Huai’an, CN – This week we successfully launched the second phase of our China spawn plant, with the completion of our first commercial spawn batch from our newly installed V-blender. The installation of the new equipment was completed on-time and will allow Sylvan China to expand its output to meet the growing demand for high-quality mushroom spawn across China and Asia.

Teamwork

“A big compliment to our local team and the on-site contractors for their hard work in completing this very skilled engineering project in a very professional manner”, said Andre Verbeek, Sylvan Group Chief Engineer. “The Huai’an facility contains some of the most state-of-the art equipment we have across our company and our China team got on top of it right from the start”. The first phase of the Sylvan China spawn plan was commissioned in April 2022 and was inaugurated as the Dennis C. Zensen Campus. The 85.000 square feet facility is located Huai’an, Jiangsu Province.

Chinese market

The overall Chinese market for edible mushrooms is the largest in the world, and although agaricus is a relatively niche species for the average Chinese consumer, local demand for modern-industrial production of white button mushrooms for the fresh market segment already exceeds that of the entire North American market. The second phase of our spawn plant in China will also see us expand our portfolio outside agaricus into other edible mushroom species. Further expansion of the facility, including the construction of a Research campus, is expected to commence in 2025.