CERRITOS, CALIF. — T. Hasegawa USA has opened a new 60,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. According to the company, the new facility augments its manufacturing resources in the US market by 50% and expands capabilities in sweet flavor production and technology.

“Our business has experienced rapid, organic growth in recent years, and this manufacturing plant will increase our current production while playing a key role in our growth strategy moving forward,” said Tom Damiano, chief executive officer of T. Hasegawa. “This new facility will continue to expand the production of our best-in-class food and beverage flavor offerings and industry-leading technology, while better serving our current and future customers’ needs.”

The Rancho Cucamonga facility primarily will service the production of sweet food and beverage flavors, and features large capacity equipment for liquid blending, spray dry technology for powdered flavors, and extraction equipment for flavor extractions, the company said. Additionally, the facility features high-tech tooling used for development and manufacturing of T. Hasegawa’s recent product innovations, including Boostract and EmulsiTract kokumi-enriching products and developing proprietary technologies.

The facility also was built with a focus on environmental protection and includes air cleaning and filtration systems, including regenerative thermal oxidizers and catalytic oxidizers. It also features a recycling program that will help minimize the use of plastics in R&D, production and administration.

T. Hasegawa said it will maintain its US headquarters in Cerritos, which also will continue as the company’s primary location for R&D and production of savory flavors. The company said it plans to expand its savory food flavor manufacturing capabilities at the Cerritos location after sweet flavor production shifts to the new facility in Rancho Cucamonga.

“We have a strong ‘customer-first’ culture at T. Hasegawa, and this new manufacturing plant will allow us to deliver on the quality and volume of flavors that our customers expect,” said Mark Webster, vice president of sales and business development at T. Hasegawa USA. “The increased production capabilities of this new facility allow us to focus on our commitment to quality, service and technology, which has made T. Hasegawa a recognized global leader in food and beverage flavors for over a century.”

T. Hasegawa said the new plant will allow it to further expand its US staff.

“While the large new plant will help us meet increased supply chain demands for food and beverage flavors — this facility also signals an expansion of our world-class team,” said Chris Grayson, vice president of operations at T. Hasegawa USA. “We’ll be increasing our company headcount by more than 30% over the next five years, including highly-skilled positions in manufacturing, R&D and other specialty areas.”