AstaReal Technologies opened its new manufacturing facility in Moses Lake, Washington, US on 14 May with a grand celebration attended by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee and community leaders from Grant County and the City of Moses Lake. The new 59,000ft2 plant will be in full operation in July 2014 and will initially employ 45 people. The new plant, together with AstaReal's existing facility in Gustavsberg, Sweden, will triple the company's production capacity of natural astaxanthin.
AstaREAL natural astaxanthin is produced from the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis in state-of-the-art photobioreactors under controlled conditions, resulting in production of the highest quality natural astaxanthin available on the market. The increased production capacity will allow the AstaReal Group to offer a stable supply of AstaREAL natural astaxanthin to its customers around the world.
In addition, the factory site in Moses Lake, Washington, has ample space for further expansion. The site was identified after a global search and is a perfect match for AstaReal Technologies’ new factory. Moses Lake offers a stable supply of pure water and renewable electrical energy ‐ two resources that are critical to the success of the new facility.
“AstaReal is honoured to be a community member of Moses Lake, Grant County and Washington State, and expects the community will experience significant growth and development which it hopes to contribute to,” said Mitsunori Nishida, President and CEO of Fuji Chemical Industry.
Numerous clinical studies conducted in humans have assessed AstaREAL natural astaxanthin’s safety, bioavailability, and clinical aspects relevant to oxidative stress and the inflammatory process. Research shows that astaxanthin may be effective in helping to maintain cardiovascular health as well as supporting the body in its fight against metabolic syndrome conditions.
The number of studies exploring astaxanthin’s potential benefits has greatly increased during the last decade, to include research areas such as eye health, hypertension, diabetes, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). “We see the 21st century as the era of anti-ageing,” said Nishida. “We believe that natural astaxanthin will play a key role in the advancement of anti-ageing and lifestyle disease research.”
AstaReal Technologies’ parent company Fuji Chemical Industry Co., is a global pharmaceutical company focusing on three main business areas: production and sales of high performance pharmaceutical products; synthesis and manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and bulk products; and the production and sales of nutraceuticals. Fuji uses AstaREAL as the global brand name for its natural astaxanthin business.