BIOKYOWA EXPANDS ITS PRODUCTION, ADDS NEW FOOD PLANT AT NASH ROAD

Giant storage tanks have been set in place, new structures are in various stages of completion, training of new workers is under way BioKyowa Inc. is on schedule with a couple of building projects, announced almost two years ago:

* A $35 million expansion of the feed grain L-lysine product facility in the Nash Road Industrial Park.

* Construction of a new $50 million Kyowa Food plant at the BioKyowa site.

"We're on schedule with both projects," said William Hinckley, plant manager. "We're looking at a May or June opening of the L-lysine expansion, and a later opening for the new Kyowa Foods Inc. operation."

As many as 100 workers will be needed, doubling the facility's work force to about 200 employees.

BioKyowa and Kyowa Foods are wholly owned by Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan, which announced both new projects in 1998, at a total new investment of more than $85 million. Kyowa Hakko Kogyo of Tokyo, is also a big manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, food, agri-chemicals and liquor products in Japan, with annual sales of more than $3 billion.

The BioKyowa L-lysine expansion will provide space to manufacture two new feed-grade amino acids, L-theonine and L-tryptophan, and will increase capacity up to 25,000 metric tons a year for L-lysine. The combined capacity for the two new feed-grade products will be about 5,000 metric tons a year.

The L-lysine expansion project calls for 10,000-square-foot and 15,000-square-foot processing plants, a 13,000-square-foot warehouse extension and two other buildings with a combined 10,000 square feet, and the six new storage tanks.

"We're looking at about 48,000 square feet in the expansion plans," said Hinckley.

This marks the second major expansion for BioKyowa, which started operations here in 1982 with a $25 million plant and 70 employees. The first major expansion was completed in 1991 and involved a $15 million project that doubled production. It involved an 11,000-square-foot warehouse and expansion of production facilities.

BioKyowa was the first producer of L-lysine monohydrochloride feed supplement for swine and poultry in the United States.

The L-lysine additive produced here was developed by BioKyowa parent company. L-lysine is the first-limiting amino acid in swine feed and the second-limiting amino acid in poultry feed. It is a must for maximum animal growth. BioKyowa has other feed-grade L-lysine production plants in Mexico and Japan.

Kyowa Food, a new company of Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co. Ltd., will produce food seasonings. Initially the new, 32,000-square-foot plant will employ 50 people.

Kyowa Foods will manufacture and sell nucleotide seasonings developed by the company. The manufactured seasonings provide five basic tastes sweet, bitter, sour and salty as well as "umami," which consists of naturally occurring glutamic acids and nucleotides found in bonito, seaweed and shitake mushrooms.

Another product will be a fermented seasoning in flavors like beef, pork, chicken and fish that will be used for broths, soups, bullions and pre-mixes.

The new company, incorporated in May 1998, and investment in the new manufacturing facility here, is in response to the worldwide increase in demand for nucleotide seasonings.

The Cape Girardeau-based company supports Southeast Missouri University Foundation and Southeast Missouri Regional Training Group, which was founded by three education facilities Mineral Area College at Park Hills, Southeast Missouri State University and the Cape Girardeau Vocational-Technical School.

BioKyowa Inc. donated $25,000 to the Cape Girardeau Vocational-Technical School to help equip the school with special-training facilities. The BioKyowa funds will be used for a new distance learning center in the new school. The Vo-Tech School provides training for students from a number of area high schools and adult training for people in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, including BioKyowa and other manufacturing company employees.

BioKyowa is also one of a number of member companies in the Southeast Missouri Regional Training Group. Others include some of the area's largest employers: Procter & Gamble Paper Products, Lone Star Industries, Dana Corp., M&W Packaging and Lee-Rowan Co. Other members: K&K Electric, Gregory Construction, Golden Cat, SEMO Carpenters Union and Foamex.

BioKyowa is also one of a dozen industries to receive the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Industry of the Year Award. It won the award in 1991, two years after the annual presentation began.

BIOKYOWA FAST FACTS

*A $35 million expansion of the L-lysine plant should be completed in May or June.

*The target date for the new $50 million food supplement plant is next fall.

*This marks the second major expansion for BioKyowa, which started operations here in 1982 with a $25 million plant and 70 employees.

*The first major expansion was completed in 1991 and involved a $15 million project that doubled production.