AstaReal Technologies, Inc. celebrated the grand opening of its new production facility in Moses Lake, WA, with a ceremony attended by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, members of the state legislature, the director of the Department of Commerce, and officials and community leaders from Grant County and the City of Moses Lake. Approximately 200 people, comprised of civic and business leaders from the local community, as well as guests from abroad, attended the ceremony on May 14th. The new 59,000 sq. ft. factory will produce natural astaxanthin and is expected to begin production by July 2014, initially employing approximately 45 people.
 
The AstaReal Group has been producing natural astaxanthin in Gustavsberg, Sweden, and decided to build an additional factory in response to increased global demand. The new factory will have more than double the production capacity of the existing Swedish facility and will more than triple the AstaReal Groups’ total production capacity. The increased capacity will allow AstaReal to offer a stable supply of natural astaxanthin to its customers in the U.S. and around the world.  The factory site in Moses Lake has ample space for further expansion.  
 
The City of Moses Lake in Grant County was chosen after a global search and is a perfect match for AstaReal Technologies’ new factory.  According to the company, Moses Lake offers a stable supply of pure water and renewable electrical energy, two resources that are critical to the success of the new facility. 
 
“AstaReal is honored to be a community member of Moses Lake, Grant County and Washington State, and expects the community will experience significant growth and development which it hopes to contribute to,” said Mitsunori Nishida, president and CEO of Fuji Chemical Industry.