DSM's success formula
DSM, the leading company globally and in China's vitamin premix market, talks about innovation and local solutions, the theme it adopted in its participation in the recent VIV Asia in Bangkok
by CHAN Ngai Meng and SHI Tao
"Innovation with Global Products and Local Solutions" was the theme of DSM's booth at last month's VIV Asia in Bangkok. The nutritional products arm of the company, a leading supplier of vitamins, carotenoids, eubiotics and enzymes to the global feed industry, provides local solutions that meet the requirements unique to each market as well as the needs across customer segments and animal species.
"The key reason for our success in the vitamin premix market in China is that DSM's operations are fully integrated along the value chain, ensuring high standards of quality and traceability," explains Mark Stock, president, Animal Nutrition and Health.
Beyond just vitamin premixes, DSM's strong distribution network, including its franchisees, allows its products to efficiently and effectively reach their respective market segments in large countries such as China, adds Stock. "Our strong facilities and product offerings additionally enable us to reach higher-tier markets, including large, integrated farms."
R&D in the value chain
In May last year, DSM opened its China Animal Nutrition Center in Bazhou town, south of Beijing. With its focus on swine and poultry nutrition and the capabilities to conduct world-class scientific and application research, the facility supports the development of tailored solutions to meet the needs of the fast-growing poultry and swine markets in China.
Research on the full range of DSM's nutritional products-enzymes, vitamins, carotenoids and eubiotics-is conducted at the facility. Apart from the Chinese market, it will also produce scientific data to support product and application development for use in global markets.
"With the facility we are able to do work on the full life cycle of swine, from breeding sows to piglets to finishing pigs, to develop solutions for the Chinese market right here in our facility," says Stock.
Consisting of a cutting-edge laboratory, office building and modern experimental swine and poultry houses, the Center enables DSM to conduct field trials on swine and poultry. It also provides space for customer training and events.
Dr. Nathan Bird, vice president of DSM Nutritional Products China, says, "The China Animal Nutrition Center is one of the first privately owned research and application centres in China and reinforces our leading position in the animal nutrition market both in the country and further afield."
Dr. Georg Kau, vice president of DSM Nutritional Products R&D adds, "The new facility is an important step forward in our strategy to provide specialised product development capabilities tailored for local requirements of customers across the world. Complementary to our existing research centre in Europe, the new site allows us to perform feeding trials with higher number of animals."
Over 20 years of experience for the DSM Novozymes Alliance has led to the development of a wide variety of feed enzymes. Specifically, the synergy between DSM and Novozymes, both preeminent leaders in their respective fields of enzymes and animal nutrition, has led to the crystallisation of the RONOZYME® product range.
"The alliance with Novozymes is about how we take a leading global expert in enzymes, with strong research and manufacturing capabilities, and the DSM advantage of strong distribution channel strategy and local knowledge, to develop a total solution package for our customers," Stock explains.
DSM is working to register the best, world-class feed enzyme products into the Chinese market, and has been successful in introducing a new feed additive line near Shanghai, Stock adds.
So what makes DSM's global products so successful locally?
"The diversity of our workforce, the ability of our local colleagues in each country to apply the science and knowledge behind our products to provide solutions for local needs," Stock summarises.
"If you go to a franchise store of DSM in China, the solutions will be applicable to the Chinese market, but may not have applicability at all in the US market," Stock quips.
Showing the way to "Innovation with Global Products and Local Solutions" at VIV Asia 2015
Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing geographical regions and DSM is committed to supporting this growth with continuous investment in the expansion of their regional premix network and technical team that will continue to innovate with local solutions, backed up with global products and decades of extensive research.
With the unique diversity of Asia Pacific region, DSM believes that innovating should be done with diversity in mind. There is no "one size fits all" solution. Every market needs local solutions that will meet their unique requirements and DSM is placed to do that. Demonstrations of these global products and local solutions were one of the highlights at the DSM Booth such as the 3D demonstration of the enzyme mode of action, iCheck demonstration and egg survey.
Equipped with their broad enzyme product range (RONOZYME®), DSM is now focussing on developing enzyme solutions catering to the local needs with particular focus on raw material usage including substrates present for the enzymes to act upon in monogastrics and warm water aquaculture.
RONOZYME VAX is a good example of such solution. It was developed for South Asia with special consideration of the broad range of raw materials used in this region. Meanwhile, RONOZYME ProAct, besides the improvement of feed costs, proves to be a vital contributor of solutions for some issues like gut health, poor litter quality and welfare issues (i.e. footpad dermatitis, hock burns, cellulitis, etc). RONOZYME HiPhos with the release of myo-inositol and its extra phosphoric effects also plays an essential role for all life stages in poultry and swine.
