Second graders throughout Webster County are now reading about the adventures of Chessie and JoJo. The book was written by Julie Hoesel and illustrated by Jennifer Dutcher, who were brought into the book project by CJ Bio America, a manufacturer of amino acids added to feed for pigs and chickens. The company wanted a way to share its values — passion, integrity, creativity and respect — with the children of the area.

A Fort Dodge feed ingredients company expects to save millions of dollars by implementing technology upgrades identified through a CIRAS Industry 4.0 assessment. CJ Bio America, which produces amino acids for livestock and poultry feed, expects to have the top two or three items of improvements on its list completed by the end of 2020.

In an effort to make sure every student who needed a mask got one, CJ Bio America delivered thousands of them to area schools just as the school year was getting underway. The company delivered about 7,000 masks total. Those masks were delivered by Andy Sheffield, CJ human resources manager, to Fort Dodge community schools, St. Edmond Catholic School, Community Christian School and Manson Northwest Webster schools. Adult and youth-sized masks were included in the donations.

CJ BIO announced the first in a series of Food Ingredient MasterClass webinars, The Umami Advantage, which will share insight on the “fifth taste” phenomenon that is revolutionizing ingredient mixes, nutritional content and flavor profiles across a range of savory foods and snacks. Attendees will gain insight on umami-based ingredients that can help them achieve optimal flavor in their products. The free MasterClass will be led by celebrated change agent and food innovation expert Brad Barbera, NPDP and a panel of experts.

Supplier of fermentation-based bio-products, CJ BIO, officially inaugurated a natural flavor ingredient manufacturing facility in Jombang, Indonesia at a recent opening ceremony. The new production facility will allow CJ BIO to produce thousands of tons of TasteNrich, the new innovative natural culinary solution platform. It will assure a sustainable supply for customers and strengthen CJ’s position in the savory solution space.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, CJ Bio America wanted to show support and gratitude to organizations that the company considers essential in protecting the community. CJ Bio America purchased $5,000 worth of gift cards from locally owned restaurants and donated those gift cards to organizations throughout Fort Dodge.

Construction on Ft. Dodge, Iowa, production plant ahead of schedule, with start-up expected for second quarter of 2019. Initial output will be 20,000 metric tons of L-threonine. The total investment will exceed $50 million by project completion, and additional jobs will be created at the Ft. Dodge plant.

As CJ Bio America continues to expand its operations in the Iowa Crossroads of Global Innovation industrial park west of Fort Dodge, it is adding another amenity to benefit its approximately 200 employees. A 10,000-square-foot fitness center and a new production line will be added. The expansion will allow for the production of an amino acid called L-Threonine – leading to about 20 new jobs being created in production and production support.

South Korea’s food giant CJ CheilJedang Corp. is aiming to become the world’s biggest green biotech firm, using nucleic acid, a seasoning material, as its springboard. The company has maintained its top place in terms of market share in the global nucleic acid market for eight years in a row. CJ CheilJedang was able to obtain the biggest share in the global market with its strategy to secure quality and cost competitiveness in the global nucleic acid market based on preemptive investment efforts and a high level of competence in research and development.

As CJ Bio America enters its fifth year in Webster County, the company is preparing for a $51 million expansion project to begin producing a new product. CJ Bio America will begin producing L-Threonine, which is an amino acid used as an additive in livestock feed. The new initiative will lead to jobs being created in production and production support.