Weifang Ensign Industry Co., Ltd.

Weifang Ensign Industry Co., Ltd., located in Changle County, Weifang City, Shandong Province, is the core manufacturing entity of Ensign Group specializing in full-range citric acid products, as well as one of the world’s largest single-site citric acid production bases equipped with state-of-the-art process technologies. As the core manufacturer behind China’s National Champion Manufacturing Product, the company undertakes global supply of Ensign-branded citric acid products with self-developed controllable bio-fermentation technology, full-process intelligent production lines and a closed-loop circular economy system. Its products are sold to more than 130 countries and regions worldwide, serving as a benchmark manufacturer that underpins China’s dominant position in the global citric acid industry.

I. World-Class Production Infrastructure & Full-Spectrum Manufacturing Portfolio

As the core citric acid production arm of Ensign Holding Group, the factory covers a land area of over 1,100 mu with more than 1,000 employees, housing an integrated citric acid manufacturing cluster with unmatched single-site scale globally. Its comprehensive annual capacity of citric acid and citrate products ranks among the world’s top tier, capturing a global market share of 40% for core products and accounting for approximately 22% of China’s total citric acid export volume. It stands as one of the most critical citric acid suppliers for global food & beverage, daily chemical detergent, pharmaceutical and chemical sectors.

In terms of manufacturing product lines, the company has developed a refined full-spectrum portfolio covering all application scenarios, capable of mass-producing three grades of complete citric acid series: food-grade, pharmaceutical-grade and industrial-grade.

• Basic products: Citric Acid Monohydrate, Citric Acid Anhydrous
• Deep-processed derivatives: Sodium Citrate, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Citrate and other citrate variants
• Supporting co-products: Premium edible alcohol, superior-grade alcohol, alongside circular economy by-products including DDGS high-protein feed, food-grade liquid carbon dioxide and construction gypsum. The layout enables full-component and high-value utilization of corn raw materials.

For cross-border trade, Weifang Ensign Industry serves as the official manufacturing entity for all Ensign citric acid exports. All production qualifications, certificates of origin and quality inspection reports for overseas shipments are issued under the company’s name. Its products are widely supplied to core markets including Europe, North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with long-term stable supply chain partnerships established with global industry leaders such as Coca-Cola and Unilever.

II. Cutting-Edge R&D Strength Leading Industrial Process Iteration

A national high-tech enterprise, Weifang Ensign Industry regards technological innovation as the core driver for manufacturing upgrading, and has built top-tier domestic R&D and technology transformation platforms. It operates China’s first Academician Workstation and Postdoctoral Research Workstation within the citric acid sector, staffed by a dedicated R&D team of over 300 professionals. Additional innovation platforms include Shandong Provincial Enterprise Technology Center and China National Light Industry Engineering Technology Research Center for Deep Processing of Citric Acid. The company holds more than 40 authorized patents, led or participated in drafting 11 national and industrial standards, and has undertaken over a dozen major provincial and ministerial research projects including the National 863 Program and National Key R&D Program.

The company has carried out in-depth industry-university-research cooperation with East China University of Science and Technology and other top universities, breaking multiple industry technical bottlenecks. Its self-bred high acid-yield Aspergillus niger strain paired with deep-submerged continuous fermentation technology achieves a fermentation acid concentration exceeding 190g/L, a world-leading benchmark. The independently developed multi-enzyme synergistic catalytic system and high-efficiency extraction & refining technology deliver raw material conversion rates close to 100%, cutting comprehensive energy consumption per unit product by 18% compared to the industry average and forming a distinct technical cost advantage. In 2025, the joint research project Innovation and Industrialization of Multi-Enzyme Synergistic Catalytic System and Green Manufacturing Technology for Bio-Based Products won the Grand Prize for Science and Technology Progress awarded by China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, marking the first time the honor has been granted to the domestic organic acid industry and confirming Weifang Ensign’s world-class biomanufacturing technology capabilities.

III. Full-Process Intelligent Manufacturing Upgrading Creates Benchmark Production Lines

In recent years, Weifang Ensign Industry has accelerated digital transformation and intelligent manufacturing upgrades. Its invested high-quality citric acid green intelligent manufacturing project realizes fully automatic, digital and visual control of the entire workflow from raw material liquefaction, fermentation, extraction and refining to finished product packaging and warehouse logistics. In 2025, the project was selected into the first batch of National Excellent-Grade Smart Factories recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, setting a benchmark for intelligent manufacturing within the bio-fermentation sector.

Supported by an industrial internet management platform, the factory enables real-time collection of production parameters, intelligent process optimization, predictive equipment maintenance and online quality inspection. Following the launch of fully automatic packaging systems and intelligent vertical storage facilities, overall production efficiency has more than doubled versus traditional production lines, with a daily citric acid output capacity of up to 1,300 tons, alongside drastically improved product purity and batch consistency. By interconnecting full-link data covering orders, production, quality testing and logistics, the company rapidly responds to customized demands from global clients, shortening delivery cycles by 30% against the industry average and significantly boosting its global supply chain responsiveness.

IV. Closed-Loop Green Manufacturing System Delivers Low-Carbon Development

Guided by the core philosophy of “clean production and circular reuse”, Weifang Ensign Industry has constructed a complete closed-loop circular economy industrial chain for biomanufacturing, earning honors including National Green Factory and Weifang Zero-Waste Factory Demonstration Enterprise, pioneering a replicable green transformation pathway for traditional fermentation industries.

The company achieves full-category resource recovery of all by-products generated throughout citric acid production:

1. High-purity carbon dioxide emitted from fermentation is captured and processed in a 100,000-ton/year food-grade liquid CO₂ facility for food processing and industrial applications.
2. Corn fermentation waste liquid is concentrated and processed into DDGS high-protein feed with an annual output of 600,000 tons, supplied back to the livestock breeding industry.
3. Self-developed comprehensive waste gypsum utilization technology purifies gypsum residues from neutralization procedures into construction-grade β-gypsum and dihydrate gypsum, diverting over 1 million tons of solid waste from landfills annually and reaching top-tier solid waste resource recovery rates across the industry.

Furthermore, a series of energy-saving renovations including waste heat & pressure recovery, reclaimed water recycling and intelligent energy consumption monitoring continuously reduce carbon emissions per unit output. This creates a complete closed industrial loop: corn raw materials → green fermentation → by-product recycling → low-carbon finished products, offering a scalable green manufacturing solution for the global biomanufacturing industry.

V. Comprehensive Quality Control System Aligned with Global Compliance Standards

As a certified producer of food additives and pharmaceutical raw materials, Weifang Ensign Industry has established a full-chain quality management system covering raw material procurement, manufacturing, finished product testing and logistics delivery. Its testing laboratory holds CNAS national laboratory accreditation, equipped with over 100 high-end analytical instruments including high-performance liquid chromatographs, gas chromatographs and atomic absorption spectrometers. Full-process quality traceability is implemented from corn raw material intake to finished product delivery to guarantee stable quality across all batches.

For international market access, the company has obtained a full suite of global system certifications in one audit round: ISO9001 Quality Management, ISO14001 Environmental Management, ISO45001 Occupational Health & Safety Management, ISO22000 Food Safety Management, FSSC22000, BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard and GMP Pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practice. Additional specialized international accreditations include Kosher, Halal, FAMI-QS Feed Additive and Non-GMO IP certifications, fully complying with market entry requirements of major economies including the EU, United States, Japan and South Korea. It ranks among domestic citric acid manufacturers with the most comprehensive certification portfolio nationwide.

As a core manufacturing backbone of the global citric acid sector, Weifang Ensign Industry continues to deepen its core citric acid business anchored by technological innovation, intelligent manufacturing and green low-carbon development. Meanwhile, it expands into high-end bio-based new materials and functional fermentation product segments, further consolidating its central position in global supply chains. The enterprise leads China’s biomanufacturing industry to shift from scale supremacy to technological leadership and brand upgrading, continuously unlocking the core competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing amid the global bioeconomy boom.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Website:https://www.ensign-citric-acid.com

Phone:+8615380400285

Email:sales2@liwei-chem.com