WESTCHESTER, ILL. — Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG has agreed to purchase a corn wet milling plant in Port Colborne, Ontario, from a subsidiary of Ingredion Inc.
Jungbunzlauer produces citric acid and tri sodium citrate at its manufacturing facility in Port Colborne, which previously sourced all its glucose needs from the Ingredion facility. The transaction is expected to close in late December 2015 after Jungbunzlauer has reconfigured the plant for dedicated production of corn-based glucose, the company said. The plant will no longer produce high-fructose corn syrup after the reconfiguration.
“We have operated our facility in Port Colborne since 2002 and Ingredion has been one of our main suppliers,” said Tom Knutzen, chief executive officer of Jungbunzlauer. “Our supply chain will become fully integrated with the acquisition of the Ingredion plant, which will be dedicated to glucose production for fermentation purposes. This will further strengthen our efficiency and enhance our competitive position.
“We achieve sustainability by combining state-of-the-art processes and manufacturing technology while locating close to the main inputs, such as corn, energy and water. The acquisition of the Ingredion facility documents our commitment to both the region and our strategy to build competitiveness through a leading sustainability position.”
The integration of the two plants will bring the total number of employees of Jungbunzlauer Canada Inc. in Port Colborne to about 110, the company said.
“Ingredion is committed to an ongoing continuous improvement effort to optimize our network to control our fixed costs and ensure the most efficient use of our resources,” said Jim Zallie, Ingredion executive vice president and president of Ingredion North America. “This is one step to balance supply based on our customers’ needs as we focus on the growth of our higher-value specialty ingredient portfolio.”
Jungbunzlauer is a Basel, Switzerland, based producer of biodegradable ingredients of natural origin, specializing in citric acid, xanthan gum, gluconates, lactics and special salts and sweeteners for industrial applications. Ingredion is a leading global provider of ingredient solutions, including sweeteners, to diversified industries.