Sumitomo to expand production capacity for feed additive

By this expansion, the company will increase its capacity by approximately 100,000 metric tons per year, bringing the total production capacity for methionine to approximately 250,000 metric tons per year, including existing facilities. The new facil

Sumitomo  Chemical  has  decided  to  expand  its production  capacity  for  the  feed  additive  methionine by  adding  a  new  production  line  in  its  Ehime  Works  in Niihama City,  EhimePrefecture,  Japan,   to  meet  the active demand in  the  market.  By this expansion, the Company will increase its capacity by approximately 100,000 metric tons per year, bringing the total production capacity for methionine to approximately 250,000 metric tons per year, including existing facilities. The new facility is scheduled for completion in mid-2018.  

Methionine is an essential amino acid that cannot be synthesized in an animal body.  It  is  widely used  as  a  feed additive in  livestock  industry  mainly  for  poultry  feed to increase productivity  of  chicken  meat  and  eggs,  as  poultry   feed,  which is  made  mainly  from  corn, often does not contain sufficient amount of methionine.

Adding methionine and producing a proper  balance of amino  acids  in  feed also  helps  the  poultry  to  absorb  the  amino-acids efficiently,  thus  reducing  nitrogen  compounds  in  poultry  excrement,  which  are  a  source  of  greenhouse gas emission.

In recent years, demand for methionine has kept increasing for a variety of reasons, such as the growth of the world population, the spread of meat-eating culture in emerging countries as their economies grow, soaring prices of fishmeal, which is a feed ingredient with relatively high  methionine  content,  and increased  methionine  requirement  in  livestock  with  breed  improvement. The global methionine market is estimated currently at 1.1 million tons. It has grown at an annual rate of about 6 percent last year and is expected to continue its growth at    the similar annual rates.

Sumitomo  Chemical’s  decision to  locate  the  new  line  at the Ehime Works with  one  of  the  largest investments in Japan for the Company, was taken after due consideration of multiple factors, the  most  critical  of  which  was  the  cost  competitiveness.  As far as methionine production is concerned, cost advantages accrue specifically from a variety of benefits that the   Works   and   its   location   can   provide.   They   include   a   reservoir   of   methionine   manufacturing  know-how  amply accumulated within the Works, availability  of  cost-efficient integrated  production from  raw  materials  through to a  finished  product,  and the  Works' comprehensive infrastructure capable of supporting methionine production, coupled with the location's geographical proximity and easier access to Asian markets where the demand is growing significantly  and also a generally favorable investment climate, including the local governments' initiatives, both prefectural and municipal, to  welcome the investment.