LAS VEGAS — Hubei Xingfa (Xingfa) moved out of the Chinese pavilion and into its own booth this year at IFT17, the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and food exposition held June 25-28 in Las Vegas. The move was not the biggest one the phosphates company made in June, however.
Xingfa, based in Yichang City, China, moved its North American headquarters to Schaumburg, Ill., and now has an office space about triple the size of the previous North American headquarters in Naperville, Ill. The new headquarters features two six-story buildings with nearly 650,000 square feet of space. The move supports increasing demand for phosphates in the segments of food and beverage, pharma and nutrition, agriculture, and industrial specialties, the company said.
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| J. Bryan Kitchen, Xingfa’s president of North America |
“This recent investment underscores Xingfa’s commitment to our current and prospective customers and is a direct result of the company’s accelerated growth in the U.S.,” said J. Bryan Kitchen, Xingfa’s president of North America, when the move was announced June 22.
Xingfa named Mr. Kitchen as president of North America earlier this year, the same time the company named Larry Esposito as business vice-president, Food & Beverage, Pharma & Nutrition and Infrastructure for Xingfa. Mr. Kitchen most recently was vice-president of business operations, I.T./I.S. and Legal for Angus Chemical Co. Before joining Angus, he held a variety of business development and operations roles within the Dow Chemical Co. and Dow AgroSciences, L.L.C.
Mr. Esposito has held executive roles at multinational chemical companies, including Rhone-Poulenc, Rhodia and Innophos. In his new position Mr. Esposito will be responsible for growing Xingfa’s presence in the North American food and beverage, pharma and nutrition, and infrastructure markets. In addition, he will oversee sales and marketing efforts to promote Xingfa’s global role in phosphates and develop channels to market and work with customers directly.
Mr. Esposito said Xingfa owns its own phosphate plants and thus may select quality phosphates that work well in food ingredients.
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| Larry Esposito, business vice-president, Food & Beverage, Pharma & Nutrition and Infrastructure for Xingfa |
“Xingfa’s specialty compounds portfolio combines the key functionalities required for the development of high-quality foods, with a reliable, sustainable, high-quality ingredient supply,” Mr. Esposito said. “Our vertically integrated operations give us complete control of the supply chain, providing our customers with unmatched reliability, traceability and sustainability.”
Hubei Xingfa, the largest manufacturer of specialty phosphates in China, develops, produces and markets phosphorus-based specialty chemicals to more than 50 countries. The company offers specialty compounds for applications such as seafood, meat, bakery, noodles and cheese.
Mr. Esposito added Xingfa knows blends with phosphates destined for the North American market will be different than the blends destined for the Chinese market. Sensory differences between North American and Chinese consumers arise in applications such as cheese and baked foods. Sweetness levels may need to be altered, for one example.
