a market leader in the development and manufacture of specialty fats and oils for the bakery, confectionery, dairy and foodservice segments, has revealed plans to expand its production facility in Rexdale, Ontario, Canada. The expansion, which includes new deodorization capacity to complement recent additions in bleaching and oil processing, provides the company with the capacities and capabilities needed to effectively meet the growing needs of customers in the Canada and NE United States regions. 

In addition to meeting increased market demand, the new assets are specially designed to address the expected future mitigation requirements for contaminants such as MCPD and glycidyl esters. The result is a site that is customized to deliver products with industry-leading quality and tailored functional performance to meet the most challenging of applications.

“Increased capacity and capability is good for the local region. Additional jobs in areas such as production, logistics, quality and plant engineering will be created to support the facility. While the specifics are not finalized, additional resources will be needed,” said Susan Holzner, General Manager – Canada for IOI Loders Croklaan told FoodIngredientsFirst. “Our Toronto location, combined with the additional capacity and technical capabilities, gives our customers a higher level of service and quality that can only come from a locally-based manufacturing location. The new open capacity allows for the accelerated development of new innovations which leverage our core strength in palm oil as well as having close access to Canadian produced Canola oil,” says Holzner, who works at the Rexdale, ontario facility.

“The new assets, scheduled to be commissioned in July of 2017, demonstrate the commitment to the Canadian and Northeast US markets and meeting the growing demand from these regions,” said Bill Troy, North America COO at IOI Loders Croklaan. “The expansion strengthens our North American manufacturing footprint and provides the path to offer these regions with a wider selection of our industry leading solutions and brands such as SansTrans bakery shortenings, Freedom Series confectionery fats, and Coberine branded cocoa butter equivalents.” 

Complementing the increased processing capacity, the site also offers specialty packaging options such as totes, drums, and pails, which allow customers access to highly functional products when bulk truck shipments are not feasible.  

“Our Rexdale, ontario refinery has a long history of supplying specialty fats and oils to the Canadian and Northeast United States, many of which have been developed in close collaboration with our key customers.” added Troy. “This expansion, combined with our historical ‘service first’ approach and industry leading technologies, strongly positions us to successfully continue growing and offering our customers the greatest value in our target regions.”

Supporting the market growth for IOI Loders Croklaan is the Creative Studio branded innovation center, launched in 2010 (pictured). The Creative Studio offers customers a stimulating environment to develop new formulations, prepare them on an artisanal level and translate them into industrial formulations, in a very efficient manner. With locations in Channahon, Illinois, Wormerveer, The Netherlands, Pasir Gudang, Malaysia, and soon, Xiamen, China, the Creative Studio facilitates the application of cross company collaboration.