Cargill spends US$20m to upgrade Port Klang facility
KUALA LUMPUR: Global food corporation Cargill is investing US$20 million ( RM81.2) to expand and modernise its palm oil production facility in Port Klang, Selangor, to meet the growing needs of the market and to better service its food and beverage customers in the region.
President for global edible oil business Gonzalo Petschen said improvements at the facility include deploying new production technologies, upgrading equipment and adding new research and development (R&D) capabilities.
With new production technologies and expanded R&D capabilities, he said, the facility will be able to produce significantly more oils, especially value-added special palm products, while continuing to meet stringent product quality requirements.
“This investment enables us to provide high-quality, value-added specialty palm solutions and advanced R&D capabilities for customers in a variety of market segments.
“By strengthening our assets in the region, we are reinforcing our commitment to our employees and the Port Klang community,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, Cargill Palm Products Sdn Bhd managing director Xiuling Guo said that by upgrading plant operations to world-class production standards, customers from various industry segments, including food service, confectionery, bakery and specialised nutrition, would experience reduced turnaround times for high-quality products to meet the needs of the growing food market.
He said the first scope of the project involves moving the production of all lauric oils, mainly refined coconut oil, to Cargill’s Westports facility.
This move opens up capacity at the Port Klang facility to become the hub for palm processing and production of its derivatives, he said, adding that this first phase is expected to be completed by April 2021.
The second phase will involve upgrading the physical refining plant and palm oil fractionation process at Port Klang to be a state-of-the-art production facility, which will likely be completed and running by February 2022, he added. – Bernama