Valent BioSciences to construct fermentation manufacturing facility in Osage, Iowa

Valent BioSciences Corporation (VBC) announced today that it will construct a new state-of-the-art fermentation manufacturing facility in Osage, Iowa, for the production of biorational agricultural, horticultural, public health and forestry products. This facility will be the largest single investment of any company in the world to support the manufacturing and formulating of biorational products.
 
Fermentation is a critical process in the manufacturing of biorational products and uses naturally occurring microorganisms to produce low-risk, environmentally compatible products for use in targeted markets around the world.
 
Michael Donaldson, VBC president and chief executive officer, said the facility represents an estimated $150 million investment, with full-scale commercial operations to begin in 2014. Until then, manufacturing will continue at the current facility in North Chicago, Ill. VBC’s corporate headquarters will remain in Libertyville.
 
"reviewing an extensive list of options, we are excited about our plans to construct a state-of-the-art fermentation manufacturing facility in Iowa that will produce product with the stringent, high-quality requirements that our customers rely upon and trust. Osage was a logical selection due to VBC’s longtime relationship with the A to Z Drying, Inc. operation and the favorable financial and labor environment in Iowa.”
 
The 73-acre campus will include a 130,000-square-foot building along with associated processing and purification equipment, offices, warehouses and quality assurance laboratories. The facility will have annual fermentation capacity in excess of 15 million gallons. A total of 89 jobs will be created as a result of this project. Groundbreaking is expected in 2012.
 
VBC is the worldwide leader in development, commercialization and manufacturing of biorational products, which include bioinsecticides, bionematicides and plant growth regulators. VBC has a diverse market presence, selling into agriculture, horticulture, public health and forestry markets in more than 90 countries. 
 
"The new manufacturing facility will support not only the growth of our base businesses, but also the innovative new products in our pipeline, which include emerging market segments such as crop stress management and physiological seed enhancement,” Donaldson said. “The success of VBC has been based on maintaining strict manufacturing, formulation and packaging standards, as well as on our world-class marketing and business management approach, working side by side with traditional chemical products to bring the best solutions to our customers.”
 
VBC is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited. Sumitomo is the only company in the world with a strategic focus in both traditional and biorational agricultural products.