Agrana and Amalgamated Sugar break ground on 40m euro site

Agrana and The Amalgamated Sugar Company have started work on a €40 million betaine crystallisation plant in Austria.

The groundbreaking ceremony at Agrana’s sugar mill in Tulln comes after companies announced the formation of a crystallised betaine joint venture in December.

Agrana has been processing the sugar beet molasses obtained during the production of sugar at its Tulln site to make liquid betaine since 2015.

Found in sugar been molasses, betaine is used in food supplements and sports drinks, as well as cosmetic products and animal feeds.

Johann Marihart, Agrana CEO, and John McCreedy, Amalgamated Sugar CEO, said in a joint statement: “We are looking forward to a successful partnership to produce premium-quality crystalline betaine. Diversification by means of betaine in our sugar segment is essential to ideally exploit the full potential of sugar beets.

“This investment in a greater depth of sugar refining is therefore a top priority in the interests of safeguarding competitiveness.”

It is expected the construction of the plant will take one year.

The sugar mill in Tulln is the headquarters of Agrana Zucker. Agrana processes around 12,000 metric tons of sugar beets grown by Austrian farmers during a campaign starting in September and lasting for four to five months.

Last month, the company announced a €22 million investment to open a new fruit preparation facility in Changzhou, China – its third production plant in the country.

The site will be capable of producing 30,000 tonnes of prepared fruit a year, including strawberries, blueberries and peaches for the fruit yogurt, bakery, ice cream and foodservice sectors.