Niutang to begin production at new 1,200t sucralose facility by the end of March
This is the company’s fourth expansion in five years, said Licheng Wang Jr., General Manager of Changzhou Niutang, who said the new capacity will allow it to meet growing demand and supply all varieties of sucralose (granular, micronized, liquid etc).
“Our new sucralose facility includes new technologies, automation and process improvement steps to ensure we are managing overall production costs.”
A spokeswoman told FoodNavigator-USA: "Niutang’s growth has been fueled by extremely high demand for our sucralose, although we do not publicly disclose our growth per product for competitive reasons. Many companies are transferring their sucralose requirements to Niutang because of the high level of quality and service we provide.
"We are also experiencing category and development growth in the double digits. Our competitive price allows our customers to develop products at a reasonable price."
18% sales growth in 2012
Niutang is one of several Chinese manufacturers cleared of infringing market leader Tate & Lyle’s sucralose production patents in 2009 along with JK Sucralose, which says capacity at its facility in Jiangsu Province is currently 1,500tons, but will increase to 1,800 tons by the end of year. Tate & Lyle does not disclose is capacity figures.
Niutang - which has sales offices in the US and Europe - is also expanding production of L-phe (L-phenylalanine) in order to minimize production costs for aspartame, said the firm, which posted an 18% rise in sales in 2012.
“Once our L-Phenylalanine plant is up and running, we will have even more flexibility to offer our customers high-quality, cost-efficient aspartame.
“ In addition, our expanded offerings of natural high intensity sweeteners allow our customers the flexibility of introducing stevia and monk fruit into their portfolio of products.”
