11.01.01
Balchem: Making ‘What If’ A Reality
Balchem Corporation, Slate Hill, NY, was formed more than 30 years ago by several individuals, one of whom—Dr. Leslie Balassa—possessed technology inventions in the field of encapsulation. The company was originally housed in a laboratory on the top floor of the Chemists Club in New York City, until it purchased its current site, a former dairy, in Slate Hill. Balchem has been a publicly owned corporation since 1970, with manufacturing facilities located in Slate Hill, Green Pond, SC and Verona, MO.
Balchem Encapsulates, a business segment of Balchem Corporation, provides encapsulated products globally to the food, human and animal nutrition and pet food markets. Balchem specializes in the development and manufacture of proprietary encapsulation technology that delivers a wide range of ingredients. It has three divisions, Encapsulates, the central point for nutrition; Arc, a specialty group sterilizing gasses for the medical and spice industry; and BCP Ingredients, which handles manufacturing for the choline products marketed through Balchem Encapsulates.
Balchem is continuously developing new ways to employ its encapsulated technology in the ever-expanding food industry. According to Winston Samuels, Ph.D., vice president and general manager,“We challenge people with ‘what if you could make it a reality.’ We allow people to think outside the box and deliver products like never before.”
For example, in the area of probiotics, Balchem and Institut Rosell, Montreal, Canada, have formed a strategic alliance where Balchem applies its proprietary encapsulation technology to widely used strains of probiotics from Institut Rosell. After extensive research and development, the companies successfully created an encapsulate that greatly increases the probiotics’ stability and survival rate. Clinical testing has revealed that tablets with the encapsulated probiotics had a 100% recovery rate. At this month’s FI Europe show, the company showcased several unique probiotic applications, including a probiotic nutrient bar, a probiotic chocolate bar and probiotic-fortified ice cream.
Balchem’s encapsulated food ingredients business has experienced significant growth in sales in recent years. In 2000, sales of encapsulates grew 33%, while in the second quarter of 2001, sales for encapsulates grew 44.6%. In fact Balchem was number 128 on Forbes’ 200 fastest growing small companies for the year 2000.
In terms of expansion, in June 2001 Balchem acquired certain assets of DCV, Inc. and its affiliate DuCoa L.P., which provides choline products. Through its encapsulation technology, Balchem has developed a stabilized form of choline that helps manufacturers deliver a reliable, cost effective source of choline.
Commenting on additional expansions, Carl Pacifico, new ventures development, said, “In the area of new ventures we are trying to take a look at where value will drive the marketplace. Probiotics and flavors sensitive to processing conditions and the environment—that’s where we want to be. We are examining marketplaces for delivering functional foods and to include a set of nutrients that previously were destroyed because they were not being delivered to the right part of the body or due to processing risks.”
The company also increased its R&D budget significantly in 2001, developing new applications for its unique encapsulated technology. Balchem currently holds several patents, including a patent on the encapsulation and stabilization of volatile, temperature and oxygen sensitive substances, including probiotics. Mr. Pacifico stated, “We have a patent pending to be the only producer of USP choline; we also hold patents on delivery systems for encapsulation and compositions of matter patents as well as use or application patents.”
In summing up, Dr. Samuels said, “Balchem is focused on driving innovation and exploring new ways to answer the needs of the marketplace with its proprietary encapsulation solutions. We will continue to match our product strengths to genuine market needs today and five years from now.” He went on, “Our goal is to bring stability to ingredients used in food production. We want to grow into nutrients and biologics and provide stability and taste masking of nutrients for pharmaceutical and ingredient-based companies.”—J.C.
Balchem Encapsulates
P.O. Box 175
Slate Hill, NY 10973
Telephone: 877-222-8811
Fax: 845-355-7619
Email: bcpcustserv@balchem.com
Website: www.balchem.com