Chad Severson, global president of Insinkerator Photo: Courtesy of Insinkerator

Insinkerator, the world's largest food waste disposal producer by sales, launched its new product, the Evolution 100, during the Aquatech China exhibit held in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The product is directed at the Chinese market, where the company has great expectations. It will increase investment in China by double-digit annual rates in the coming years.

Insinkerator, a subsidiary of Emerson Electric Co, was founded in 1938 with its headquarters in the US. The company operates in more than 100 countries and regions, providing consumers with food waste disposal units and other kitchen appliances.

"The urbanization and the rise of the middle class in China make our company believe that there is high potential for the food waste disposal industry in the country," Chad Severson, global president of Insinkerator, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The market scale for the food waste disposal industry in China is expected to reach "tens of millions of dollars" in the next several years, according to Insinkerator.

The company's sales in China have been growing by 30 percent annually in the past five years. One of its main sales channels is on e-commerce giant Alibaba's online platform Tmall.

The food waste disposal industry may have rapid growth as the Chinese government has been paying close attention to environmental protection in recent years.

If the market penetration rate of food waste disposal units reaches 100 percent in Shanghai, then the total amount of garbage in the city will fall by 81.5 percent every day, according to a report Shanghai-based Tongji University sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Though Insinkerator has almost no single major competitor in the industry, we still hope more high-quality competitors will enter the market," Severson said. "We hope more players will educate consumers and make governments pay much more attention to the food waste disposal industry, which can help a lot in protecting the environment. "

"We have a strong belief in the Chinese market so we will definitely increase our investment in the country in the next few years," he said. Many of the company's products are already made in China, but "we will consider setting up our own factories in China" if needed.