DuPont Nutrition & Health will increase its cultures manufacturing capacity in Europe with an investment of $60m to meet the growing demand for frozen and freeze-dried starter cultures.
As part of the plans, three cultures production sites in the continent are set to be expanded which serve the yogurt, fresh fermented and cheese markets worldwide.
The cultures production plants in France’s Sassenage and Epernon and Germany’s Niebüll are part of the expansion plans.
DuPont Nutrition & Health president Matthias Heinzel said that the new steps designed for the cultures plants in Europe will further expand the company’s capabilities to serve the growing global dairy market.
Heinzel added: “This additional capacity in cultures ensures that we maintain our recognized reputation for excellent stability and performance by leading customers around the world. Our investment will enable us to support their growth and geographic expansion.”
The European expansion follows the November 2016 expansion plans by DuPont Nutrition & Health for its US located probiotics production units.
First phase of the expansion plan will be implemented this year through an investment in the Sassenage facility. As part of the project, the fermentation capacity, biomass separation and freeze-drying capacity will be increased.
Thereby, DuPont Nutrition & Health expects to see an overall surge in its production capacity by 2018 end in its freeze-dried cultures.
At the Niebüll and Epernon facilities, the production capacity of frozen cultures is aimed to be increased through the new investment. The company has already invested in a new pelletizer at Niebüll with more investment to follow for expanding ultra-cold storage (-55°C) to spike the frozen cultures’ supply.
At Epernon, the company is looking to take advantage of the current fermentation capacity by installing a new fermenter.
