The facility, said the speciality ingredient supplier, is currently under construction and will have a capacity of 20,000 tonnes at completion in January 2013.
Speaking to FoodNavigator.com at FIE in Paris last week, the CEO of Palsgaard Jakob Thoisen said the decision to locate the facility in Johor was informed by the fact it would “allow logistical savings by situating a dedicated production facility within a major growth market, as well as being close to our key raw material - palm oil.”
The CEO estimates that the close location of the new plant to the palm oil growing regions should enable the supply of the more complex palm oil fractions in certified sustainable form to the Palsgaard facility.
The Danish company is aiming to have 100% of its palm oil usage as RSPO certified sustainable by 2015.
A specialist manufacture of emulsifiers, stabilisers and other specialised ingredients for bakery, dairy, chocolate, ice cream, margarine and fine food applications, Thoisen said a significant percentage of Palsgaard’s growth today is being driven by Asian demand.
May saw the Danish company, which is owned by the Schou Foundation, acquiring the remaining 50 per cent share of Emulsion Holland and its South African subsidiary - a move many saw as the company’s next step in a strategy for a coordinated, global presence in emusifiers.
The buy-out of the respective 25 per cent stakes held by Dutch firms Protos and Emilijn, for undisclosed sums, was said to be driven by Palsgaard’s desire to be in full control, so it could drive forward the product portfolio in synergy with other emulsifiers products in Juelsminde in Denmark.
Asked whether there were other takeovers in the pipeline, Thoisen only said that the Foundation’s approach to expansion through acquisition was “quite conservative” and the CEO would not comment further.
The Danish company launched a number of new ingredients at FIE last week - two cake emulsifiers - Palsgaard SA 6620 and Palsgaard SA 6630 along with Palsgaard 1325 - an emulsifier for puff pastry margarine with a reduced fat content and no lecithins, hydrogenated fats or trans fatty acid content.
For mayonnaises and dressings it introduced Palsgaard 1-2-3 stabilizer system which it claims makes it possible to manufacture mayonnaises and dressings with a fat content of less than 1% and up to 60% on the same processing line.