Enzyme company expanding

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National Enzyme Company, a Forsyth-based manufacturer of primarily plant-based dietary supplements, is in the midst of a $2.6 million expansion. Gary Bennett, marketing manager and spokesman for NEC, said the company was founded in 1932 by Edward Howell, MD, who is often referred to as "the father of enzyme nutrition." |ret||ret||tab|

The company had its headquarters in Chicago until July 1980 when NEC moved to its present location at 15366 Highway 160 in Forsyth. In addition to the company's administrative offices and sales and marketing staff at that location, NEC also has its main manufacturing facility on Highway 76 closer to Branson.|ret||ret||tab|

Bennett said NEC already has remodeled the existing warehouse space, added larger shipping docks and nearly doubled the capacity of high-speed encapsulation processes.|ret||ret||tab|

The company will break ground in April or May for the next phase of the expansion, which will be a 12,000-square-foot facility that will expand production, packaging and shipping capabilities. That structure will be located on Highway 76 near the existing manufacturing plant. |ret||ret||tab|

Rick Brown Construction Co. is the general contractor for the expansion, and Richard E. Werner of Werner & Associates, Architects LC is the architect.|ret||ret||tab|

Bennett said the company produces supplements for about 200 different companies in the United States and around the world, including Rainbow Light and Blue Bonnet. He added that the supplements produced by NEC are intended to aid digestion.|ret||ret||tab|

"When your food is cooked or processed, the enzymes in it that help digest your meal are destroyed," he said. |ret||ret||tab|

The lack of enzymes in food wasn't a problem for people many years ago, because more raw foods were eaten, Bennett noted, but now, the public's awareness about dietary enzymes is increasing.|ret||ret||tab|

"Today, everything you eat is cooked and processed, so it puts a burden on your digestive system and on your body, so our enzymes help relieve that burden," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

"Just as vitamins and minerals were not that well-known many years ago, enzymes and the power that (they) have on your body is more apparent ... on Sunday afternoon, if you watch TV, every product seems to be a digestive product, either Rolaids or Tums or a plant-based enzyme product like we manufacture."|ret||ret||tab|

Enzymes are "a workhorse," Bennett said, and there's nothing flashy about them.|ret||ret||tab|

"It's not an instant lose-weight or stay-up-all-night type of product, it just relieves ... stress on your body, makes you feel better," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

The expansion of the company's facilities will likely result in an increase in NEC's work force, which consists of about 82 employees in Forsyth. Bennett said the manufacturing plant has a fully-staffed first shift and a second shift that's still being filled. Once the company's expansion is complete, a third shift may be added, he said.|ret||ret||tab|

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