply chains as well as health, nutrition and beauty markets. In the functional food market it is best known for its FloraGLO Lutein ingredient, which is marketed for its eye and skin health benefits.
