Ajinomoto Amino Acids Manufacturing Facility - EPC

Fluor provided conceptual and detailed design, procurement, and construction services to Ajinomoto Company, Inc. for its first amino acids manufacturing facility in the U.S.

Fluor and Ajinomoto formed a team that would successfully deliver the project ahead of schedule and under budget.

Client's Challenge

Ajinomoto was established in 1909, and today operates globally with operations in 23 countries and regions backed by over 100 manufacturing facilities. Ajinomoto is a science-oriented manufacturer and marketer of processed food, seasonings, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and animal nutrition.

Ajinomoto U.S.A. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ajinomoto Company Inc. (Japan) and originally started its business in the U.S. in 1956. The company's first amino acids manufacturing plant in the U.S. was to be built in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The 150,000-square foot grassroots facility would produce a wide variety of amino acids for pharmaceutical and food products, including intravenous solutions and nutritional supplements.

Source: ajinomoto.com

Fluor's Solution

Along with Fluor's extensive experience in food and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, Fluor used innovative fast-track design-build methods to put the plant into operation just 24 months from the beginning of preliminary design efforts.

The amino acids are produced through large-scale fermentation. Separation and purification are achieved by a variety of unit operations including crystallization, centrifugation, evaporation, ion exchange, drying, and ultra-filtration.

Mixing and packaging are accomplished under exacting sterile cleanroom conditions, and the resulting product is essentially pyrogen-free.

Conclusion

The result of the Fluor-Ajinomoto teamwork was a manufacturing facility brought on line ahead of schedule and under budget.

The fast-track design-build methods used resulted in extremely high productivity and a significant savings to the Client.