DENMARK – Palsgaard, Danish emulsifier producer has announced that it will invest DKK 750 million (US$113 million) to double the production capacity at its production facility in Juelsminde, Denmark, by 2024.
According to a statement from Palsgaard, the investment will pay for a new spray cooling tower which will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2023 and will add an additional 30,000 tonnes to the company’s spray capacity.
This investment will also fund the construction of multiple new reaction, distillation, and esterification plants, adding to a recently installed emulsifier pellet line with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes, which is currently being commissioned.
“This project is another major milestone in our development. By 2024 we will be able to double our current production capacity – something which took over a century to reach. It is the result of a decade of significant global growth for our business,” Jakob Thøisen, Palsgaard CEO said.
“We have a number of new initiatives, including establishing a solar park and a biogas facility, which will provide the necessary power and waste management infrastructure to enable the new production capacity to also be carbon neutral. This aspect was a very important consideration in the planning process for the new investment.”
This investment follows Palsgaard’s announcement last year that the company had achieved its goal of carbon-neutral production two years ahead of schedule.
Palsgaard operates six production sites around the world, and in 2010 the company set a target of becoming completely carbon neutral across its production network by 2020.
The company increased its use of renewable energy sources such as biogas and solar power, and the company actually achieved its carbon-neutral goal in 2018.
Between 2010 and 2018, the company also made significant investments to upgrade the sustainable energy infrastructure at its sites in Mexico and the Netherlands, installing 400 solar panels at its sole Mexican production site, and over 800 at its site in the Netherlands. The sites became carbon neutral in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
In 2019, Palsgaard was the first global emulsifier producer to achieve CO2-neutral production across its global facilities, leading the way for the food ingredients industry. In line with Palsgaard’s commitment to sustainability, the new production capacity will not compromise the company’s CO2-neutral status.
At the time, the inventor of the modern plant-based emulsifier cemented its position as an “early mover,” on the carbon production front. All of Palsgaard’s emulsifier and stabilizer solutions are now produced in CO2-neutral factories.
Six global production sites are all CO2-neutral, mainly through a shift in energy sources, and the company now plans to ramp up production to double its current capacity. Previously speaking with FoodIngredientsFirst, Thøisen explained the company’s achievement as well as his forecasts for the emulsifier market as a whole.
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