Soy seasoning leader invests in Thailand
on Thailand investing over one billion yen on a new plant for
processed food products.
The Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that the Japanese giant has linked up with two Thai firms in a joint venture based in Bangkok, before breaking ground on the new plant in the Trat Province.
The new company will sell processed fruits and vegetables bearing the Del Monte brand to China and Southeast Asia.
Kikkoman, that has global sales in the region of $2 billion (€1.5 billion), is best known for the 400 million litres of soy sauce, brewed from soybeans, wheat and salt, that it supplies to the global market.
In June last year the Kikkoman announced it would forge ahead with plans to expand in the US, announcing that it had earmarked $100-million (about €86m) for the expansion of its plant in Walworth County in Wisconsin, US.
Speaking at a conference on how to revitalise the US and Japanese economies, Yuzaburo Mogi, president and chief executive officer of Kikkoman, said the expansion of Kikkoman Foods' Walworth County headquarters will take place over 10 years, with $13 million of the total coming in the first year.
The Walworth plant, that originally produced 2.4 million gallons of soy sauce and related products annually, currently produces 25 million gallons each year. When the project is completed, production at the Wisconsin plant is set to rise to 34 million gallons.
