CJ BIO announced that the planned threonine production expansion at its Ft. Dodge, Iowa, plant is on track for start-up in the second quarter of 2019.

According to the company, construction is ahead of schedule. Initial output will be 20,000 metric tons of L-threonine. The total investment will exceed $50 million by project completion, and additional jobs will be created at the Ft. Dodge plant, CJ BIO said.

“We are grateful for the progress made by our colleagues in Ft. Dodge on this important expansion of CJ’s United States production base,” said Joe Lucas, vice president and general manager-animal nutrition at CJ BIO America. “We are already planning to launch this new production with our key customers, providing them with increased security of supply.”

Lance Choi, head of CJ BIO North America, added, “We are pleased to continue working closely with our local team and the state of Iowa to grow our production base.”

CJ BIO is a division of CJ CheilJedang, a core subsidiary in charge of the food and bioengineering business unit of CJ Group.

CJ Group has developed its business portfolio into four core sectors: Food & Food Service, Bio & Pharma, Entertainment & Media and Retail & Logistics.