Cargill invests £30.1M to boost sweeteners capacity
The investment – revealed ahead of the end of the European sugar regime in October 2017 – will enable customers to benefit from a broader sweetness offering.
Manufacturing plants earmarked for the investment included: Manchester, Bergen op Zoom, in the Netherlands and Wroclaw in Poland.
“This [spending] allows additional glucose-fructose syrups production, offering food and beverage customers access to a balanced and more flexible sweetener portfolio based on corn and wheat,” said the firm.
The investment will enable Cargill to supply the growing demand for sweetness solutions and alternatives, according to business director at Cargill Starches & Sweeteners Alain Dufait.
‘Keep on innovating’
“Our broad product portfolio and technical capabilities coupled with our extended network of facilities across Europe and our expertise in supply chain risk management will help customers to keep on innovating, expand their sweetness options, mitigate business risk and create value,” he said.
Ending the sugar regime will boost the EU’s production quota of glucose-fructose syrups and sugar, said Dufait. “For the first time in decades, there is an opportunity to offer a fully flexible sweetener product portfolio ranging from full to zero calorie options to meet customers’ needs.”
Cargill predicted higher sugar price volatility after the regime ends, which will indirectly impact the supply and demand of related starch product groups for the European food & beverage industry.
12 production facilities
The manufacturer operates 12 production facilities dedicated to starches and sweeteners in 10 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Its sweetness product portfolio ranges from foundation sweeteners – including glucose syrups, glucose-fructose syrups and dextroses – to low-caloric polyols and zero calorie sweeteners including stevia-based sweeteners and Zerose erythritol.
Offering food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services worldwide, Cargill employs 150,000 employees in 70 countrie.
Meanwhile, Cargill won the coveted Meat and poultry manufacturing company of the year award in the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards, earlier this month.
