Food ingredients company Kerry Group has announced an investment of €20m in China.
The company is buying an existing food ingredients company and will later build a new factory on a greenfield site and eventually hopes to open three more factories in the country. The announcement was made in Shanghai today during the Government trade mission to China.
Kerry Group's CEO Hugh Friel said the €20m programme will significantly expand the group's asset and customer base in China through the acquisition of Hangzhou Lanli food industry company, located in the Zhejiang Province. Kerry will also set up a new multi-processing manufacturing facility and technical centre on a 16 care greenfield site in the Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Area.
The Lanli deal will be completed by the end of March and the greenfield development will start by the middle of the year, with all facilities to be fully commissioned by the end of 2006.
Kerry has had a presence in Shanghai since 2000. Mr Friel said that to build on the company's localisation strategy, the administrative, technical and logistics headquarters for all Kerry businesses in China will also transfer to the new facilities in Hangzhou.
This will serve 'as an important platform for the group's planned market development in one of the most rapidly evolving consumer markets in the world, embracing potentially 1.3 billion consumers,' Mr Friel said.
The Kerry CEO said the Chinese market will be a major focus for the group and its food manufacturing and foodservice customers in the decade ahead.
He added that Kerry continues to achieve 'excellent progress' in expanding its Asia Pacific market presence from its operations in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand and in Malaysia.
With annual sales of over €4 billion, about 20% of Kerry Group's sales are currently in Ireland. 47% in Europe, 27% in the Americas and 6% in Asia Pacific markets.
Kerry shares closed down 15 cent at €18.15 in Dublin.
