December 10, 2007

Lonza opens vitamin K3 plant in Canada

The Canadian affiliate of Switzerland based feed additive producer Lonza has opened a new factory in Shawinigan, Canada for the production of Pro-K feed. This vitamin K product is developed and manufactured with a patented technology in the laboratories of Hydro-Quebec.

Since acquiring the assets of SAM Electron Technologies last May, the new Canadian division of Lonza proceeded with investments of nearly CAN$ 2 million to increase production capacity and acquire new equipment.

According to Behzad Mahdavi, director of the site and senior director of business development for Lonza Canada, the factory is the first to produce vitamin K3 in North America.

Vitamin K3 produced in Shawinigan will be marketed through a new brand of Lonza, Pro-K, characterized by the production technology yet unpublished, CeTECH, of which Lonza holds the worldwide license. Pro-K is produced amongst others using coagulation technology. Mahdavi said the new technology is so crucial in relation to the technology currently used. It is also "extremely clean, green, and very competitive", he said.

Lonza is headquartered in Switzerland, in Basel, and operates production units in Switzerland, China, the Czech Republic and the United States. Its revenues for the year 2006 amounted to CAN$2.9 billion.