international expansion and specialisation with new partners · “we are committed to...
TRANSCRIPT
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newsN O . 1 M A R C H 2 0 1 3
T H e s A R i A b i O - i N d u s T R i e s N e w s p A p e R w w w . s A R i A . C O M
International expansion and specialisation with new partners
Foreword by the Chairman of the Management Board .................................................................................................................. 3
Interview: “We are committed to international expansion and specialisation” ........................................................... 4
Dutch entrepreneurial spirit from the USA to Asia ........................................................................................................................... 6 Natural sausage casings for European consumers ............................................................................................................................. 8 Interview: “Working together to create added value” ..................................................................................................................... 10
For humans, animals and plants ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 An indispensable active ingredient ............................................................................................................................................................... 14 Arthritis: a “minor” complaint with painful consequences .......................................................................................................... 15 Interview: “ Throughout the world a powerful and dynamic business pool” .................................................................... 16
UK milestones ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Interview: “Partners in synergy” ...................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Daka operations in Denmark .............................................................................................................................................................................. 22 Interview: “In for the long haul” ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Spanish merger offers exciting potential ................................................................................................................................................. 26 Interview: “Sharing a course through troubled waters” ................................................................................................................ 28
SARIA France expands processing of poultry by-products ........................................................................................................... 30 D’Artagnan does fuel ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 30 Heinrich Nagel – combining tradition with an exciting future ................................................................................................ 31 Ten biogas plants, one formula for success ............................................................................................................................................ 32
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Dr. Kurt Stoffel, Chairman of the Management Board of the SARIA Group.
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Two of the most fundamental aspects of our company strategy are international expansion and specialisation. Accordingly, the partnerships we have recently entered into are focused on these areas. They are also closely aligned with our corporate principles of taking a longterm approach to decisionmaking and decentralising responsibility with a clear focus on good, open and motivated managers and specialist staff as the basis for successful growth.
In this edition of SARIAnews, we would like to present our new partners in greater detail.
Since May 2010, we have enjoyed a close partnership with the SpanishDutch Teeuwissen Group. We report on the business areas the company operates in and the synergies that can be achieved as a result of this collaboration, both for Teeuwissen and SARIA. Teeuwissen CEOs Jalal Laham and Robert Wind, both managing owners of the Group, and Manfred Gellner, SARIA board member and also SARIA representative on the Teeuwissen management team, also take stock of progress to date.
Spanish company Bioibérica specialises in biotechnology, focusing on the development, manufacture and sale of animal tissue biomolecules. Its highvalue specialist products are used in the pharmaceutical industry, as well
dear ladies and gentlemen, customers, suppliers, employees and partners of the sARiA Group
as in veterinary and agricultural science. In his interview, Bioibérica CEO José Escaich talks about the opportunities arising from this partnership.
In September 2012, the UKbased Prosper De Mulder Group celebrated its first anniversary as the British representative of our Group. SARIAnews reports on new projects and major changes, while PDM managing director Andy Smith and SARIA Management Board member FranzBernhard Their, who is also a member of the PDM management team, discuss the ongoing success of our collaboration.
Since July 2012, Danish company Daka has also officially been part of the SARIA Group. Both companies operate in similar segments and see exciting potential through working together to improve their competitiveness going forward. For more information, read the associated article and the interview with Daka CEO Lars KrauseKjaer.
Finally, the GARNOVA Group is the most recent member of the SARIA family. Based in northeast Spain, its core business is the processing of animal byproducts. The acquisition and merger of 50 per cent of GARNOVA with our existing Spanish activities to create the new SARIA BioIndustries España took place at the beginning of February 2013. For more background information on the merger and the opportunities it presents, see the interview with Valentin
Garcia, CEO of the former SARIA unit in Spain, and Joan Vila, former CEO of GARNOVA. Since the merger, which took place just a few days ago, Garcia and Vila have been jointly managing operations at the “new" SARIA organisation in Spain.
We are also able to report on promising developments at SARIA France under the leadership of SARIA Management Board member JeanLouis Hurel. At the sites in Issé and Êtampes, two additional stateoftheart biogas plants have entered service. Work on the construction of a biodiesel plant also started in Le Havre, in conjunction with partner Intermarché. As a result of new partnerships, SARIA has also managed to significantly expand its processing of poultry byproducts in Brittany.
As you can see, a lot has been happening at SARIA.
I hope you all enjoy reading SARIAnews, especially those of you from our partner companies or who are in some way involved with these companies and may be reading it for the first time.
Best regards
Dr. Kurt Stoffel
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Dr. Stoffel, what global trends do you see affecting the future development of our industry?
The future supply of raw materials, food and feedstuffs as well as clean and affordable energy are undoubt
edly key topics that society, politicians and business need to address. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), for example, estimates that food production will have to increase by 70 per cent by 2050. That
is the only way to feed the 9 billion people
expected to be living on the planet by then. At the same time, the
growing
prosperity of the developing countries means that meat consumption is rising too. Sensible use of animal byproducts as food, pharmaceutical substances, fertiliser or as pure sources of energy will play its part in coping with these changes.
Which strategic direction are the SARIA Group and its partners headed in?
The primary focus of our alliances with other companies is international expansion and specialisation. That explains why we made the decision in 2010 to team up with the Teeuwissen Group, for example. Teeuwissen is the global leader in the processing of casings and animal byproducts such as industrial meat. This partnership gives us the opportunity to achieve synergies and significantly expand the breadth and quality of our product and service offerings for both customers and suppliers. Together, we act as a singlesource customer for all byproducts from abattoirs. Many Teeuwissen activities are based in Asia and South America, thus opening up opportunities for SARIA there as well.
What opportunities arise from the partnership with Bioibérica?
Together with Teeuwissen, we have acquired 90 per cent of the shares in Bioibérica. Ten per cent are held by José Escaich, who together with his management team has successfully run the Spanish company for many years. The focus of our partnership is on specialist products. Bioibérica is highly specialised in the application of extraction technologies for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products from animal materials. The most common health problems affecting older people, for example, are primarily musculoskeletal disorders. Bioibérica specialises in the extraction of chondroitin, glucosamine and hyaluronic acid from animal byproducts. Chondroitin is often used for the treatment of arthritis. Products based on chondroitin and glucosamine promote bone production in humans, while hyaluronic acid supports joint function. The company is also the world's leading producer of heparin for international pharmaceutical com panies. Heparin is used as an anti coagulant in hospital operations
“ We are committed to international expansion and specialisation”
New partners, new markets and new activities – the SARIA Group is not only growing geographically, it is also increasing the range of its business operations. In this interview, Group chairman Dr. Kurt Stoffel sums up recent developments, explains the principles behind them and highlights the aspects he feels are particularly significant.
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or during chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer – this opens up a completely new value chain for us.
What synergies do you expect to achieve as a result of the investments in PDM, Daka and GARNOVA?
The three companies provide similar services to SARIA and produce comparable products. They are market leaders in their respective countries, i.e. the UK, Denmark and Sweden, and Spain. They also specialise in blood processing and biodiesel production in some instances. Investing in these companies has led to a significant increase in our European footprint and also offers further growth potential, for example for ReFood. Large cities require sustainable waste disposal concepts for food and kitchen waste. We have been successfully operating our ReFood business, which specialises in the efficient collection and processing of this waste, for a long time in Germany and for several years now in France, Poland and the UK. A biogas plant entered service at PDM headquarters in Doncaster in 2011 and we intend to build two more plants in the UK in
2013 and 2014. We are also considering introducing this innovative concept in Denmark, for example, and we see opportunities in Spain too, where SARIA and GARNOVA already collect ReFood raw materials.
That’s a lot of new partnerships and acquisitions in a short space of time - how do you make that work?
Continuity in management and a longterm corporate vision – both factors combined make it possible to build partnerships based on mutual trust and respect. Of course, there need to be lasting benefits for both sides too, the muchcited “winwin situation". The strong support of our supervisory boards is another important factor in the success of our familyowned company. Decentralised management structures and a focus on dedicated, entrepreneurial specialist staff and managers are both important core principles at SARIA. They have been and remain key to establishing new partnerships. This is how our collaboration with the management teams and staff that we got to know through our talks and during negotiations was and is being put into
practice. Along with my colleagues on the management board, I’m therefore pleased to see that SARIA is both valued and welcomed as a new partner, shareholder and counterpart.
What does the future hold for SARIA and its new partners?
Each partnership is of course differ ent, but they have all begun on an equally strong footing. Joint management and specialist meetings, the sharing of experience by experts at a local level and numerous individual projects demonstrate that with all our partnerships we have already achieved mutually beneficial added value that is also good for our raw material suppliers and customers – that is our goal and that is what motivates us.
Dr. Stoffel, thank you very much for talking to us.
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Since the early 1970s, Teeuwissen has sought to utilise as many of the animal parts obtained from industrial slaughtering as possible. The Dutch group has evolved into one of the world's largest specialist distributors of meat, by-products and casings as well as animal raw materials for manufacturing pharmaceutical substances.
Headquartered in Cuijk, Holland, the Teeuwissen Group is world leader in the collection, processing and trading of meat industry products and byproducts. The company has 4,000 employees and operates several production sites and refrigerated warehouses plus around 200 gut rooms in abattoirs across Europe, Asia, South America and the USA. Teeuwissen’s
global network allows it to respond flexibly to changes in international supply and demand. Ensuring deliveries meet customer specifications is vital here, and employees follow stringent HACCP standards. Teeuwissen can even supply halal products, which are processed according to Islamic religious law, or products that are manufactured according to the SKAL certification requirements for organic production. The company's activities are split into five business divisions.
PharmaceuticalsPeople have been consuming certain animal organs to promote health or cure diseases since ancient times. Nowadays, the substances needed to manufacture medication are ex
“ Today, our product offering includes every useable part of the animal and we are proud to have become such a specialised company.”
tracted from these organs: insulin for diabetics, heparin as an anticoagulant and medicines for arthritis are just a few examples of products whose raw materials originate from animals. “At Teeuwissen, it all started with the pig's pancreas, a tiny organ, which particularly in the sow displays high enzymatic activity,” recalls Christian Drexlin, director of the Pharmaceutical Division at Teeuwissen. “Today, it is from this organ that we obtain pancreatin, which is used to treat pancreatitis, a disease of the human pancreas, for example, as well as gene defects such as cystic fibrosis.” Up until the 1980s, this organ was also the only source of insulin. “Since then, we have set international standards for large pharmaceutical manufacturers
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“ Our ultimate goal remains the same: not to waste a single part of the animal.” Jalal Laham, Chairman of Teeuwissen Group's Board of Directors says, summing up the company’s mission.
with all of our pharmaceutical byproducts,” explains Drexlin. “With our efficient procurement and packaging processes, as well as optimum quality control and quality assurance, we have become a leading supplier.”
Meat products and industrial meatTeeuwissen also markets high quality meat products known as prime cuts. From chicken breast, pork loins and beef sirloin to chicken wings and pork ribs, close links with abattoirs and meatpacking plants mean guaranteed quality. 45 per cent of worldwide demand for meat is met by processed meat, e.g. for use in hamburgers or sausages. “Making it yourself is always the best way,” says Floris Sijsma, sales director at Teeuwissen Products BV. “With our efficient plants producing industrially processed poultry, pork and beef, we’re very proud of this business.” Teeuwissen collects byproducts such as pig stomachs for the Asian market from its own gut rooms. “In Europe, the value of certain meat products in markets such as Asia or Africa is frequently underestimated,” comments Sijsma. “Europe serves as an important procurement region for these areas, enabling them to meet their requirement for meat products.” The products are shipped to customers either plate or block frozen or in cartons. Traceability and the stringent controls applied during processing contribute to high quality here as well.
Pet foodIn 2010, pet food production totalled 8.3 million tonnes, according to the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF). That corresponds to revenue of 13.5 billion euros. The by
products that Teeuwissen supplies for the preparation of dry and wet food include pig kidneys, cow hearts and chicken viscera. “Depending on customer requirements, we can also prepare readytouse mixtures,” explains pet food manager Richard Broekmeijer. “We offer fresh or frozen mixtures with the right balance of protein, fat and moisture – if required, these can also be made from particular types of offal or animal species.” For pets, treats such as bull pizzles or pig ears, which Teeuwissen also supplies, are great at satisfying their instinct for play. The company also supplies ingredients for functional food that promotes digestion in animals.
Natural casings, artificial casings and ingredientsTo manufacture salami, weisswurst and Nürnberger bratwurst, natural casings from either pigs or sheep are required. Teeuwissen supplies these to the sausage industry in a variety
selection and finishing for sale. The associated intestinal mucosa is not a waste product here: Teeuwissen supplies this byproduct to Bioibérica and others, with the Spanish company using it to obtain the substance heparin sodium. In addition to natural casings, Teeuwissen also markets artificial casings with or without markings. The company sees itself as a onestop shop for the entire meat products industry. As such, spices and functional ingredients are likewise part of its range. Also included in this business segment are proteins, for example. These valuable ingredients can be used in a variety of ways – in emulsions or coatings and as a preservative, for instance.
Summing up the company’s mission, Jalal Laham, Chairman of Teeuwissen Group's Board of Directors, says, “Our ultimate goal remains the same: not to waste a single part of the ani
More information online:
teeuwissen.nl
Teeuwissen CEO Jalal Laham, flanked by SARIA Management Board mem-ber Manfred Gellner and the Chairman of the Man-agement Board of the SARIA Group, Dr. Kurt Stoffel. Below, the other managing owners of the Teeuwissen Group (from left to right): Felix Ruiz and Fernando Ruiz, Gerard van Lieshout and Robert Wind.
of calibres and lengths. In order to preserve them, they are cleaned and salted in Teeuwissenoperated gut rooms immediately after slaughtering. They then begin their journey to Asia, where the casings undergo
mal. Today, our product offering includes every useable part of the animal and we are proud to have become such a specialised company.”
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The sausage is the world’s oldest known processed meat product. You could even call it the original convenience food. The Sumerians are credited with inventing the concept,
around 6,000 years ago. A cook book discovered in Babylon includes a recipe for cooked meat stuffed into the stomach of a goat. The Greeks and Romans were also well acquainted with the art of making sausages. Things really took off in the Middle Ages, when natural casings were widely used for storing cooked meat through the winter. Today, around 1.4 million kilometres of natural casings are used each year in Germany alone.
This ancient invention is also the basis for one of the five divisions in the Teeuwissen Group. The product range includes 15 different pork casings, as well as sheep and beef
Why natural?In Germany, there are around 1,500 types of sausage – more than half of these have natural casings. A key feature of this unique material is the ability to absorb and release water during cooking. Natural casings are also permeable to air, an all important feature on dry cured sausages, where the meat has to “breathe” in order to ripen. On top of all that, a natural casing has no additional flavour of its own.
For some types of sausage, natural casings are essential. A genuine Nürnberger bratwurst, for example, is required by local law to have one. Viennese and frankfurters use natural casings made from the small intestine of sheep. This provides the distinctive “snap” when biting into the sausage. For weisswurst, bratwurst, chorizo or salami, pepperoni and “Hausmacher”, the casing of choice is natural pork.
The manufacturing processThe intestine used for natural casings initially consists of three layers: the inner mucosa, the submucosa (made up mainly of collagen) and the outer muscular layer. The first stage is to
Natural sausage casings for European consumers
Collecting, cleaning, calibrating – just a few of the many steps in the process used to turn animal intestine into high-quality sausage casings. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the Teeuwissen Group is a global specialist in the production and marketing of this very special natural product.
Right: Employees clean and sort casings, which will eventually become sausage specialities.
alternatives. Teeuwissen Operations, based in Katwijk near Cuijk, has onsite casing lines in abattoirs across Europe and America. Teeuwissen Casings is responsible for sorting and finishing, while Top Casings, based in Lochem, handles sales, for example. By retaining control over all stages of production, Teeuwissen is able to ensure optimum quality as well as full traceability for all materials.
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removed. Finished pork casings are then bundled in groups of five known as “hanks”. Each bundle is tied with a coloured ring or other marking to identify the calibre group. Another method involves gathering the casings onto small tubes. This enables easier processing on commercial sausage machines. The finished casings are then re salted and packed for shipping.
Reaching the customersAfter selection in China, the casings are shipped directly to Cuijk or another Teeuwissen location in Poland, Spain, Brazil or the USA. Given the distances involved, the typical lead time from abattoir to
Jin Kewen, governor of Jintan, Wan Long, chairman of Shineway and Teeuwissen China's managing director Zhou Jianqing (from left to right) are shown around the production plant at Luohe by Teeuwissen CEO Jalal Laham.
remove the gastrointestinal parcel from the freshly slaughtered carcass and transfer it to the casing line. Here, it is prepared and mounted on the line by hand. The intestine is then passed over a series of soft rubber rollers that squeeze out the contents and inner mucosa, leaving the central layer required to make casings. The inner mucosa is valuable in its own right, e.g. as a raw ingredient in the anticoagulant heparin, made by Spanish company Bioibérica. After cleaning, the casings are salted to preserve them. This also helps remove any residual moisture. They are then packed in barrels and, in the case of Teeuwissen, shipped to China for sorting.
Calibration in Casing CityAnother essential feature of the Nürnberger bratwurst is the calibre of 1820 millimetres. Since many types of sausage have very precise specifications, it is necessary to sort the casings before they are ready to use. The quality control and selection processes are performed in the Chinese cities of Jintan and Rugao. The latter in particular, the “Casing City of China”, is long established as a processing centre for Teeuwissen. The tasks performed here include cutting the casings to the required lengths and diameters. A typical small intestine is approximately 18 metres long, of which 2 metres is usually damaged and has to be
finished product can be as much as six months. Provided they are kept in the dark at 68 ºC, natural casings can be safely stored for extended periods of time.
Teeuwissen produces around 20 per cent of all the pork casings used around the world. The company has been a regular fixture for many years at the Anuga FoodTec fair in Cologne, the SIAL Paris and the SIAL China in Shanghai. In 2013, Teeuwissen will exhibit its casings and other products for the first time ever at the IFFA in Frankfurt, Germany – the most important event in the global meat industry calendar.
Teeuwissen has had a stand at Anuga in Cologne and at SIAL in Paris and China for many years.
Working together to create added value
Mr Laham, could you please tell us how the partnership came about?
Laham: SARIA and Teeuwissen are leaders in adjacent market segments and complement each other perfectly, so a partnership seemed to make a lot of sense. This alliance gives us an opportunity to achieve synergies
and significantly expand the range and quality of our products and services for customers and suppliers. By working together closely, both partners can expand and strengthen their
international presence.
In May 2010, SARIA acquired a 25 per cent shareholding in the Dutch Teeuwissen Group. In September 2011, the stake was increased to 50 per cent. Just over a year has passed since then. Teeuwissen CEOs Jalal Laham and Robert Wind, both managing owners of the Group, and Manfred Gellner, SARIA board member and also managing director of Teeuwissen, talked to SARIAnews about the progress made to date.
What projects did you first work on as a partnership?
Wind: Significantly, the starting point was Twist on the GermanDutch border. Since 1999, Teeuwissen subsidiary NWT has been producing packaging and industrial goods for export as well as convenience products for end users. Together with SARIA, we were able to streamline the shipment workflows and save on transportation mileage by switching logistics to EUROmeat.
Gellner: The initial 25 per cent stake gave us both the opportunity to increase our understanding of each other's business segments and strengths. Previously, both companies had primarily known each other from a market perspective. Since then, we have grown together strategically too. In order to identify further opportunities, in April 2012 we set up a synergy team comprising colleagues from SARIA, Teeuwissen and Bioibérica. The aim is to pro
mote existing projects and highlight additional potential for innovation within the partnership.
Are there already other collaboration opportunities?
Wind: One example is the biogas project in Palafolls. In the medium term, we would like to invest in renewable energy here. The challenge is to meet the energy needs of Bioibérica’s Spanish site from available waste, such as fats which are produced when obtaining pharmaceutical substances from mucosa. SARIA has the knowledge required to generate biogas in this way.
Gellner: Across the organisations, we know there are many more complementary activities in procurement, development and sales. SARIA specialises in animal byproducts such as bones, skins, blood and fats, whereas Teeuwissen focuses on organs such as lungs, kidneys and intestinal mucosa. Together, we can
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utilise more than 50 per cent of the animal. Of course, this has to take place gradually – we need to ensure that our colleagues are engaged in the process and we also need to manage the integration process alongside our daytoday operations.
Which core specialisms has Teeuwissen developed over recent years?
Laham: As a result of our international footprint, we are able to detect very early and very accurately how customer preferences are changing in North and South America, Europe or Asia, for example. Where are the bottlenecks and export opportunities? What are the terms under which goods are being traded, what do products need to look like? We pick up on changes in market conditions like this very quickly.
Wind: Our product portfolio is also highly diversified. We operate in market segments that range from human consumption to pharmaceutical substances and have a presence on every continent. This makes us less susceptible to regional animal diseases. We also operate our own gut rooms staffed by our own staff in abattoirs across the world. Our raw materials are therefore always traceable, which is of key importance to pharmaceutical manufacturers, for example.
What challenges and opportunities lie ahead for Teeuwissen?
Laham: The Group has evolved from a traditional dealer in animal byproducts into a producer of finished products. In the next phase, we’d like to expand our knowledge of technical processes and increase our research efforts in order to find effective solutions to the challenges associated with globalised marketplaces. SARIA and Bioibérica are the ideal partners for this.
Gellner: I completely agree. If you put together Teeuwissen's global network, the technical knowhow of the SARIA Group and the innovative ability of Bioibérica, there are almost infinite opportunities. There is already a highly entrepreneurial culture at Teeuwissen. The huge array of products, the proximity to the raw goods and trading markets – information is pooled and turned into new ideas quicker here than in any other company.
Looking to the future, how do you see the collaboration between Teeuwissen and SARIA evolving?
Laham: SARIA knows how to coordinate the flow of materials, we supply high quality raw material, and Bioibérica manufactures specialist
products. In the near future, we can see ourselves operating out of shared locations. Thanks to the geographical proximity of our processing lines, we could convert residues from the pharmaceutical sector into ingredients for the pet food industry at local level, for example. Almost no waste would be produced in the process. In this way, we can optimise our mutual advantages to generate maximum added value for what we do best: Quality products from animal byproducts.
Thank you all for talking to us, gentlemen.
The three interviewees: Robert Wind (left), Jalal Laham (above) and Manfred Gellner.
" This alliance gives us an opportunity to achieve synergies and significantly expand the range and quality of our products and services for customers and suppliers."
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Since its foundation in 1975, Bioibérica has made a significant contribution to improving the health and well being of humans, animals and plants. Backed by 35 years of research and development, the company has become one of the leading international suppliers of specialist products.
A wide variety of productsHeparin is the most commonly used substance worldwide to stop blood from clotting during hospital pro ce dures, for example, and to prevent thromboses. Other substances, such as chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine and hyaluronic acid, are used to treat joint diseases. All these molecular
compounds belong to the glycosaminoglycan family, which is made up of biomolecules with a high biological and therapeutic value that Bioibérica harvests from animal tissue.
During industrial extraction, other byproducts are also obtained, which are rich in protein, amino acids and peptides. Some of these act as a natural aid that helps plants to avoid stress factors while growing. Others are able to attract and thus control pests that afflict fruit and olive trees, for example. There are also some high value proteins which promote healthy digestion in young animals.
Every fifth dose Heparin was the company's first product. Currently, one in every five doses of heparin produced worldwide is manufactured by Bioibérica. The substance enjoys widespread support in clinical practice and is used in the prevention of arterial diseases, thromboembolisms and acute coronary syndromes.
Bioibérica joint healthThe prevention, diagnosis and treatment of arthritis, joint injuries and other bone and muscle disorders in humans and animals is an area that is equally important for Bioibérica. As well as the production and market
For humans, animals and plants
Bioibérica specialises in biotechnology, focusing on the development, manufacture and sale of animal tissue biomol-ecules. The Spanish company’s products are used in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as in veterinary and agricultural science, supporting good health in humans, animals and plants.
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ing of chondroprotective substances that protect the bone, such as chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine and hyaluronic acid, for many years the company has also focused on personalised medicine. Projects in this field are run in collaboration with recognised scientific institutes. Currently, research is being carried out on diagnosis and prognosis chips, biomarkers and cell therapy. Bioibérica also develops and markets food supplements for young animals or animals with digestive problems. These products promote a good appetite, digestion and a healthy gut.
Stress factors for plantsAgricultural crops undergo stress as a result of droughts, pests or a high degree of salinity in the water or soil. Environmental factors such as these affect both the quantity and quality of the crop. Bioibérica has therefore developed a broad range of substances based on amino acids which act naturally on the mechanisms in plants to prevent these stress factors. The company also provides solutions for the mass trapping of fruit flies which set the benchmark worldwide.
Complete controlBioibérica is in control of its products from development right through
to marketing; this is another area in which it excels. As a result, the company can ensure the traceability of every single step of the process. Several production plants are located in the immediate vicinity of the relevant resources, i.e. exactly where suppliers start the process of obtaining raw materials. Accordingly, a number of complete manufacturing processes are carried out at the Bioibérica site in Palafolls near Barcelona. Primary materials are converted into medication of the highest quality as part of a stringent qualitycontrolled process.
People – the driving force Right from the start, Bioibérica attached great importance to qualified employees. With their expertise and understanding of client requirements, they translate the company's ideas into effective products. Motivated staff who are committed to the company’s objectives help to create a robust organisation that can look to the future with confidence.
Info box: Bioibérica by numbers
• 386 employees• 58 ongoing research and
development projects• Active in over 70 countries• 7 production locations:
1.3. Spain: Palafolls and Olérdola (Barcelona) and La Puebla de Montalbán (Toledo) 4. USA: Geneva (Nebraska) 5. Brazil: Palmas (Paraná) 6. Italy: Quistello (Mantua) 7. Poland: Rzeczenica (Chojnice)
Info box: Bioibérica certification
• ISO 50001 Energy Efficiency• ISO 9001 Quality• ISO 14001 and EMAS Environ
mental Management• OHSAS 18001 Minimising Risks
in the Workplace• SA 8000 Social Accountability
Bioibérica has had a strong focus on research and development for over 35 years.
The Spanish company's products protect plants from physical damage, for example.
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Baltimore, 1916: At the Johns Hopkins University, Jay McLean extracted a socalled phospholipid with apparent anticoagulant properties from canine liver cells, but the young student was unable to continue with his research. He had to leave university in 1917 and William H. Howell, his professor, took over. The scientist managed to isolate another anticoagulant from the organ. Hepar is the Greek word for liver; Howell named the watersoluble polysaccharide he had found heparin.
Although he was not aware of it at the time, Howell had named an active ingredient that is now taken for granted in clinical practice. Millions of patients are treated with heparin throughout the world. It is used in arterial, venous and pulmonary thromboembolisms, for instance, and can prevent peripheral arterial disease,
acute coronary syndromes and atherosclerosis. In essence, heparin prevents the formation of blood clots.
Quality and purity guaranteedFor Bioibérica, accurate understanding of the ingredient is key, along with intensive research and development. Heparin is a very complex molecule composed of Dglucosamine and hexuronic acid, which is obtained from porcine intestinal mucosa. The raw materials are selected and vetted at seven production sites in Spain, Italy, Poland, Brazil and the USA. Each of the company’s branches is subject to stringent quality controls, has environmentally friendly processes in place and can also handle special customer requirements. The result is a product of the highest purity. Currently, it is estimated that every fifth dose of heparin is manufactured by Bioibérica.
Future innovationIn addition, there is potential for heparin and its derivatives to be used in the development of other medication. Research is currently being carried out to assess how effective the substance is in treating cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and emphysema, for example. Its potential application in organ transplants is also being considered. Many of these studies are at an advanced stage of development – some of them with support from Bioibérica.
An indispensable active ingredient Bioibérica's history is closely linked with heparin, the company's first product. Since its foundation in 1975, the Spanish manufacturer has understood that this active ingredient is indispensable to human health – and has guaranteed maximum safety in the selection of raw materials.
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Pain and restricted movement are the main symptoms of osteoarthritis, a chronic disease of the joints caused by excessive wear which affects an estimated 190 million people worldwide. As an often inevitable part of old age, osteoarthritis was long considered a minor complaint. However, attitudes have since changed. With young people, sportsmen/women and the overweight also suffering from the disease, osteoarthritis is gaining greater attention in the medical and research sectors.
Active ingredients for treating osteo arthritisUp until now, treatment has consisted of antiinflammatory agents or pain medication. Although they alleviate suffering, once the treatment is complete the symptoms of the disease return. These medications also have side effects. Some of the new types of treatment, however, contain socalled chondroprotective drugs, such as
chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine and hyaluronic acid. These substances protect the joint and delay deterioration. They have a direct effect on the joint cartilage, the synovial membrane and the subchondral bone, the three components of the joint that are commonly affected by arthritis.
Numerous studies have confirmed the benefits of chondroprotective drugs. The active ingredients are categorised as symptomatic slow acting drugs in osteoarthritis (SYSADOA). Their effect is delayed, but also lasts for up to three months after withdrawal of treatment. Chondroprotective drugs have no known side effects and can be taken for an extended period of time. The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) support the use of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine sulfate for the treatment of osteoarthritis.
Arthritis: a “minor” complaint with painful consequencesOne of the areas that Bioibérica specialises in is joint health. A major division is dedicated to manufacturing and developing products to treat osteoarthritis.
More than 190 million people worldwide suffer from arthritis. Condrosan from Bioibérica offers relief.
Chondroprotective drugs from BioibéricaThe Spanish company's leading position in the market for chondroprotective drugs is widely recognised. The potential health benefits of the products are corroborated by comprehensive clinical studies and publications on cartilage protection. For many years, Bioibérica has also been collaborating with internationally renowned research institutes, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the British National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), as well as the University of Montreal in Canada, University of Liège in Belgium and the universities of A Coruña and Pompeu Fabra in Spain. Together, they set standards for improving healthcare systems and increasing patients’ quality of life.
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Mr Escaich, how do you view the collaboration between the three com-panies?
The coming together of the three companies is a natural evolution of the existing strategic alliance between Bioibérica and Teeuwissen. Teeuwissen, Saria and Bioibérica complement each other perfectly without any overlap between their fields of business. Together, we are a powerful and dynamic business force throughout the world in the animal byproducts market. And that is a unique position.
There has been a strategic alliance with the Dutch group for 15 years. What joint projects have you worked on?
Since 1999, we have been collaborating on cartilage processing, and since 2004 in the area of intestinal mucosa as well. This has enabled us to significantly extend our market position with chondroitin sulfate and heparin. A project that we are currently considering for the future is a processing plant in North Africa. Teeuwissen could obtain industrial meat from shrimp waste for the food
industry, with Bioibérica obtaining the pharmaceutical ingredient glucosamine. We hope to reach a decision on this soon.
Do you have any concrete examples of how you are working with SARIA?
We have only just started to outline possible synergies, but the potential is extremely promising. For example, we are considering building a biogas plant at our site in Palafolls. SARIA has a lot of experience in this field. Bioibérica would be able to obtain sustainable energy from production
“ A powerful and dynamic business force throughout the world”
The Palafolls facility near Barcelona.
Bioibérica specialises in pharmaceutical ingredients made from animal by-products. In February 2012, SARIA, together with the other owners of the Teeuwissen Group and the CEO of Bioibérica, José Escaich, acquired 100 per cent of the shares. SARIAnews spoke to him about the opportunities associated with this partnership.
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waste – something we hadn't previously considered as having any value. The project is particularly attractive because by generating electricity we can simultaneously reduce production costs. We will also be closer to our strategic goal of being selfsufficient in energy.
What core specialisms does Bioibérica have?
These are clearly its motivation, determination and expertise. Our employees are highly competent. Their constant desire to improve processes and products is what really drives us forward. There are two areas where our teams are outstanding. Firstly, we extract biomolecules with a high biological and therapeutic value from animal tissue. Secondly, using scientific methods we develop products from these molecules for pharmaceutical applications, plants and animals.
Bioibérica manufactures medication from animal by-products. Does this involve opportunities or risks?
I think there are a lot of advantages. The first advantage is that animal origin drugs have a very good safety profile, with fewer sideeffects than synthetic alternatives. Secondly, they are significantly less expensive. Thirdly, their biological properties make them less vulnerable to generic drugs than is the case with synthetic drugs.
Animal byproducts used to have negative connotations, but I think any reservations have now been overcome.
What is the main thing that SARIA, Teeuwissen and Bioibérica have in common?
We have the same fundamental approach to what we do and what we consider to be right or wrong. That gives us strong common ground. Also, all three companies are convinced that the success of any project depends on the human factor. At
Bioibérica, we are fast and dynamic, questioning and ambitious, but always goaloriented. Our people provide the key impetus when it comes to finding new solutions or developing existing products further and I can sense the same principle at SARIA and Teeuwissen.
How will the partnership evolve in the future?
Heparin and chondroprotective drugs, ingredients for improving the immune system, high quality protein for animal nutrition and also for reducing stress in plants during the growth process – those are without doubt markets with potential not just for Bioibérica, but also for SARIA and Teeuwissen. We now have both the products and the knowhow within the Group. When we bring all these elements together and get this collaboration off the ground, we will be able to jointly improve not only our offering, but also the quality of our products. Sharing values and objectives: that is the key to a positive future. And we are confident!
Mr Escaich, thank you for speaking to us.
2011 annual staff meeting.
More information online:
bioiberica.com bioiberica.es bioiberica.de
Bioibérica CEO José Escaich.
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There were many changes in the course of 2012 as
the UKbased PDM Group restructured its organisation
and adapted to life as part of the SARIA Group. The six main areas of operation – food services, anaerobic digestion (ReFood), pet food ingredients, animal byproduct (ABP) processing, highrisk animal byproducts disposal/renewable energy and joint ventures – are now organised under separate management and assisted by specialist departments such as operations & engineering, human
resources, procurement and finance. However, it isn’t just in management that things have changed; there were also major developments in the company’s operations.
Food servicesT.Quality is part of PDM’s food services business. One of the leading suppliers to the country’s fast food industry, T.Quality products include fish & chip supplies, chicken nuggets, kebab supplies, pizza toppings, sliced tomatoes and sliced mushrooms. It also provides a range of
takeaway packaging and soft drinks. The company is currently expanding its UK sales network and entering new markets. Another PDM Group company is Nortech Foods, which has a similar range of animal oil and fat products as SARIA subsidiary UNIMELT. Current Nortech projects are aimed at boosting productivity and reducing environmental emissions.
Pet food ingredientsPDM produces pet food ingredients at three UK locations. The Doncaster plant makes ingredients for wet pet
In September 2012, PDM celebrated its first anniversary as amember company and UK representative of the SARIA Group.
It was an eventful year with several new projects as well as structural changes that bode well for the future.
ReFood UK’s biogas plant in Doncaster.
UK milestonesMore information
online:pdm-group.co.uk
nortechfoods.co.uk tquality.co.uk
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food. In Widnes, the company has responded to customer demand and switched to poultry byproducts for the dried pet food market. In Nottingham, PDM has expanded its capacity for processing poultry feathers.
Biogas from food wasteReFood UK is also making progress, having started production of renewable energy at its biogas plant in Doncaster in September 2011. Planning consent has been granted for another plant in Widnes and plans are well advanced for a third biogas site in East London. With regard to future expansion, PDM has also identified other locations throughout the UK that could eventually form part of a nationwide ReFood network. An innovator in waste disposal, ReFood currently collects most of its organic waste from supermarkets and food manufacturers. It is also expanding into waste collection services for catering industry customers across the country.
Prominent support Another PDM initiative aims to promote the idea of yesterday’s food waste as part of tomorrow’s energy while raising awareness of the ReFood waste concept and the potentially major savings in carbon emissions. The Vision 2020 campaign aims to end landfill disposal of UK food waste by the year 2020. To assist the project, PDM has assembled a suitably visionary working group. It brings together decisionmakers from the worlds of local government, waste management, the food industry and the hospitality sector to discuss requirements and challenges around a food waste action plan. The working group is headed by Lord Deben, who is also Chair of the UK Committee on Climate Change (CCC).
Lord Deben was the UK Secretary of State for the Environment from 1993 to 1997.
Animal by-product processingAnother action plan at PDM is exploring new potential for internal savings and future growth. For example, the company will be modernising its animal byproduct rendering plant at Hartshill. Similar developments are also under way at the plant in Widnes processing highrisk byproducts for energy use. The adjoining biomass power plant is currently undergoing a major refurbishment. Upgrades to the fluidised bed combustion system will improve combined heat and power generation while also reducing emissions. Another boost to growth came from the recent acquisition of Dorsetbased company Frome Vale, which specialises in the collection and disposal of fallen stock. Richard De Mulder, grandson of the late Honorary Chairman, Prosper De Mulder, is head of sales for the finished products from this division and now works closely with the international sales team at SARIA.
Joint venturesPDM has a longestablished joint venture in Doncaster with the American Protein Corporation (APC), spe
cialising in the collection and processing of porcine blood. An additional line for bovine blood is set to start production in early 2013. A second joint venture at the Doncaster site develops flavour enhancers for pet food. It is operated in partnership with SPF, the pet food division of the French DIANA Group. A third joint venture, PDM Oilsense, collects waste oils and fats from the catering industry like SARIA subsidiaries Gerlicher in Germany and Allo à l’huile in France. To do this, the company provides each of its customers, e.g. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), with special collection systems. The increasing interconnection of the SARIA Group is again apparent here, with PDM Oilsense supplying the same equipment to SARIA subsidiaries in other markets.
The Hartshill site.
Prosper De Mulder, Honorary Chairman and son of the original company founder, whose name he shared, passed away on 21 February 2012 at the age of 94. Through Mr De Mulder’s vision and energy, PDM Group developed to become the largest byproduct processing company in the UK.
Prosper De Mulder (1917 – 2012)
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Mr Thier, at what point did you real-ise that SARIA and PDM would be a good fit?
Thier: Both companies operate in similar sectors. At European level, we’d been in contact for many years through the European Fat Processors and Renderers Association, EFPRA. When we discussed the challenges and opportunities in our industry it soon became clear that we share common objectives with respect to developing food recycling. Both companies are also focused on highquality services.
The collaboration between SARIA and PDM started out with a ReFood joint venture. Why was that?
Smith: SARIA has been successfully operating an industrial scale recycling concept for food waste in Germany for many years. PDM also had experience of making use of organic waste: we use it at the biomass power station at Widnes to generate electricity. At the same time, we were also on the lookout for new opportunities. PDM had no experience of biogas plants; SARIA had very little knowledge
of the UK market. The joint venture enabled both partners to benefit from synergies.
Thier: At the Doncaster site, we not only have a biogas facility, we have also exported the entire ReFood concept, including the infrastructure for logistics and processing food waste. Most food waste is currently collected from large customers. For supermarkets or food manufacturers, for example, PDM used to only collect meat byproducts, now we dispose of other food waste materials too via ReFood.
Partners in synergyIn July 2010, following the successful ReFood joint venture, SARIA and the UK-based Prosper De Mulder (PDM) Group confirmed their partnership when SARIA took a 10 per cent stake, which was then raised to 51 per cent in September 2011. SARIA Management Board member Franz-Bernhard Thier and PDM managing director Andy Smith report here on the ongoing success of the relationship.
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What are the differences between Germany and the UK with regard to food waste?
Smith: In the UK, over 12 million tonnes of food waste a year ends up in landfill – that’s more than any other country in Europe. Local authorities and their service providers collect food waste from private households and commercial customers alike using the normal municipal waste collection system. There’s very little separate collection.
Do you believe this will change in the medium term?
Thier: In the short term, this obviously represents a considerable challenge for our business model. In the long term, however, we anticipate that the British government will alter the situation by implementing the existing EU directives, for example, as has been done in France and Germany. The Environment Agency for England and Wales already has the food waste from its canteens disposed of by ReFood.
Smith: We’re working hard to eradicate disposal of food waste in landfill in the UK, and the steady increase in the landfill tax rate can be seen as a partial victory. We have
also outlined our case in our Vision 2020 campaign, which has been developed in close consultation with representatives from local authorities, food manufacturers and educational institutions, and the manifesto is available to download from the Internet.
What future prospects does the alliance between the two companies offer?
Thier: PDM will continue to expand its market position as the largest collector and recycler of food waste in the UK. We are currently planning two additional biogas facilities in Widnes and London, which will each generate electricity for 9,700 households.
Smith: PDM isn’t just ReFood. One of the challenges we face at the moment is fierce competition for raw materials for rendering and pet food. Investing in this area will make us more costeffective, thus enabling us to consolidate our position as market leader in this segment. Moreover, on the commercial side we are becoming more integrated into the SARIA organisation. The PDM team is actively involved in the sales projects of the other subsidiaries.
From joint venture partner to majority shareholder – how has SARIA's involvement in the company been perceived by management and employees at PDM?
Smith: We’ve known SARIA for many years as a wellestablished company in the European market. Both management and employees have welcomed this development. Up until now, PDM was also a familyrun company. The shareholders have always been actively involved in management and strategy and continue to be so. There’s a much greater sense of personal commitment than there would be from private equity investors, for example. The Rethmann and De Mulder families have been instrumental over the years in shaping a company culture which is based on social responsibility and sustainability. Against this background, we’re well on the way to feeling like the UK subsidiary of the SARIA Group.
Mr Smith and Mr Thier, thank you for speaking to us.
Franz-Bernhard Thier, SARIA Management Board member and member of the PDM manage-ment team.
PDM managing director Andy Smith.
The Daka facility in Randers is a largescale processing plant for animal byproducts with redbrick buildings set in a picturesque landscape and surrounded by trees. The site handles all the country’s fallen cattle, pigs, horses, sheep and goats, as well as risk material from the meatproducing industry, in accordance with EU Regulation 1069/2009. Randers also receives waste from the furmaking industry when the mink season starts in November. “Usually, everything is up and running by Monday lunchtime,” says plant manager John Jensen. “We then run nonstop through to Saturday. In a single hour, we can process approximately 40 tonnes of waste.”
The plant’s facilities for risk material were rebuilt after a fire in the 1980s. The layout of the site was totally revised and another specialised line
added. In addition to a water treatment plant, two biofilters and a vapour combustion unit, the extensive Randers site includes a leather storage facility for animal skins and even horsehair for use in violin bows. “The biofilter is filled with clay granules,” explains Jensen. “After filtration, the air is released through the chimney with a shot of ozone gas, which helps to further purify it.”
ReFood in RandersDaka also collects food waste and used cooking oils at the plant in Randers. At present, Danish legislation on the disposal of food waste is inconsistent. In some parts of the country, restaurants are required to dispose of organic waste separately whilst in others it’s left to the owner’s discretion. Those who opt to recycle with Daka do so for ecological reasons. All of the waste that Daka
collects is currently processed by one of the lines in Randers. John Jensen: “In the medium term, we plan to use organic waste separately, for example as a biomass in accordance with the EU regulation for the production of biogas and ultimately electricity. Naturally, we hope to benefit from the huge experience that ReFood has acquired in Germany.”
The original joint ventureApproximately 100 kilometres to the south of Randers is the Daka plant in Løsning – which also happens to be the Danish word for “solution”. Daka first teamed up with SARIA here in 2006 to create a joint venture in biodiesel production. Since that time, Daka in Løsning and ecoMotion in Lünen (Germany) have developed and shared their extensive expertise around sustainable fuel development. Daka is currently the only company
Daka operations in DenmarkDanish company Daka became a 51 per cent subsidiary of the SARIA Group on 1 July 2012. The two companies operate in similar fields and see enormous potential for helping each other to boost their competitiveness.
The biodiesel plant in Løsning.
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in Denmark making biodiesel from animal fat. This is a “secondgeneration” fuel, because it is produced exclusively from waste materials. These materials are all supplied from the Daka plant in Randers. The importance of biodiesel in our future energy mix is reflected in the architecture of the Løsning facility. In fact, it provides a visual representation of the innovation taking place there. A dramatic black façade separates the production facility from the apricotcoloured laboratory and office building. Behind the wall are the storage tanks. At present, the company sells around 50,000 tonnes of ecofriendly biodiesel as a fuel component to a variety of petroleum companies. Daka fuels are fully eligible for double counting and produce just 17 per cent of the carbon emissions that typically result from fossilbased diesel.
Protein production in LøsningBiodiesel production isn’t the only activity at the Daka facility in Løsning. The company also has its headquarters here, with a staff of around 40 people. Adjacent to the biodiesel production site is a processing plant for animal byproducts, most of which are used to make ingredients for the pet food and fertiliser industries. Two of the main products are meals with 40 and 58 per cent protein content. Every year, approximately 140,000 tonnes of animal byproducts are sourced from Danish abattoirs. Twelve months ago, the company introduced an additional line for a number of products, including feed components for the mink farming industry – an important contributor to the Danish economy. The air from the production
areas is treated using a biofilter and combustion unit to remove harmful emissions before releasing it into the environment.
Blood processing in LunderskovA further 50 kilometres south, the Daka plant in Lunderskov handles a very special animal byproduct; porcine blood. Just like the national flag of the country, the products are red and white. Conventional blood meal is not suitable for human consumption and is used instead as feed in the fish, pet food and fur industries. The haemoglobin meal, however, is a foodgrade product, but at present usually only sold as feed. A third key product, plasma powder, is both approved for and utilised in food applications. As a highquality ingredient it is used as an emulsifier or gelling agent in sausages, for example. Thanks to its white colouring it can also compete with similar products from the dairy industry.
Blood and plasma are separated in the abattoirs before being delivered to Lunderskov. They are then processed in three lines. “First we take out most of the water so that less energy is required during the drying
process,” says Daka production manager Karsten Jensen Sorth, ascending a ladder. Up on top of the spraydryer, as high as an average house, it feels as hot and noisy as a volcano. “Inside the stainless steel cylinder is a centrifuge unit that atomises the concentrated matter,” says Sorth, describing the process. “The result is an ultrafine mist with a huge surface area. Any remaining moisture is completely evaporated as it passes through the hot air suction outlet.” The finished powder settles on the floor of the spraydryer and makes a crunching sound when pressed between the fingers.
Daka has been processing porcine blood in Lunderskov for the past twelve years and making foodgrade products from it for the past five. After the next phase of expansion, the company will no longer have to rely on individual abattoirs to separate haemoglobin and plasma. Instead, this task will be performed inhouse, ensuring consistent application of Daka quality standards.
More information
online:daka.dk
dakabio-industries.com dakaproteins.com dakabiodiesel.com
Lunderskov facility.
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Mr Krause-Kjaer, how has the part-nership between Daka and SARIA been progressing to date?
Due to competition law, we were not allowed to start working together until 1 July, and then came the July holiday season. Since then, however, things have certainly started to happen. We want to expand the use of food waste in Denmark, for example. A project leader is currently in Germany to learn about the ReFood concept, from route management through the production process to biogas generation. In Randers, a benchmarking project is also getting under way at the moment. Working
jointly with SARIA's technical department, we
are defining key metrics for productivity and quality with the aim of reducing
the energy costs involved in the manufacture of protein meals. We are also in the process of aligning our procurement and sales activities with SARIA.
Before the merger with SARIA, what kind of relationship did you have with your suppliers?
Around 5 million people live in Denmark. The cooperative concept has a long tradition. Almost all large agricultural companies here have evolved from cooperatives or are still organised on a cooperative basis, like Arla and Danish Crown. This can also be seen in our name: “Daka” stands for Danish Protein Works in Cooperative Ownership. During times of crisis, cooperatives remain strong. There is more loyalty between suppliers and producers. They form a value added chain.
Why did Daka nonetheless decide to restructure its ownership?
The question we asked ourselves beforehand was whether Daka would be able to continue developing in the long term. Meat products and
animal byproducts are also affected by globalised markets. For some 15 years, the Danish system has been under pressure and there is a growing trend
“In for the long haul”As a member of the management board at Daka, Lars Krause-Kjaer has been responsible for business development since 2009. Danish by birth, Krause-Kjaer’s previous career includes positions at dairy company Arla and oils and fats spe-cialist Aarhus. In this interview with SARIAnews he tells us why SARIA is the perfect majority shareholder for Daka.
Daka headquarters at Løsning.
for farmers and abattoirs to use service providers from abroad who are able to make attractive offers. As a result, we miss out on this raw material of course. Money is taken out of the chain and prices rise. We are very pleased to have persuaded our former owners of the benefits of collaborating with a strong, Europewide partner.
With raw material volumes falling, will processes have to become more efficient and products more special-ised in order to continue making a profit?
Yes, that’s exactly it. Developments such as this take time, though, and this is where the new model is important. Due to the joint venture in Løsning, which started in 2006, we have already had the chance to get to know SARIA. The company has been working with us for quite some
Daka CEO Lars Krause-Kjaer.
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The Randers facility in northern Denmark.
time and we already have a lot of shared experience. It seemed logical that we should extend our cooperation. The SARIA Group has developed many areas of expertise over the years and shown that it can position itself in a difficult market environment. The majority shareholding allows us to benefit from vital process and product knowhow. The largest shareholder of the former Daka cooperative, Danish Crown, also recognised that further development of the company is only possible by collaborating with a market leader in the European rendering sector.
How have Daka employees reacted to this change?
In cooperatives, emotion plays a major role. The transition to a limited company with a new ownership structure was necessary, but it wasn't easy. We spent a long time exploring the options. A change in ownership is naturally going to cause a degree of uncertainty, but I see SARIA as providing us with a helping hand: with SARIA, we can develop innovative products and processes and exploit new business areas.
Our employees want to be a part of this process, which is why they are very open towards their new colleagues. In return, staff at SARIA are being very open towards us and giving us a warm welcome.
Rethmann and his wife invited us to visit them in Wamckow in early 2012 during our first trip to Germany. In the eyes of the decisionmaking body at the time, this was an important gesture and after our return to Denmark many people were convinced that they were “in for the long haul”. These kinds of signals should not be underestimated. The fact that both the Rethmann family and the entire management team at SARIA have shown such a personal interest in our Group has built up a lot of trust with Daka’s employees.
Mr Krause-Kjaer, thank you very much for talking to us.
What similarities are there between SARIA and Daka in terms of corpor-ate culture?
Up until now, Daka has been majorityowned by abattoirs, which meant it operated in a different business field to its owners, who were mainly interested in developing meat pro d uc tion. With SARIA on the other hand, we share a passion for our core business. SARIA and Daka sit on the same side of the negotiating table, if you like. We have common goals when it comes to animal byproducts, biodiesel and the sustainable reuse of food waste. As part of the RETHMANN Group, SARIA is also a familyowned company and not a private equity investor. Families base their decisions on long term considerations. Mr Norbert
Daka executives visiting the German SARIA site in Marl, North Rhine-West-phalia.
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The GARNOVA Group was founded in 2005 through the merger of Hijos de Canuto Vila and Grefacsa. In 2008, Spanish bank Banco Sabadell also acquired a stake. Now, in 2013, the Spanish competition authorities have approved GARNOVA’s merger with SARIA Spain.
The GARNOVA Group and SARIA Spain operate in very similar segments, but have a different geographical focus, with GARNOVA providing its services in Catalonia, Valencia and Aragón. The philoso
phy of the company, which has 400 employees, is also very similar to that of SARIA: “In all our operations, we strive to be the preferred service partner for the animal feed, pet food and food industries.”
Risk material from farms and abat-toirsTwo of the companies in the GARNOVA Group – Sereca Bio in Catalonia and Gesmer in Valencia – use a fleet of 80 specialist vehicles to dispose of risk material and fallen livestock from more than 15,700
farms. The logistics processes are similar to those used by SecAnim in the SARIA Group, with mobile handheld computers enabling full traceability at every stage in the chain. Recently, GARNOVA added a sorting capability to its collection process in order to boost the value derived in the subsequent processing stage. Like GARNOVA, SARIA Spain is a wellestablished provider of disposal services specialising in hazardous animal waste. SecAnim in Segovia, for example, achieved a further increase in production in
Spanish merger offers exciting potentialSARIA has acquired a 50 per cent equity interest in the GARNOVA Group, a specialist provider of animal by-product processing services based primarily in north-east Spain. The GARNOVA Group has now been merged with SARIA Spain to form a new company: SARIA Bio-Industries España.
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2012 when it won a fiveyear public contract for the processing of animal waste in the autonomous community of CastileLa Mancha.
Food waste and cooking oilsThe GARNOVA equivalent of ReFood is Recifood. Based in Llerona near Barcelona, the company collects food waste from approximately 250 grocery stores and supermarkets. It also has around 200 customers in the centre of Carpesa near Valencia. Another GARNOVA subsidiary, Cavisa, uses a fleet of 10 vehicles to collect waste cooking oil from more than 7,000 restaurants, caterers and food manufacturers.
Facility near La Coruña in north-west Spain.
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Even so, the economic situation in Spain remains difficult. Rising costs mean the industry is being forced to consolidate. The merger of these two companies is a good example of how businesses can use the options at their disposal to improve their utilisation of capacity while also reducing logistics costs.
Generating synergiesBiodiesel is another area where there are plans to boost competitiveness. Spain’s first biodiesel plant, Stocks del Vallès in Montmelo near Barcelona, was commissioned in 2002. Today, it produces around 31,000 tonnes of secondgeneration
The oil is processed at the Llerona plant and the resulting products are supplied to customers in the bio diesel, oleochemical and other indus tries. Josep Vila, head of purchasing at Cavisa and Recifood, explains: “Despite the current economic crisis, we anticipate rapid growth in the quantities of food and oil waste that are offered for collection. This is due to the fact that Spanish customers are clearly becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues.”
biofuel. “Thanks to our investment in new processing technologies, we’ll soon be able to make biodiesel from much lower quality oils and fats,” explains Miguel Vila, head of biodiesel operations at GARNOVA. “The fuel doesn’t mind what it’s made from, after all. The only thing that’s changing is our ability to generate value.”
GARNOVA and SARIA Spain have taken the first step towards full collaboration by merging to form the
new SARIA BioIndustries España. Both are optimistic about their prospects together in serving the Spanish market. The animal byproducts sector and ReFood operations both offer good opportunities and attractive prospects in what is still a very challenging economic climate.
Termens facility approximately 150 kilometres west of Barcelona.
More information online:saria.es
garnova.com
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Sharing a course through troubled waters
With the merger complete, the new SARIA Bio-Industries España commenced operations in February 2013. The new management team – Valentín García, former CEO of SARIA Spain, and Joan Vila, former CEO of GARNOVA – discuss the background to the merger and consider what the future holds.
Mr Garcia, can we start by discussing the exact ownership structure of the new SARIA Bio-Industries España?
García: The Spanish competition authorities gave the green light at the end of December 2012 for SARIA to acquire a 50 per cent stake in the GARNOVA Group. The GARNOVA Group was then merged with SARIA Spain. The result is a new national subsidiary called SARIA BioIndustries España. Seventyone per cent of the equity is owned by SARIA, a further 22 per cent by members of the Vila family, and the rest by one of Spain’s banks, Banco Sabadell.
There were extensive talks and nego-tiations before the merger was com-pleted. Are you happy with the out-come?
Vila: That’s right, the decision wasn’t easy, but we’re pleased with the result. SARIA Spain and GARNOVA have similar businesses, with similar products and services, but operate in different parts of the country. GARNOVA has a lower profile in northern and central Spain, but has many locations in Catalonia, Valencia and Aragón. Our collaboration will benefit the new company in many different ways. Work has only
just begun, though. Now that the deal has been completed, the next step is to get better acquainted and then start the restructuring process.
It all sounds very promising, but what about the ongoing problems in the Spanish economy?
García: You’re absolutely right. The current financial crisis, which shows no sign of abating, is also having an effect on the market for raw mater ials. That’s why it’s so important that we improve our competitiveness going forward. The rendering sector in Spain is much more fragmented than
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Left: Processing plant in Beguda, near Girona. Right: Segovia facility north of Madrid.
in other Western European countries. But that was only one consideration. SARIA’s technical team inspected the GARNOVA sites in Catalonia before the deal and found them to be fully compliant with SARIA standards and processes. In other words, the reasons for the merger weren’t just economic – the conditions within GARNOVA were also favourable.
Vila: With so much competition in the market today, the merger represents an attractive opportunity for our company. We fully expect to see greater consolidation in the Spanish market due to increased competition and rising costs – a process that is already happening in almost all other European countries. SARIA is an excellent partner for us and there are many potential synergies.
Can you give us some specific ex-amples?
García: Enlarging the group gives us additional purchasing power, which means we stand to benefit when it
comes to new investments as well as maintaining our existing facilities. In addition, there’s the opportunity to share expertise, for example in the benchmarking of our processing plants. We also expect to see increased sales of fats and proteins thanks to the international sales team at SARIA. But as I said, we’re still at the start of the process.
So we’ll be able to report on new developments and projects in the next edition of SARIAnews?
Vila: Absolutely. We’ll be investing a lot over the next two years as we continue to specialise and adapt our network and logistics arrangements to meet the needs of the market. That will involve a number of individual projects and a process of restructuring that we’ll be glad to share with you in due course.
How will the areas of responsibil - ity be allocated within the new company?
García: One thing we’ve decided is to set up a joint executive committee made up of the SARIA Spain board and management from GARNOVA. Joan Vila and I will share the new CEO role. We know each other well and look forward to working together. We’ll be presenting additional changes to the corporate structure at a management meeting of the “new” SARIA company at the end of February. But I’d like to assure everyone now that we’ve identified plenty of potential for development as a result of joining forces and we fully intend to use it.
Thank you very much for talking to us, gentlemen.
The management team of the “new” SARIA in Spain (from left to right): Emmanuel Layous, head of sales, Francisco Fernández, management of North/West region, Josep Lluís Ferre, management of North/East region, Valentin García and Joan Vila, joint CEOs of SARIA Spain, Juan Vazquez-Añon, management of Central region, and commercial manager Carlos Olazabal.
" With so much competition in the market today, the merger represents an attractive opportunity for our company" – both Valentin
García and Joan Vila are confident that the newly formed SARIA Spain has excellent prospects.
The management team also sees exciting potential in Spain for the ReFood concept.
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The new biodiesel plant, operating as ecoMotion France, is located in the harbour area of the city. “This makes it easier to transport our product and, in the medium term, to access European markets,” says Serge Verdier, CFO at SARIA France. Production at the site is due to commence by the end of 2013. With a projected workforce of 25 and operating 330 days a year, it will have an annual output of up to 75,000 tonnes. “The biodiesel we’ll be making in Le Havre is a sustainable, secondgeneration fuel. That means
D’Artagnan does fuelSARIA France has joined forces with the French Les Mousquetaires group, owners of the Intermarché retail brand, to build a biodiesel plant in Le Havre. The new facility will use waste animal fats and cooking oils to make eco-friendly fuel. The foundation stone was laid on 8 November 2012.
it’s made exclusively from animal fats and used cooking oils,” explains Verdier. “Compared with conventional diesel, it will reduce carbon emissions by as much as 83 per cent.” The biodiesel produced by ecoMotion France will thus offer a genuine alternative to firstgeneration biofuels made from arable crops such as corn or sugarcane.
Doubling national outputFrance is currently the fourth largest producer of biofuels in the world,
behind the USA, Brazil and Germany. The ecoMotion project represents a major milestone because it will roughly double production of secondgeneration biofuels in France. SARIA will supply the plant with most of the raw materials, while Les Mousquetaires will also contribute through its Intermarché retail chain. Initially, the fuel produced in Le Havre will be used exclusively in the network of filling stations belonging to the Les Mousquetaires group.
SARIA France expands processing of poultry by-products In June 2012, SARIA France acquired the Stanven processing plant in Plouray from poultry giant Doux. For the SARIA Group, this represents a further expansion of its strategic presence in France.
The SARIA Group is the French market leader in proteins and fats used
The Stanven facility in Plouray, France.
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France will be processing up to 70,000 tonnes of animal byproducts a year there,” says JeanYves Bordas, who is responsible for the KERVALIS brand at SARIA France. At the beginning of 2013, SARIA also entered into another longterm agreement with Doux to process poultry byproducts at the Doux site in Châteaulin, likewise in Brittany.
in a range of products such as pet food. “Our acquisition of the Stanven factory has strengthened our market position,” says SARIA Management Board member JeanLouis Hurel. “It is ideally located in the country’s poultryproducing region and widens our range of quality products.”
The new SARIA site is close to the town of Plouray in the département of Morbihan, Brittany. “Soon, SARIA
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Neumünster is situated between the German North Sea and the Baltic, around 60 kilometres north of Lübeck. The company offers a wide range of services. As well as standard processing of animal waste, there is a processing line for bones, meat trimmings and fat, plus a plant for treating used frying fat. “We employ around 85 people, some of whom have been with the company for 40 years,” says Michael Zack, technical director at Nagel. “Their long years of experience and the wide array of services we offer have enabled us to adapt to the needs of a constantly changing market.” Thanks to its own fleet of tankers, hook loaders and special collection vehicles with loading cranes, there is always a suitable vehicle available to meet customer requirements. Located on the A7 motorway, the main arterial route in SchleswigHolstein, the site has
Some 85 employees work at Nagel in the vehicle fleet, production and management.
Heinrich Nagel – combining tradition with an exciting futureFor over 100 years, Heinrich Nagel GmbH & Co. KG has been collecting and processing fallen stock and animal by-products in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. In September 2011, SecAnim acquired a majority share in the Neumünster-based company.
quality fat for use by the technical industry and for biodiesel production as well as producing meal, which is sold either as fuel or as fertiliser depending on the quality. The infrastructure at this extensive site offers plenty of room for growth, for instance due to the existing effluent treatment plant and biofilters for cleaning exhaust air.
excellent transport links. From here, customers are easily accessible and quick service is guaranteed.
Merger creates synergiesBy taking a stake in Nagel, the SARIA Group has extended its disposal area in the northern part of Germany. “We can also see many other opportunities,” comments Jan Stimberg, commercial director at Nagel. “The location fits in well with the existing Group network. Among other things, we can envisage it becoming part of the North German ReFood operation. Expanding food waste processing in SchleswigHolstein would create potential synergies, thereby further enhancing the Group’s added value.”
Room for expansion A company rich in tradition, last year Nagel processed nearly 55,000 tonnes of raw material into high
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The SARIA Group’s oldest location is Rennbachstrasse 101 on the rural outskirts of Marl, Germany. Since the start of this year, it’s also home to a new ReFood biogas plant. Clearly visible from the road is a white biogas dome emblazoned with the words “ReFood pure Biokraft”. “Our slogan stands for innovative food waste recycling throughout Germany,” says ReFood managing director, HansHeinrich Lüdde. “The new biogas plant, which creates renewable
energy exclusively from foodderived waste, brings this important addition in our service portfolio to customers in North RhineWestphalia.
New biogas plant opens in MarlThe new installation was opened on 4 May 2012 by Norbert Rethmann, Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the RETHMANN Group, and Werner Arndt, mayor of Marl. Also in attendance were guests from the worlds of politics and business
as well as other related bodies. “The new biogas plant at Rennbachstrasse is a realisation of the potential of modern recycling technology,” commented Werner Arndt. “It is particularly encouraging when a commercial project such as this fits perfectly into the existing objectives and infrastructure of the local community. Using commercial food waste to create ecofriendly power is hugely beneficial both for the region and for climate protection.”
From restaurants and hotels to supermarkets and food producers, there are many sources of food waste that could be used sustainably to produce power, heat and fertilisers. ReFood commissioned its first biogas plant for this type of waste back in 2005. Today, the company has 10 such installations – in the UK, France and Germany – producing electricity for around 46,000 households.
Ten biogas plants, one formula for success
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The new 9.2 million euro plant consists of two fermenters, one gas storage tank, one fermented substrate store and two combined heat and power (CHP) units capable of generating 3.1 megawatts. Using this facility, ReFood in Marl can process up to 88,000 tonnes of food waste each year, generating “green” electricity for 7,200 households. While the majority of this power is fed into the municipal grid, some is retained for internal use. In addition, heat from the CHP units is used by other companies at the site.
The new biogas plant in Marl is the fifth ReFood installation of its kind in Germany. The others are located in Kogel, Genthin and Malchin in MecklenburgVorpommern, and Schwallungen in Thuringia. Together, the five plants generate 11 megawatts of power – enough for around 26,100 households.
VALDIS – a joint project in FranceIt isn’t only in Germany where you can find innovative biogas plants running exclusively on food waste. In France, for example, the VALDIS plant in Issé officially entered production on 15 October 2012. “Since January 2012, the Grenelle 2 legislation has made it a legal requirement for commercial organisations in France to separate and recycle food waste in a way that reduces emissions of greenhouse gases to a minimum,” says JeanLouis Hurel, a member of the SARIA Group board and respon s ible for operations in France. The plant in Issé is a joint project between Bionerval – the French equivalent of ReFood – and local companies such as the Terrena agricultural cooperative, the Castel Viandes abattoir and Verdesis, a subsidiary of French electricity giant EDF. “The project represents the entire food production chain, bringing together farmers, cooperatives and food processing companies,” explains Hurel. “Thanks to the new services from Bionerval, it’s now also possible
for customers in France to dispose of food waste in line with the new legislation. There is now a viable alternative to landfill and incineration that also promotes the production of renewable energy in France.”
“Once again, we’re using our proven biological concept to recycle food waste,” said SARIA board member JeanLouis Hurel at the opening ceremony. According to the French Chamber of Agriculture, the installed capacity across all biogas plants in
The four ReFood products: heat, electricity, materials for making biodiesel and fertilizer.
SARIA Management Board member Jean-Louis Hurel cuts the traditional ribbon to open the VALDIS biogas plant. Next to him: Michel Pelissier, President of the French SARVAL division of SARIA (second from left), Laurent Clement of Verdesis (third from left) and Alain Hunault, mayor of Châteaubriand (fourth from left) and the chairmen of Castel Viandes and Terrena, Jeff Viol (third from right) and Hubert Garaud (first from right). Behind them, Norbert Rethmann, Honorary Chairman of the RETHMANN Group Supervisory Board.
The VALDIS plant can process up to 61,000 tonnes of packaged and unpackaged food waste from the catering and other industries in a single year. The 2.1megawatt CHP unit converts the resulting biogas into ecofriendly power for around 4,900 households.
Bionerval in ÉtampesOn 9 November 2012, Bionerval opened an additional biogas plant in the town of Étampes, near Paris.
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the country amounted to just 164.8 megawatts in 2010. Hurel: “Our commitment to these projects reflects our desire to play an active role in biogas production. There is enormous potential, both for the environment and for us as a service provider.” In addition to the sites at Issé and Étampes, SARIA operates biogas plants in Benet and Les Herbiers (Biogazyl) in the Vendée département. Over the past three years, SARIA has invested approximately 45 million euros, creating more than 60 jobs in the process. The four SARIA plants in France have a maximum combined output of 6 megawatts enough ecofriendly power for around 13,700 households.
Services for customersMeanwhile, in Germany, ReFood has been operating a specialist disposal
system for kitchen waste, postexpiry foodstuffs and cooking oils and fats from the catering and other industries since the late 1980s. “In the past, this type of waste was turned into pig feed,” explains ReFood managing director Friedrich Hautkapp. “Now it’s part of meeting tomorrow’s energy needs.”
ReFood provides customers with a choice of 120 or 240 litre collection containers as well as special 90 litre containers for used cooking oils. In Marl, for example, ReFood uses some 45 vehicles to collect 70,000 containers a month. Annually, that amounts to around 90,000 tonnes. Each time a container is collected, the customer receives a new one that has been fully cleaned, inside and out. In addition, each customer has their own specially agreed collection timetable.
“In the case of larger kitchens, the containers are usually ready for collection after lunch,” explains ReFood employee Heiko Klinkigt from the Hüttenfeld branch. “Some customers just give me a key so I can swap the containers in the garage or storeroom where they leave them.” Since the vehicles are networked with the various branches, it’s easy to respond to special requests or add new destinations to a route, e.g. if a supermarket freezer fails. The drivers use mobile digital readers to log each collection and ensure full traceability on all ReFood services. Customers sign to confirm the date and time of each collection and the number of containers that have been replaced. For auditing purposes, customers can request an overview of all collections during a given time period by phone, fax or email.
ReFood in other countriesReFood has been active in Spain since 2011. In the northwestern town of Arteixo, the company collects fish and meat waste from supermarkets and other locations. In Madrid, ReFood provides waste collection services throughout the metropolitan area. ReFood also operates in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, where it develops its customer base through a dedicated
The ten SARIA biogas plants (from left to right) Kogel, Genthin, Schwallungen, Malchin, Marl, Benet, Biogazyl, Issé. Below: Doncaster, Êtampes.
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sales network. “It’s true that we’re experiencing growing demand for sustainable services in these countries,” says Hautkapp. “However, unlike Germany and France, there is as yet no legal requirement to recycle commercial food waste in an ecofriendly and sustainable way.”
In the United Kingdom, there are also moves towards greater sustainability. In September 2011, ReFood UK opened a 2.8 megawatt biogas plant in Doncaster, which produces enough electricity for around 6,500 households. “Food waste is recognised as an issue the UK needs to overcome,” says Philip Simpson, Commercial Director of the PDM Group, partners in a ReFood joint venture with SARIA since 2009. With this in mind, the PDM Group – in which SARIA is
now a majority shareholder – has plans to open additional plants in 2013 and 2014 in Widnes and London. Each of these ReFood sites is designed to convert around 90,000 tonnes of food waste each year into heat and electricity for 9,700 households. Philip Simpson: “Sending organic waste to landfill is a complete waste of a resource. Biogas plants offer the ideal solution.”
The recycling processWhen the green collection containers arrive at a ReFood or Bionerval plant, the food waste is shredded before removing extraneous matter, such as glass, plastic and metal packaging residues. At some plants, meat waste is also separated and sent for recycling to other SARIA companies. Next, the waste is heated in
a pasteurisation unit for exactly one hour at 70 ºC as required by EU Regulation 1069/2009. This thermal pretreatment renders the biomass free of all biological pathogens and germs. In a further stage, the biomass is defatted in a decanting process before being passed for fermentation. The process uses waste from around 52,000 Europewide customers and 75,000 collection points to create sustainable and ecofriendly power and heat. The postfermentation substrate provides the agricultural sector with an organic alternative to mineral fertilisers. The cooking oils and fats that ReFood either collects separately or extracts from general food waste are a sustainable raw material that is supplied to the biodiesel industry.
Biogasproduced power is a renewable energy and carbon neutral. Unlike fossil fuels, it does not increase the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide when combusted in a CHP unit. Although methane is produced during fermentation in the biogas plant, this is converted to water and carbon dioxide during the generation process. The key difference to fossil fuels is the fact that the carbon in biogas is not being released from coal or petroleum in which it was “captured” millions of years ago. Instead, it is released from organic compounds found in normal food waste, e.g. glucose, which are part of the natural carbon cycle on the Earth’s surface. Using the current energy mix in the European Union, the production of one kilowatthour of electricity releases 460 grams of carbon dioxide. This compares with the 928 grams that would otherwise be released using coal alone. In other words, ReFood electricity is reducing fossil derived carbon emissions. Supplying that power to around 46,000 households results in an annual carbon saving of approximately 75,000 tonnes.
CO2 reductions
More information online:refood.derefood.eu
refood.co.ukrefood.es
bionerval.fr
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Company newspaper for SARIA Group employees and business partners
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Content:Nicolas BoyMarcel DerichsSARIA Bio-Industries AG & Co. KGWerner Straße 9559379 SelmTel.: +49 2592 210-122
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