Food and beverage maker Taisun Enterprise Co (泰山企業) yesterday said that it plans to invest NT$300 million (US$9.65 million) to upgrade production lines this year, its biggest investment in the past several years, as most facilities have been in service for between 20 and 30 years.
The upgrade is part of chairman Chan Yi-hung’s (詹逸宏) three-year project to expand the company’s product portfolio, develop new markets and maintain stable profitability.
The maker of popular mixed congee and sparkling water products expects the new investment to help enhance its market share in cold beverages and develop new products.
“New production lines at our plant in Changhua County are expected to start operations during next year’s Lunar New Year holiday at the earliest and deliver cold beverages to the market in March and April,” a Taisun public relations official told the Taipei Times, quoting remarks by Chan on Wednesday.
Sales of mixed congee products have this year increased about 5 percent from last year, and sales of sparkling water products and non-sugar tea products have grown stably this year, the company said.
However, falling prices of soybeans and soybean powder amid a US-China trade dispute have been a drag on the company’s overall business, pushing down its consolidated revenue in the first half of this year 4.56 percent to NT$3.72 billion, from NT$3.9 billion a year earlier.
As the price of soybeans has been rising, revenue for the second half of the year is expected to outpace the first half, said the firm, which is based in Changhua’s Yuanlin City.
Whole-year profit might remain stable from last year on lower costs of raw materials, it said.
Taisun earlier this year tested the market with its new soap products made of mesona, as it plans to introduce new cleaning products, it added.
Cooking oil remained the largest product category for Taisun, accounting for 55 percent of sales last year, followed by food and snacks at 36 percent and animal feed at 4 percent, company data showed.
Taisun shares yesterday closed down 0.25 percent at NT$20 in Taipei trading.
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