Saipol

Saipol is a French agro-industrial group specialized in the processing of oilseeds (rapeseed, sunflower) for the production of oils (raw and refined) and oilseed meal (animal feed), biodiesel (Diester brand) and vegetable glycerin.
History
Formation to restructure the French oilseed sector
Saipol was founded in 1983 by Sofiprotéol (becoming Avril in 2015) to recover and structure the transformation tool of oilseed grains, in difficulty at that time.
1992: start-up in Grand-Couronne of a plant for crushing rapeseed and refining vegetable oils.
1995: start-up on the Grand-Couronne site of a premier biodiesel production unit, inaugurated by French Prime Minister Alain Juppé.
Downstream development and biodiesel
In 2003 Saipol acquired Lesieur for 175 million euros and expands it downstream.
In 2008, Lesieur acquired Société Générale Condimentaire (production of sauces and condiments) which had belonged to Campbell.
From 2004 to 2008, Saipol developed the biodiesel production capacity of industrial sites to meet the French biofuel plan. Saipol produces biodiesel under the Diester brand name.
Since 2008
In 2010, Saipol acquired the company Expur, located in Eastern Europe and in the Black Sea basin.
In 2013 and 2014, Lesieur was reinstated in the holding company Sofiprotéol (oilseeds division).
In May 2016, Saipol announced a reduction in biodiesel production in the context of low oil prices, overcapacity in the European biodiesel market and European imports of biodiesel produced from waste vegetable oils.
In 2016, Saipol opened a sales office in Singapore for the development of its vegetable oil supply in Asia.
Environment
Since 2011, Saipol has installed biomass boilers operating with sunflower hulls on several of its sites, notably in Lezoux, Bassens and Sète.
The investment in sunflower hulling in Bassens also makes it possible to produce a meal rich in vegetable proteins and to compete with imported soybeans for livestock feeding, often GMOs.
Key figures
Industrial sites: Saipol has 7 sites in France and, via its subsidiary Expur, owns a site in Romania.
Capacity: Saipol has a processing capacity of 4 million tons of rapeseed and sunflower seed in Europe.
Revenues for 2012: 2.714 billion euros.
Result: in 2014, of Avril group's EBITDA of €259 million, Saipol contributed 28% and Expur 2%.
 
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