Flavors: Silesia strengthens footprint in the Asian market

With its location in Singapore and subsidiaries in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and in the Philippines the company already has an extensive market coverage in South East Asia.

Jorgen Hejl, Managing Director Silesia Flavours South East Asia Pte Ltd and Thomas Trunk, Executive Vice President Silesia International GmbH discussed the companies' opportunities moving forward.

Hejl said: “After a fifteen months’ extended construction period, we recently opened the new production and innovation building in Singapore. 65 employees work in the areas of production, R&D, flavor application, marketing and sales in the 16,000 square meter complex, of which 1,200 square meters are dedicated to R&D, flavor application, sensory and analytics all equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology.”

“We didn’t have a production site and therefore we had to supply the products from Germany, which could sometimes take up to 8 weeks. Due to the long delivery times, we weren’t able to meet our own and our customers’ requirements at all times,” notes Trunk.

The market and the potential of the countries around Singapore are significant, according to Hejl. “Not only does the location provide an advantage because of its easy access to air and sea transportation to destinations within and beyond South East Asia. Availability of qualified personnel as well as political stability and clear rules and regulations also plead for the mega-city,” he explains.

Since the population is growing and the income is on the rise, the Asian market for flavors is expanding. As a result of the increasing urbanization, the diet is changing towards industrially manufactured products, for which liquid and powder flavors are in demand.

Hejl also adds: “To ensure a worldwide constant quality, not only do we use the same machines as in the German plants, but we also apply the same raw materials and formulations. To adapt the flavor production to the different food legislation and equally ensure the food safety, we are certified with FSSC 22000 Food Safety System Certification as well as Halal and Kosher.”