Will Build New Plant in Changge, Henan Province
CHANGGE and BEIJING, China, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ --
Zhongpin Inc. ('Zhongpin', Nasdaq: HOGS), a leading meat and food processing
company in the People's Republic of China, today announced that it will enter
the premium food oil business.
This new business line will further enhance the brand identity of Zhongpin,
broaden its product lines and core competencies, increase capacity utilization
and profitability, and reduce waste.
'In addition to increasing our brand identity, core competencies, product
lines, and production capabilities, this expansion has two other benefits,'
said Mr. Xianfu Zhu, Chairman and CEO of Zhongpin. 'First is the expected
increase in our return on investment, which is one of our primary financial
goals. And second is further effective utilization of the raw materials we
consume in our pork and pork processing production, since premium food oils
will be co-products from our current processing. The new plant will benefit
from all the same modern process engineering and information technology
advances we have been applying to all of our facilities. We have only one
production standard -- the world's highest product quality and safety in the
pork industry.'
The premium food oils will be sold through Zhongpin's existing sales
channels to both wholesale and retail customers. Wholesalers will include
business customers, such as well-known food companies as well as large
high-end chain restaurants. Individual consumers will be able to buy the new
premium food oils in Zhongpin's retail stores and in network stores that carry
the Zhongpin line of branded food products.
The new plant, to be located in the Zhongpin Food Industrial Park in
Changge, Henan province, will have an initial annual capacity of 20,000 metric
tons for premium quality food oils. Construction is planned to begin in
September 2009. The plant, with state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, is
expected to be operating in the second quarter 2010. The total investment in
the new project is approximately RMB 38 million or US$ 5.6 million.
About Zhongpin
Zhongpin Inc. is a meat and food processing company that specializes in
pork and pork products, vegetables, and fruits in China.
