FMC to build MCC facility in Rayong, Thailand

Chemical company, FMC Corporation, will be setting up a fully integrated microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) manufacturing facility in Rayong, Thailand, scheduled to operate in 2014.

FMC, which serves agricultural, industrial, environmental and consumer markets globally, will invest more than $100 million on the new project.

"This state-of-the-art site, which increases our global MCC capacity for the food industry by 35%, will allow us to more easily and quickly supply the Asian marketplace with our MCC products and the tailored blends we deliver to meet customer needs," said Mike Smith, vice president and global business director, FMC BioPolymer.

The MCC facility in Thailand — the third for the company— will be fully integrated with MCC production, blending, packaging and warehousing. It will begin with the production of colloidal MCC, a key ingredient in food and beverages, and then move on to add different product lines for both the food and pharmaceutical markets. It has been recognised for its sustainability efforts by the Thailand National Innovation Agency.

"We are continuing to invest in a great business to grow with our Asian customers," said Michael Wilson, president, FMC Specialty Chemicals Group.  "Our new advanced food laboratory at the FMC Singapore Technical Center, which opened last year, along with the company's new Asia Innovation Center in Shanghai, scheduled to open late this year, plus this new manufacturing facility, are all symbols of our long-term commitment to support our growing customer base in this region."

The company recently completed expansion at its BioPolymer MCC sites in Newark, Delaware, U.S., and Cork, Ireland.  The Rayong plant will incorporate FMC's high standards of safety and environmental protection and FMC is also investing to broaden its line of food ingredients with the recent acquisitions of natural colors and pectin companies, making FMC the only company that integrates both texturants and colors for the food industry.