STRAUBING, GERMANY — Archer Daniels Midland Co. said it is considering expanding its soy crushing options in northwest Europe following the successful start-up of its new soybean crushing capacity at its oilseeds plant in Straubing. Last fall, ADM said it would invest to add switch capacity in order to process soybeans at the Straubing facility. The expansion now allows the site to crush non-bioengineered soybeans sourced from the Danube region in order to market non-bioengineered soy meal to customers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Now, with the future of crushing beans in Europe looking healthy, ADM is looking at ways to expand its soy crushing options at other facilities in the region, said Jon Turney, general manager, ADM European soybean crush.
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| Jon Turney, general manager, ADM European soybean crush |
“We see scale, due to the marginal cost per metric ton, as a key for our continued success as a destination soy crusher in order to ensure we are able to compete with origin crushers importing meal into the region,” Mr. Turney said. “Adding switch capability to our plants allow us to utilize our assets more towards the protein markets when E.U. oil markets are under pressure. We believe we are best placed in our industry to further grow our crush capacities organically and keep our production costs in line with or lower than our origin crushing operations.”
In addition to its facility in Straubing, ADM’s German operations include Europe’s largest oilseeds crushing and refinery complex in Hamburg, where rapeseed and soybeans are processed and refined for use in margarines and vegetable oils, bakery goods, frying applications, pharmaceutical glycerine and biodiesel fuel, as well as oilseeds crushing plants in Spyck and Mainz.
