On the Street -- SunOpta in South African Alliance
December 1/Toronto/GlobeNewswire -- SunOpta Inc. announced that the SunOpta Grains & Foods Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary, SunOpta Africa, has entered into a strategic alliance with Specialized Protein Products (SPP) of South Africa to manufacture and sell liquid and powdered soy ingredients and soymilk beverages in Africa and other international markets. This exclusive manufacturing and supply agreement provides the SunOpta Grains & Foods Group with an increased supply of soymilk products and improved logistics that are expected to enable it to compete effectively in world markets for natural and organic soy-based ingredients and packaged products.
The SPP facility, located in Potchefstroom, South Africa, is a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with capacity of over 200,000 liters of concentrated soymilk per day and capable of producing 20 metric tons per day of soymilk powder. Commissioned in 2001, the modern facility was sold to a new private group of investors in early 2008, who have been working with SunOpta since earlier this year to develop this strategic relationship.