SecAnim France: call for
tenders – the particularity of the market

SecAnim Poland: search for new
contractors in neighboring country

SecAnim Spain: Residuos Aragón
joins the SARIA Group

ReFood Germany: one-year anniversary of
the first gas-to-grid plant

ReFood Poland:
partner of Polish Culinary Cup 2022

ReFood Poland: a site under construction
but already a good neighbor

ReFood Spain: strengthening
the relationship with customers

ReFood France:
new organization

SARIA Global Newsletter November 2022

SecAnim France: call for tenders – the particularity of the market

In France, SecAnim collects animal material from livestock farmers thanks to its 22 collection points distributed throughout France and its three processing plants in Plouvara (Brittany), Bayet (Auvergne Rhône Alpes) and Benet (Pays de la Loire).

Before 2009, the rendering market was managed by the French State, which decided on the contracts to be awarded. Today, the market is private and managed by seven livestock associations (also called ATMs), which survey all renderers every three years. Farmers cannot choose the rendering service provider and are obligated to use the selected renderer. This national call, which is valid for the next three years, is therefore a crucial moment for SecAnim in France. Obviously, some areas are more strategic than others, especially in regions with many livestock farmers. The challenge is not to get the most territories, but the right ones.

In 2021, the work of the teams has allowed SecAnim to maintain its leading position in the French market against its main competitor Akiolis.

The change in BSE risk status has transformed the SecAnim market in France

In May 2022, France’s bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk status has been recognized as negligible by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). In August 2022, the European Commission followed and, since then, has taken into account the new BSE status of France at the Union level.

Up until now, animal by-products of cattle from Category 1 were exclusively destined for the production of meal that can be used for energy purposes (heat, green electricity, biodiesel). This measure was introduced after the outbreak of BSE in the 1990s, which led to the exclusion from the food chain of any animal material that could pose a potential or proven risk of transmitting the disease.

Due to the absence of any new cases of BSE in France since 2016, the European Union decided to reclassify cattle aged 12 months or less as Category 2 material and move France from a so-called “controlled risk” area to a “negligible risk” area.

After the official announcement of this change, the SecAnim teams showed great responsiveness. Within 48 hours, all collection points in France were informed of this change and immediately modified the settings of their collection equipment and procedures.

From now on, the challenge is to compensate for this decrease in tonnage by controlling energy consumption and by improving recycling, especially of Category 2 materials. This will be done with the help of the R&D and sales teams as well as the sites.

SecAnim Poland: search for new contractors in neighboring country

Polish SecAnim will negotiate an agreement with Biovela Group, one of the largest Lithuanian slaughterhouses. This is an important signal for a competitive market.

The Polish SecAnim sales team works in a free market. For each customer order for the collection of animal raw material, we compete with other service providers. One of the day-to-day tasks is the constant search for raw material sources. With a keen sense, the sales teams search for new potential customers, and recently this search has expanded to neighboring countries. These efforts have already paid off, as an agreement is negotiating with the largest Lithuanian slaughterhouse, Biovela. The plan is to start weekly collection of Category 1 material, which will be transported and processed at SecAnim’s Eko-Stok plant in Poland.  We are also negotiating the collection of Category 3 material to be transported and processed at the Sinova plant in Przewrotne.

“Searching for new sources of raw materials is our daily business. So, of course, we also check, what we can get from a neighboring country like Lithuania. The location of the plant where the raw materials are processed is close to the border, and transport costs are relatively low. In addition, competitors in the Polish market offer lower prices for slaughterhouse pickup, so we are looking for new markets where we can negotiate higher prices. I hope that we will sign this agreement very soon and we will find more opportunities to develop SecAnim in Lithuania”. – says Jan Kopeć, Head of the Sales Team in SecAnim Poland.

SecAnim Spain: Residuos Aragón joins the SARIA Group

On September 7, all employees of Residuos Aragón, S.L., a company recently acquired by SecAnim, were welcomed into the SARIA Group.

Residuos Aragón, a family-run traditional company, was founded in 2000 and specializes in the treatment and utilization of Category 1 and 2 “sandach” meat by-products in the Autonomous Community of Aragón, one of the regions with the largest pork production not only in Spain but also in Europe.

During the meeting in Muel (Zaragoza), where the plant is located, Miquel Vila, SecAnim Country Manager, explained to all employees the history and structure of the SARIA Group, as well as SecAnim’s future prospects on a national level.

The presentation was followed by the official welcome with a breakfast at the premises, where all those present had the opportunity to ask questions to the SecAnim managers.

The new site of Residuos Aragón is a sign of the development of the SecAnim market in Spain. As Organics2Power division, we are happy to welcome 23 new colleagues. With this strong support, and together with our customers and suppliers, we look ahead to a common path to offer maximum value as a trusted partner.

ReFood Germany: one-year anniversary of the first gas-to-grid plant

It was a long way from the idea to the final construction of the first gas-to-grid plant for ReFood Germany at the AD biogas plant in Genthin. Therefore, the local ReFood-Management is even happier that the first birthday of the new plant will be celebrated in September 2022.

In the gas-to-grid plant, the raw gas from the AD biogas plant is cleaned of its CO2 component by using physical absorption after desulfurization, so it can be supplied as biomethane to the National Grid. To purify the raw biogas, an organic absorbent (solvent) is used to selectively remove gas components such as CO2 and hydrogen sulfide. The entire plant is extremely energy efficient, as no process heat input is required, and the total energy demand is less than 0.2 kWh/mN3 raw biogas.

At maximum capacity, the plant can process 350 standard cubic meters (Nm³) of biomethane per hour and is currently running at 100 percent capacity in normal operation. For the coming years of operation, maximum capacity utilization remains the declared goal. In addition, the company plans to liquefy the extracted CO2 in the future to use it in technical applications.

The plant cost 1.9 million euros to install. In addition, there were further investment costs of 2.1 million euros for, among other things, the pile foundation of the soil to ensure its load-bearing capacity, as well as for the installation of a modern desulfurization plant and the modernization of the process system of the biogas plant.

The installation of such a plant to produce grid-quality biomethane has several advantages. As an important element of renewable energy concepts, biomethane is an essential component to secure the energy supply of the future. In addition, the sales of biomethane have developed over the years into an efficient alternative to fossil fuels and direct electricity generation via combined heat and power plants. The increasing demand for self-sufficient and above all green energy supply, but also the fact that biomethane, in contrast to energy from direct power generation, can be stored, make this type of energy supply competitive and future-proof.

For the expansion at the Genthin site, the close connection to the National Grid was the key factor for the project realization, because the costs of a price-sensitive connection were avoided. The biogas plant in Genthin is located on the extensive site of a former washing powder factory, and the new plant was smartly positioned so that a future expansion can be implemented without any problems, should a third digester for the biogas plant be planned in the future.

In the UK, ReFood also operates two gas-to-grid plants in Widnes and Dagenham. In addition to the Genthin site, the ReFood plant in Kogel (GER) is also considering the installation of a similar project.

ReFood Poland: partner of Polish Culinary Cup 2022

POLAGRA, the largest exhibition promoting food, technologies for the food industry, as well as equipment and solutions for the HoReCa sector, took place on September 26-28. ReFood approaches the gastronomy sector during the event by partnering with the Polish Culinary Cup 2022 (KPP 2022).

Our initial declaration to participate in the POLAGRA Food-HoReCa-Foodtech fair and to be a partner of KPP 2022 initially aroused surprise among the organizers. After explaining the needs of the market and ReFood’s role in food waste management and involvement in the circular economy, we were received with great satisfaction by the organizers. As a partner of KPP 2022, we had two goals. First, the promotion of sustainability solutions, circular economy, education in the field of proper food waste management, and its positive impact on the environment, climate, and business. The second goal was to promote the ReFood service and become better known among chefs and cooks as the right brand and a suitable partner for food waste management. We achieved both goals and generated interest in our business model. In addition, we made some valuable business contacts among restaurateurs and mass catering representatives.

The KPP 2022 ended with a ceremony where we, as partners, presented prizes to the three winning teams. The prizes were vouchers for the purchase of ReFood service in a catering establishment specified by the winners. We are the first company in the industry in Poland to establish contact in this way and begin to build brand awareness among one of the key target groups for our company. We plan to further promote ReFood services and sustainable solutions in the world of gastronomy not only at trade fairs, but also as a partner of congresses and meetings of chefs.

ReFood Poland: a site under construction but already a good neighbor

A new ReFood site is being built in Mszczonów, Poland. In the process, we emphasize a good relationship with the local community.

In October 2021, we started the construction of a new ReFood plant in Mszczonów near Warsaw. The completion of the production and office buildings is currently in progress. The new ReFood plant will be one of the most modern plants in the SARIA Group and one of the most modern plants in the Polish industry. The plant is scheduled to open in early 2023.

Being a good neighbor

As a socially responsible company, we want to help and support local communities wherever we have a presence. To help local authorities cope with the wave of Ukrainian refugees, we handed over 100 sets of books (Polish language manuals and a Ukrainian-Polish dictionary) to the deputy mayor of Mszczonów in the second half of May. The textbooks and dictionaries went to children studying in six elementary schools in Mszczonów commune.

ReFood Spain: strengthening the relationship with customers

Our customers are becoming more active on the Internet and have a greater influence for the purchasing decisions of others. Therefore, companies must not only convince consumers, but listen to them, care about them and build long-term relationships with them.

This is exactly what we are working on at ReFood: listening to customers and offering them our help so that they can dedicate all their time to the growth of their business. Therefore, in July, ReFood Spain launched its first email marketing campaign to inform our UCO (Used Cooking Oil) customers in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia about a change in the legislation, which they had to implement immediately so that we could continue to provide them with a daily service. To help them adapt to the new regulations, we also offered them a free ReFood service that they could request by filling out a simple form, telling us all the information they needed. In this way, we were able to ensure that we continued to offer our service while strengthening our relationship with them.

We consider this campaign a pilot project and want to develop different ways of interacting with our customers. IT solutions will play an important At ReFood, we continue to grow and are committed to a relationship with our customers and suppliers based on transparency and proximity, providing maximum value as their trusted partner.

ReFood France: new organization

Today, ReFood France is a unified organization with one mutual goal: to become the No. 1 in France in collecting food waste

The collection and treatment of oil and organic residue had been in existence for several years, but they operated separately under the names Allo à l’huile and Bionerval. In order to harmonize the practices of the SARIA Group, ReFood was created in October 2021.

The ReFood France priorities

To achieve its goal in being the preferred partner for sustainable solutions, the areas of development for ReFood France are multiple:

– Be service-oriented towards the customer and improve communication.

– Optimize the plants (collection centers and treatment stations) to bring them into line with the Group’s standards.

– Increase the valorization of the end products (biogas and digestate).

– Be more responsive to the demands of local communities.

A new regional organization

At the end of 2022, ReFood in France is reorganizing its internal organization to better adapt to current specificities and locations. A regional organization has been set in place.

Each region has its own objectives and the same team organization scheme. This will allow to be more effective locally.

ReFood in France is organized in five regions