DSM to invest in further upgrades at China vitamin C plant

DSM will invest in a series of further upgrades to its vitamin C production plant in Jiangshan, China.

The Dutch company said it expects four months of downtime at the facility during the second half of the year to enable the performance of the plant to be improved. It said the investment forms part of its “ongoing commitment to quality, safety, sustainability and production efficiencies” throughout its vitamin C portfolio and wider business.

DSM manufactures over 15 forms of vitamin C with applications in food, beverage and supplements.

The shutdown will start in July and is expected to take 4 months.

“The upgrades not only contribute to DSM’s sustainability strategy, but also proactively address the Chinese government’s ‘Green China, Beautify Country’ policy (also known as the ‘Blue Skies’ policy) and will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support sustainable development in Jiangsu province,” the company said in a statement.

Despite the shutdown, DSM will assure the security of vitamin C supplies to its contracted customers for the duration of the upgrades.

DSM assures security of supply of Vitamin C to its contracted customers during the shutdown.

The company has seen a number of strong achievements in the past year in the health ingredients space. This time last year, it invested an initial $25 million in a 12% stake in bioscience company Amyris – with the option of a further $25 million investment – in order to establish a ‘long-term’ partnership on vitamins and other nutritional ingredients. It expanded its relationship with Amyris with the acquisition of its Brazilian business late last year.

Then, in December, DSM acquired Danish probiotics manufacturer BioCare Copenhagen, helping it expand its position in gut health ingredients, which it described as “an attractive market segment in nutritional ingredients, growing an estimated 7% per year”.

The Heerlen-headquartered business describes the Jiangshan – in Zhejiang province – as “one of the world’s leading vitamin C manufacturers”.