French vegetable oil and biodiesel group Avril has acquired a rapeseed crushing, refining and biodiesel production plant in Baleycourt, France, from speciality chemical and additive company Valtris.
Located in one of the main rapeseed-growing regions of France, the plant processes approximately 400,000 tonnes/year of seeds.
The acquisition of the facility would help secure Avril’s consolidation among major European competitors, the company said on 4 July.
Valtris would continue to operate its speciality chemical production facility that is co-located at the same site, Avril said.
The project remained subject to consultation with relevant employee representative bodies and approval by competition authorities.
“This acquisition has the potential to give us new capabilities to better address today’s challenges around food, decarbonisation and sovereignty, while continuing to fulfil our original mission of adding value to French agricultural production,” Avril CEO Jean-Philippe Puig said.
Simon Medley, CEO Valtris Specialty Chemicals, said the agreement would allow the company to focus on its portfolio of speciality performance additives.
The fifth largest agri-food group in France, Avril’s activities include all aspects of plant processing, from seed to the processed product.
Valtris is a leading producer of speciality chemical and additives, active in human food, animal nutrition, renewable energies and green chemistry, with sales totalling €7.7bn (US$8.99bn) in 2024.
Its products are used in the industrial; building and construction; transportation; packaging; pharmaceutical and medical; cleaning, coatings and adhesives; food processing; and biodiesel sectors.
These products include plasticisers, epoxidized natural oils, heat stabilisers, biocides, lubricants, functional fluids, biodiesel and rapeseed derivatives, benzyl chloride and derivatives.
The company’s range includes bio-based plasticisers derived from renewable resources such as its Santicizer Platinum G-2000 primary plasticiser that can be used in techniques such as extrusion, injection moulding and spread coating. It can also be used in rubbers, epoxy resins, paints and coatings and other polymers.
Avril’s activities include oilseed processing and renewable energies, consumer goods, bio-sourced ingredients and alternatives to petroleum derivatives, agricultural solutions and incubators. Avril Oilseed Processing and Renewable Energies includes the group’s historical seed crushing activities, as well as the production of oilseed meal, refined oils and biofuels, through Saipol in France and Expur in Romania.
