The new Iowa-based facility will house company sales and marketing staff and research laboratories, noted the company. It also will provide stability trials for customers.
The move marks a step in an ongoing program to know customers and end product users better, said Jennifer Igou, vice president of sales for the North America division at Camlin. The company provides shelf life extension products and is one of the largest producers of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and tertiary butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ).
“We’re a behind-the-scenes player,” she told FeedNavigator. “They’ve been using our products for a long time in animal feed and pet food but we’ve been the ingredient supplier so nobody knows our name.”
The company started focusing on gaining control of the whole production cycle a few years ago from basic raw ingredients to their intermediates and derivatives which either directly form its end-products or are then used to formulate its blends.
“We’ve been selling [products] to blenders.
“Camlin made the decision to be more fully integrated, and closer to the customer, and entered the blending market in India where we’re headquartered, and in Brazil, and now the decision was made to move into North America.”
“We hope that our customers see the value of that with the vertical integration [because] it gives more assurance of quality and supply," said Igou.
Future expansion
Additionally, the use of antioxidants to extend feed stability is growing in North America, both for traditional and natural antioxidants, she continued.
Camlin produces dry or liquid antioxidants treatments that can be mixed into feed for poultry, cattle and pigs. Additionally their products can be used to treat aquaculture feeds.
The additives are said to retard the oxidation of vitamins, fats or other nutrients in feed and preserve the safety and shelf-life of the product.
However, the Iowa-based facility is not the only US project for the company, said Igou. And the current feed additive antioxidants are not the only products planned for US distribution.
Camlin announced in February that it had purchased a 65% share in Mexico-based Dresen Quimica. It is in the process both of closing the deal and bringing the research and product lines into its portfolio, which will also be available to the US market, she said.