Palsgaard expands US presence with first local facilities
allowing the firm to directly supply its US customers from within
the country.
Located in Morristown, New Jersey, the new facilities will supply customers with all Palsgaard emulsifier and stabiliser products. Until now, American food manufacturers using these have been supplied from Mexico and Europe. The firm said the expansion is part of its move to increase its presence in the US market, which currently only constitutes a "small" part of its business. Palsgaard told FoodNavigator.com that it "especially sees possibilities" in the bakery, chocolate, margarine and shortening and ice cream industries. "We are already selling to customers in these industries, but in a small way. Before, our main difficulty was that we were not present with our own organization in the market. That's where we see the big improvement and potential now - in our local presence," said a company spokesperson. The new office will be headed up by the firm's Rosy Regalado, who has "high expectations" in introducing Palsgaard's special emulsifier programmes and developing the American emulsifier market. The move comes as part of a general expansion by the company, which in June this year announced it had opened a new esterification plant, increasing its production of these types of emulsifiers by 500 per cent. The construction of the factory was the latest phase of the company's investment plan launched in 2004, which is aimed at helping Palsgaard tap into these new opportunities. A spray-cooling-tower - built to produce integrated blends to improve ice cream products - an extruder factory, a distillation plant, a green energy heating system, a factory in Holland and the expansion of warehouse facilities in Denmark, are all projects that have already taken place under the auspices of the plan. These projects have until now cost Palsgaard more than €50 million in total. Emulsifiers are used by food manufacturers to reduce the surface tension between two immiscible phases at their interface - such as two liquids, a liquid and a gas, or a liquid and a solid - allowing them to mix. Frost & Sullivan figures revealed recently that emulsifiers, along with fat replacers, are leading the growth in the food additive industry - since 2001 the market value of emulsifiers has risen by some 5.6 per cent. The geographical market for emulsifiers is also growing strongly on the back of increased industrialisation in countries like China, where the increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has significantly outpaced that in western Europe in recent years. Palsgaard emulsifiers are designed for the aerated cake sector with specific emphasis on sponge cakes, swiss rolls, pound and snack cakes.
