SARIA UK is pleased to welcome Adrian Hayes, who joined the business in March as Operations Director.

Adrian brings extensive senior FMCG operations leadership experience, with a strong record of delivering transformational change across multi-site manufacturing environments.

Most recently, Adrian served as UK Manufacturing Director at HARIBO, where he led production and packing operations across two plants. Prior to this, he held senior leadership roles at multiple Dairy businesses, most notable Arla Foods UK and Dairygold Food Ingredients (UK), focusing on operational efficiency, performance improvement and cultural change.

Since joining SARIA in March, Adrian has already begun collaborating closely with colleagues across the business. He will lead the strategic direction of all operational activities, with responsibility for overall operational performance, including P&L, CapEx and OpEx, asset optimisation, and regulatory compliance. His key focus will be on strengthening a culture of continuous improvement, enhancing plant efficiency, and building high-performing teams aligned to clear business objectives.

Commenting on the appointment, Thomas Versterre, CEO SARIA UK, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Adrian to the team. His experience in leading operations and driving transformational change will be a real asset to the business and its continued success. This appointment also reflects SARIA’s commitment to strengthening its leadership team.”

Adrian added: “I am really pleased to have joined SARIA and to be working alongside such a dedicated team. I look forward to applying my experience to help improve operational performance, develop high-performing teams, and enhance efficiency across the business to support its long-term goals.”

Outside of work, Adrian enjoys staying active with his family in his neighbouring Yorkshire Dales and watching his beloved Leeds United. He is currently enjoying getting to know colleagues across the business.

Please join us in welcoming Adrian to the business.

SARIA France is launching a Lean Management approach to standardize processes, strengthen collaboration, and establish a sustainable continuous improvement culture across sites and functions.

Simplifying daily work, working better together, and continuing to improve over the long term: with these goals in mind, SARIA France will launch a Lean Management approach in 2026 across all its rendering, SARVAL and SecAnim sites, as well as its support functions.

SARIA France is now at the first stages of this journey. The framework is being defined, the foundations are taking shape, and the objective is clear: to build a shared culture in our processes, our interactions, and our ways of working – from operational floor to HR, Finance, and Executive Management – and to establish a consistent continuous improvement system aligned with Group priorities.

In France, the Lean approach will be led by Alban Mesnil, Director of Operational Excellence. The first year will focus on core rendering activities, before a gradual rollout to support functions.

After consulting several consulting companies, SARIA France will be supported by an external partner, SGS Consulting, which has already worked with our Spanish counterparts on their Lean journey.

Today in France, several sites have already implemented continuous improvement tools or routines. What is new is the clear commitment to working together and harmonizing our practices, making them more robust, easier to understand, and less dependent on individual initiatives. To achieve this, the approach will rely on a network of Lean Ambassadors in the plants. Their role will be to support local teams and relay the methodology. This is a concrete way to bring Lean to life every day and to strengthen links between sites.

Plant Managers are confident and engaged

For Stéphane Maurel, SecAnim Plant Manager at the Benet site, “Lean means supporting the sites’ willingness to improve production and quality standards, using simple but robust tools.”

At SecAnim Benet, some foundations are already in place: workstation organization, cleanliness, performance indicators, and daily team meetings. Lean should now help give meaning to these actions, better connect shop-floor efforts with expected results, and ensure a common language – from operators to higher level.

For Sylvain Véret, SARVAL Plant Manager in Issé, Lean is a global approach that involves all teams: “The goal is to speak the same language, from Operations to Management. Implementing standards will allow us to put in place indicators that make sense to everyone, from one plant to another and from one employee to another.”

He also highlights the importance of the routines already in place at his site, such as daily 5‑minute and 15‑minute team meetings, which help structure daily communication.

Sylvain Véret also stresses the value of a France-wide approach: “The Group’s commitment gives us a shared roadmap and will allow us to move faster.”

Site Managers are confident in the feasibility of the project. Experience shows that teams quickly adopt the tools when they understand their purpose. Lean is therefore positioned as a sustainable continuous improvement approach, serving performance, safety, and the day‑to‑day work of our teams.

Daka SARVAL has implemented a new loading ramp that improves safety and ergonomics during trailer loading operations.

Designed to reduce risk

The new loading ramp is used for loading trailers with big bags and replaces a less secure loading setup. The solution provides a stable interface between facility and vehicle and supports clearly defined loading procedures.

A key element of the solution is the integrated locking system, which helps ensure correct truck positioning and reduces the risk of accidents during loading.

“The new loading ramp significantly reduces risk in a critical part of our daily operations. It supports safer behavior and gives employees a more controlled and predictable working environment,” says Mads Damgaard Rasmussen, Project Engineer at Daka SARVAL.

Better ergonomics and efficiency

By minimizing manual handling and physical strain, the ramp contributes to improved ergonomics and a better working environment. At the same time, the solution enables faster and more efficient loading, supporting stable and reliable operations.

An effect measurement will be carried out to document improvements in occupational safety, ergonomics, and operational efficiency.

Part of SARIA’s safety focus

The project is part of Daka SARVAL’s continuous efforts to strengthen occupational health and safety in line with SARIA’s strategic focus on safe and reliable operations across the Group.

SARIA Poland wrapped up the first quarter of 2026 with real momentum! The intensive, multi-month sales competency development program for the REFOOD and SecAnim teams has just come to an end. This was far more than a standard training initiative – they focused on building deeper relationships with the existing partners while boldly expanding into new, strategic markets.

For SecAnim, SARIA Poland took a close look at cooperation with veterinarians and strengthening those relationships. Meanwhile, REFOOD moved to the next level in the HoReCa segment (hotels, restaurants, and catering) – a key market for the brand, where our eco-expertise in the safe management of food waste truly makes a difference.

One goal, one team – a unified way of working

The main objective of the program is to complete alignment across the teams. It is necessary to standardize processes and speak one consistent, effective language in conversations with clients. In practice, there was a transparent and measurable sales model developed. Thanks to this approach, it is possible to not only precisely monitor performance, but above all quickly share best practices across the entire organization.

Once again, the sales teams proved they are true experts in their field by strengthening their capabilities in key areas:

– Category Mastery: increased the effectiveness of selling services related to raw material collection as well as category 1, 2 and 3 products.

– A Business X-Ray approach: the team significantly improved its ability to reach entirely new market segments. It is now possible to be more effective at assessing potential clients and evaluating their readiness for cooperation.

– Maximum precision: instead of operating blindly, the teams now focus their time and energy exactly

Not just the “What,” but above all the “How”

In today’s increasingly competitive market, even a great product is no longer enough. That is why, during the workshops, we placed strong emphasis on the quality of relationships and the “soft” aspects of sales. We are shifting toward a truly partnership-based approach — one built on a deep understanding of customer needs and ensuring complete client comfort throughout the cooperation process.

Importantly, the sales teams also refined their ability to handle stressful and challenging situations. The result? Commercial effectiveness that goes hand in hand with professionalism, mutual respect, and a high standard of communication.

Theory is one thing – but what happened in the field?

The entire program was backed by a strong analytical foundation. The standards, KPIs, plans, and previous performance results were reviewed. Discussions were also held with managers and participants, while one of the most valuable elements of the program was the joint field visits (the so-called on-the-job sessions)

Observing real interactions in real working conditions made it possible to precisely identify what was already working exceptionally well and where there was still room to raise the bar even further.

The CARE Project establishes a centralized global data platform at SARIA, enabling standardized, transparent, and efficient reporting by integrating data into a single, reliable source of truth.

SARIA’s activities cover diverse sectors such as energy production, surplus food valorization, and industrial sustainability. Behind this operational diversity, technology plays a key role. Robust technological tools make it possible to support complex processes, connect different realities, and transform information into strategic business decisions. In a diversified group that is constantly evolving, having reliable, comparable, and accessible data is a fundamental necessity. It is within this context that the CARE Project (Centralized Analytics & Reporting Environment) was born – an initiative that establishes a single global data platform based on Databricks and Power BI technologies.

A single source of truth

This architecture creates a “single source of truth” that eliminates information silos and ensures the traceability and transparency of corporate data. Following its successful implementation in Germany, Spain and Denmark are the next countries to join this transformation. In this parallel rollout, SARIA operates as an innovation lab and a multicultural Center of Excellence, collaborating with professionals from different countries to automate manual processes and standardize our Business Central reporting.

Ready for the future

The impact of CARE is already visible in day-to-day operations: it delivers faster and more reliable reporting and improves cost control by reducing reliance on legacy systems. With the main integrations expected to be completed over the next two months, Spain and Denmark will consolidate this robust environment, leaving SARIA’s technology landscape fully prepared for future global challenges in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.