March 3, 2009 - Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Ajinomoto; President & CEO: Norio Yamaguchi; Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan) announced today that its consolidated subsidiary Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. (Ajinomoto (Thailand)) would establish a Joint Venture company, “ITOHAM BETAGRO FOODS CO., LTD. (Itoham Betagro Foods)” with three other companies - Itoham Foods Inc. (Itoham; President: Chikara Kasai; Headquarters: Hyogo, Japan), Betagro Public Co., Ltd. (Betagro) and Hoei Bussan Co., Ltd. (Hoei Bussan) on March 6, 2009.
| 1．Purpose of the Establishment |
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The new joint venture will process and sell ham and sausage. It would be expected to generate sales of approximately 1.7 billion yen in three years from exports to Japan and domestic sales in Thailand. In addition, the joint venture plans to import Rockdale Beef, a premium brand of beef from cattle raised by Itoham in Australia, and sell it primarily to the retail and restaurant markets in Thailand.
Ajinomoto and Itoham formed a business alliance in May 2008, and the two companies have since studied ways to expand business by complementing and taking advantage of their mutual business strengths. This joint venture agreement is a part of that effort.
Betagro is a major livestock raising and processing company with swine and poultry farming operations in Thailand, and already conducts a joint venture with the Ajinomoto Group in pork and poultry processing and frozen foods.
Through this joint venture, the Ajinomoto Group expects to enjoy an advantage in procurement of meat and other raw ingredients for its seasonings and processed food businesses.
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| 2. Overview of Joint Venture (1 baht = 3 yen) |
| Company name |
Itoham Betagro Foods Co., Ltd. |
| Location |
Lop Buri province, Thailand |
| Representatives |
Toshio Sano, Chairman
Vasit Taepaisitphongse, President
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| Principal business |
Manufacture, import and sale of food products |
| Capital |
172,000 thousand baht (approximately 516 million yen) |
| Capitalization |
| Itoham |
40% |
| Betagro |
40% |
| Ajinomoto (Thailand) |
15% |
| Hoei Bussan |
5% |
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3. Establishment Schedule
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Planned date of company establishment : |
March 6, 2009 |
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Planned schedule of factory establishment: |
Start of construction in March 2009, Completion in
November 2009 |
4. Sales Targets
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Year ending December 2012: Sales volume 3,400 tons, net sales 1.7 billion yen |
For Reference
Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. Corporate Overview
(1) Location:
(2) Established:
(3) Representative:
(4) Number of employees:
(5) Principal business:
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Bangkok, Thailand
1960
Yutaka Kunimoto, President
Approx. 1,050
Manufacture and sale of seasonings, food products, feed-use amino acids, etc.
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Itoham Foods Inc. Corporate Overview
(1) Established:
(2) Capital:
(3) Representative:
(4) Number of employees:
(5) Principal business:
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1928
22,415 million yen
Chikara Kasai, President
5,276
Manufacture and sale of processed meat products, etc.
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Betagro Public Co., Ltd. Corporate Overview
(1) Location:
(2) Established:
(3) Capital:
(4) Number of employees:
(5) Principal business:
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Bangkok, Thailand
1967
1.5 billion baht (approx. 4.5 billion yen)
3,600
Livestock raising and food processing
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Hoei Bussan Co., Ltd.* Corporate Overview
(1) Established:
(2) Capital:
(3) Number of employees:
(4) Principal business:
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1988
300 million yen
29
Export, import and domestic sale, etc., of meat products
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*Subsidiary of Itoham Foods Inc.
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