Cargill expands Malaysia facility to meet growing consumer demands for edible oils 

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (26 November 2020) — To address the growing needs of the market and better service food and beverage customers in the region, Cargill is investing $20 million to expand and modernize its palm oil production facility in Port Klang, Malaysia. Improvements at the facility include deploying new production technologies, upgrading equipment and adding new R&D capabilities.

With new production technologies and expanded R&D capabilities, the facility will be able to produce significantly more oils, especially value-added special palm products, while continuing to meet stringent product quality requirements. By upgrading plant operations to world class production standards, customers from various industry segments, including food service, confectionery, bakery and specialized nutrition, will experience reduced turnaround times for high quality products to meet the needs of the growing food market.

The first scope of the project involves moving the production of all lauric oils, mainly the refined coconut oil, to Cargill’s Westport facility. This move opens up capacity at the Port Klang facility to be the hub for palm processing and production of its derivatives. This first phase is expected to be completed by April 2021. The second phase will be upgrading the physical refining plant and palm oil fractionation process at Port Klang to be a state-of-the-art production facility. This is expected to be completed and running by February 2022. 

The investments in this facility are a significant step towards becoming the most reliable specialty oil solution provider for customers from key food industry segments. The expansion provides a one-stop-shop solution for palm products and supports customers’ growth by offering world class products and solutions. Cargill plans to explore opportunities to expand its downstream, palm derivatives portfolio in the future.

Commenting on this expansion, Xiuling Guo, managing director, Cargill’s edible oil business in Asia, said, “We are very committed to growing our business in the APAC region. This is a critical step to better serve our customers with sustainable and reliable solutions to address the consumer needs. This investment will go a long way in demonstrating our commitment to Malaysia, that by enabling growth of both Cargill’s presence and edible oil solution business.”

“This investment to expand and modernize our facility in Port Klang enables us to provide high-quality, value-added specialty palm solutions and advanced R&D capabilities for customers in a variety of market segments,” said Gonzalo Petschen, president for Cargill’s global edible oil business. “By strengthening our assets in the region, we are reinforcing our commitment to our employees and the Port Klang community.”

Cargill’s presence in Malaysia

Cargill has been conducting business in Malaysia since 1978. Today, our businesses include vegetable oil refining and production of value-added products, grain and oilseeds distribution, animal nutrition, sales of starches, sweeteners and texturizers as well as sales and marketing of cocoa and chocolate products. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Cargill currently employs about 710  people in 7 locations countrywide.

Cargill’s global edible oil business continues to invest and grow its presence in the country, demonstrating its commitment to consistently delivering high-quality and innovative products for local as well as global customers.  

In the past year, Cargill has made significant investments in the Asia Pacific region, including -
Cargill highlights innovations for a healthier future at 3rd CIIE

Cargill launches first chocolate manufacturing operation in Asia, with growth plans across region

Project for sustainable certified coconut oil production improves lives of more than 4,100 smallholder farmers in the Philippines and Indonesia