SARIA UK has made the strategic decision to divest its UK rendering operations to Leo Group, one of the UK’s leading family-owned specialists in animal by-products and rendering.

Following the divestment, all SARIA UK rendering operations will continue under Leo Group, ensuring continuity for employees and customers. The move will enable SARIA UK to focus on the growth and development of its other divisions – Sarval Wet, ReFood, Nortech, T.Quality, APC GB and SPF UK.

The decision reflects the increasing challenges faced by the rendering market in recent years, particularly the declining availability of raw material, which intensified price competition and placed sustained pressure on profitability. In response to these challenges, the divestment represents a strategic decision that supports the future of both businesses.

For SARIA UK, this provides the opportunity to concentrate on its core strategic priorities, while ensuring the rendering business continues under the ownership of Leo Group, an experienced operator with the expertise to support the business in navigating future challenges and opportunities.

The contributions of all colleagues who have worked within SARIA UK’s rendering operations are sincerely acknowledged and their commitment and dedication over the years are greatly appreciated.

2026 has brought significant change for SARIA Polska. The sale of the SARVAL plant in Długi Borek and the reorganisation of SecAnim are two different projects, but both contribute to a more focused and efficient organisation, shaped by the expertise, commitment and collaboration of teams across Poland and beyond.

In the first week of November 2026, the sale of the SARVAL plant in Długi Borek was finalised, marking the end of an important chapter for SARIA Polska.

While the sale process was led by SARIA Group management in Germany, preparing the plant for the transaction required considerable effort from the Polish organisation. Teams from HR, Legal & Compliance, Finance, Production, Logistics and IT worked closely together and with Group headquarters to address legal and organisational matters, prepare documentation and coordinate the handover.

The project demonstrated the importance of combining expertise across departments and national borders to achieve a common goal.

SecAnim: Adapting operations for the future

Another important part of SARIA Polska’s transformation involves changes to SecAnim’s operational structure. Category 1 processing at the Wielkanoc plant in southern Poland will be discontinued, and the site will become a collection and transfer facility focused on logistics and the coordination of material flows.

The change is part of a broader reorganisation of SecAnim operations in Poland, which also includes the development of production capacity at the Struga plant, as highlighted in the previous edition of the SARIA Global Newsletter.

The aim is to adapt the operational structure to future business needs, make better use of existing infrastructure and improve efficiency. At the same time, the transformation at Wielkanoc affects some employees, making a responsible approach to the transition an important part of the process.

One direction for the future

With the completion of the Długi Borek transaction, SARIA Polska no longer operates Category 3 processing plants and can focus its activities on the further development of ReFood and SecAnim.

Although the projects at Długi Borek and SecAnim are different, they share a common direction: building a more focused and efficient organisation that is better prepared for the future. At the heart of these changes are the people whose expertise, responsibility and collaboration make this transformation possible.

In 2027, SARVAL Issé in France will modernise its feather processing line with a new continuous processing system. To prepare for the investment, colleagues travelled to SARVAL Segovia in Spain to learn firsthand from a site that has been working with similar technology for more than a decade.

One of the main changes at Issé will be the replacement of the current hydrolyser with a new continuous processing system. To prepare for the project, colleagues from Production, Maintenance and Project teams travelled to the SARVAL site in Segovia, Spain, where similar equipment has been operating since 2013.

Learning from experience

Feathers collected by SARVAL contain valuable proteins. At Issé, they are processed to make these proteins more digestible so they can be reused as a valuable resource.

The new equipment will perform this transformation continuously, resulting in a smoother and more efficient process. It is also expected to create more space in the production area, reduce energy consumption and lower maintenance costs.

Seeing the equipment in operation gave the Issé team the opportunity to ask practical questions and learn directly from their Spanish colleagues’ experience.

Seeing the equipment in operation gave the Issé team the opportunity to ask practical questions and learn directly from their Spanish colleagues’ experience. William Cunat, Maintenance Manager at SARVAL Issé, summed up the visit: “We received a very warm welcome from the Segovia team. The visit was extremely useful, with open and practical discussions. Thanks to the team’s experience, we learnt a lot about the continuous hydrolysis process and the improvements they have developed over the years. This will help us prepare for the project at Issé with greater confidence.”

Denis Potier, Production Manager at SARVAL Issé, also highlighted the value of the exchange: “Cristina and her teams really took the time to understand our needs and answer our questions. We had very valuable discussions about continuous hydrolysis and their production process more broadly. I am now looking forward to seeing the project become a reality. It will be an important step for the Issé site.”

Sharing experience across sites

Beyond the technical aspects, the visit highlighted the value of sharing experience across SARIA sites. Learning from solutions that are already working elsewhere can help teams prepare for new projects and avoid reinventing solutions that already exist.

The visit also brought the Production, Maintenance and Project teams together around the future investment. The next chapter now begins for Issé, with a shared ambition: to build a more efficient and sustainable feather processing line.

Good ideas become even more valuable when they are shared. Building on the positive experience with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology at ReFood Spain, SARVAL and AviFood have introduced the technology for Big Bag management, improving traceability, efficiency and security throughout the process.

A shared technological culture

In Spain, RFID technology is already well established in day-to-day operations. The positive experience at ReFood Spain, where the technology is used for container management showed the potential of this system. When analyzing the traceability needs on the SARVAL bagging line, the next step was therefore clear: transferring that knowledge to the management of Big Bags.

What began as an operational challenge is now a reality in Almassora and AviFood, proving that good practices validated in one business unit can help drive innovation in another.

Automated traceability in a single step

By attaching the RFID tag in the bagging area, each Big Bag acquires a unique identity. From there, key information such as weight and batch data is transferred directly to the ERP system without the need for manual entry.

This automation provides real-time inventory visibility and enables automatic verification that every bag loaded onto a truck is the correct one, helping to reduce the risk of human error at the shipping docks.

Beyond improving daily operations, the project also offers benefits for customers. Reliable traceability from the bagging line to the final destination provides a high level of security and transparency.

The value of building together

The implementation is the result of close collaboration between the IT department, QHSE and the operations teams at Almassora and AviFood. By combining their expertise with an understanding of the day-to-day requirements at both plants, the teams were able to implement a solution that supports operational needs.

The project shows what can be achieved when knowledge and proven solutions are shared across businesses and functions: processes become more efficient, day-to-day work becomes easier and customers benefit from greater reliability and transparency.

The following video on YouTube will also give you an additional understanding of the whole project and process: https://youtu.be/extC9XOL4Hg

What happens to food waste from restaurants and hotels? In Poland, ReFood is working to put more of these valuable materials to good use. Together with public authorities, NGOs and SARIA colleagues, the team is advocating for clearer regulations and sharing experience from other European markets.

ReFood Poland wants to collect more food waste from the HoReCa sector and process it as animal by-products (ABP) Category 3. This model is already successfully established in other European markets, including Germany, France, Denmark and the UK.

Instead of ending up in mixed municipal waste, these materials can be processed in biogas plants and returned to the economic cycle as energy and organic fertiliser. Regulations already exist in Poland, but their lack of clear interpretation remains a challenge.

Promoting clear regulatory conditions

To raise awareness and encourage greater clarity in the interpretation of existing regulations, ReFoods Poland is engaging with public authorities, municipalities and other relevant stakeholders.

Together with the Polish NGO INNOWO, ReFood Poland prepared a report comparing approaches to HoReCa biowaste in Germany, Denmark and the UK and developing recommendations for Poland. Marius Böttger from ReFood Germany, Katja Jul Nielsen from Daka Denmark and Laura Moffett from ReFood UK contributed knowledge and experience from their respective markets.

The report was presented at a roundtable at the German Embassy in Warsaw as part of the Warsaw Climate Talks, bringing together representatives from public authorities, municipalities, academia, HoReCa and businesses. The exchange showed how best practices can be shared across the SARIA Group and adapted to local markets.

First signs of progress

There is still considerable potential for change: according to research by the Polish Institute of Environmental Protection (IOŚ), 90% of restaurants still dispose of food waste as mixed municipal waste, sending these materials to landfill instead of biogas plants.

At the same time, progress is visible. Last year, the volume of food waste from the foodservice sector collected by ReFood Poland increased by more than 13%, and the current year is also developing positively. Further initiatives aim to support clearer regulatory conditions for the management of Category 3 animal by-products in Poland.

Daka Denmark has launched a new daka.dk, bringing five websites together as part of a more customer- and market-focused approach.

The new platform gives customers and other visitors one entry point to Daka’s business units and a clearer view of the company. SecAnim, SARVAL and ecoMotion remain clearly represented, while the shared setup reduces the resources needed to operate and maintain separate sites.

Merging five sites required a thorough review of design, content, SEO-friendly URLs and information architecture. Daka Denmark and the central SARIA teams worked closely together, combining local market and content expertise with the technical capabilities needed to develop the new daka.dk.

Customer service online and offline

Customer needs were a key priority. A dedicated customer service section supports self-service across business units, while integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM connects digital and personal customer service.

The stronger market focus is also reflected in dedicated sections for Daka’s finished products and equipment for collection points. Presentation and ordering of collection equipment have been optimized to help customers find and order what they need.

Mobile use was another priority, as many customers access Daka’s digital services while working in the field. PickUp & Ko, used by farmers to register and manage collection of fallen stock, is one example.

More room for the full Daka story

The site also explains Daka’s wider role through content on recycling, the EU Animal By-Products Regulation, veterinary safety and Denmark’s veterinary emergency preparedness.

A new sustainability section replaces the annual PDF report with content that can be updated throughout the year. The new content uses direct, factual and transparent language, reflecting the growing focus on avoiding greenwashing.  AI-generated images are clearly labeled to make their use transparent.

The result is a practical digital tool for customers and a stronger platform for presenting Daka’s businesses and wider role in Denmark.