Laiwu Taihe Biochemistry Co., Ltd.

Laiwu Taihe Biochemistry makes citric acid and citrate salts by fermentation. The range covers citric acid in monohydrate and anhydrous form, sodium citrate anhydrous and hydrated, and calcium citrate, the acidulants, buffers and sequestrants used across soft drinks, food, detergents and pharmaceuticals.

The company was founded in 2003 in the Laiwu high technology zone at Jinan, Shandong, and belongs to the state owned Shuifa Agriculture Group. It has registered capital of 50 million yuan, a site of about 138,000 square metres with 120,000 square metres of buildings, and roughly 700 staff. Some 95 per cent of output goes for export, reaching more than 90 countries, with Europe, Japan, North America and Australia the main markets. It is a national high technology enterprise, has published life cycle assessment and environmental product declarations for its citric acid, and runs a provincial engineering research centre for citric acid manufacture.