The factory will employ more than 200 employees.
The investment includes a complete sales and service office, engineering and R&D units, as well as a production workshop. The factory may deliver entire rice milling solutions and is expected to produce several hundred machines to Vietnam and neighboring countries annually. The opening also coincides with the official launch of the Bühler W sorter in Vietnam. Bühler said its rice sorter reliably removes defects and foreign material from a range of rice varieties, enabling Vietnamese processors to compete on a global scale with high-quality rice.
“Considering Vietnam’s position as one of the leading global rice producers, we think Bühler’s top-quality equipment will contribute to the further economic development of the region,” said L??ng Trung Hi?u, general manager of Bühler Vietnam. “The factory in Long An will act as the engineering center for complete solutions for rice, manufacturing accessories, auxiliary equipment, and technology integration for the entire grains and food offering of the Bühler Group in Southeast Asia.”
Vietnam’s population of over 90 million people relies on rice as a staple food. An estimated 5,000 rice processors produce more than 45 million tonnes of rice every year, making the country one of the largest rice producers worldwide, Bühler said. With Bühler’s new factory for rice-processing equipment, local rice processors now will be able to offer their products in a quality that meets export standards, strengthening the position of Vietnam in the international markets and enabling it to face competition from Thai and Cambodian rice producers, the company said.
“With this new factory, we make a difference for rice processors in Vietnam and Southeast Asia,” said Johannes Wick, chief executive officer of Grains & Food. “With the expansion of our local network, we enable our customers to produce rice that meets highest expectations of the international markets, nurturing prosperity and growth in the region.”
Vietnamese government leaders and senior officials from the Long An province, representatives of the Swiss Consulate General, as well as Bühler’s top executives attended the inauguration event of the new factory on Sept. 29.
