Barentz International Acquires Stake in AmTech Ingredients

03 Nov 2015 --- Barentz International and US based AmTech Ingredients LLC have announced their strategic cooperation for the production and distribution of specialty ingredients across the United States of America.

Headquartered close to Minneapolis, in Hudson, Wisconsin, AmTech Ingredients is a leading producer and supplier of powdered specialty food ingredients. With its range of powdered sweeteners, vinegars, condiments, nutritional and shortening ingredients, AmTech serves a wide spectrum of customers worldwide. For Barentz International, the strategic partnership with AmTech ingredients strengthens its position in production as well as distribution of specialty ingredients in the food and pet food sector in North America. 

Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz International explains that Barentz had been searching for a strategic partner in the USA for some time to strengthen its position in this part of the world. Barentz was looking for a company that shared similar values including strong technical expertise, production capabilities, an emphasis on quality ingredients and customer service. 

Hidde van der Wal adds: “We have been working with customers in the USA through our Vitablend operations for quite some years now. Having our own production facilities in the USA is of vital importance to safeguard in time and on-spec delivery of ingredients to our US based customers. There is a lot of synergy in our partnership with AmTech Ingredients, both on the production as well as on the sales side. First of all, AmTech’s production capabilities, including their FilterMat Spray Drying tower, are similar to our production set-up in The Netherlands and in Singapore. This means that we will be able to extend our offer in fortification, anti-oxidants and functional blends to customers based in the USA. We are impressed with the technical expertise and skills of the AmTech team, which we have known for years being their distributor for Europe and Asia, and this has been a very important aspect in our decision to join forces with the AmTech team.” 

Don Palm, Managing Director and owner of AmTech Ingredients explains: “This development is an absolute advantage for our customers. Supported by Barentz’s supplier networks and deep industry knowledge we are able to offer an extended, very comprehensive product range across the USA. We will be adding Vitablend’s range of antioxidant blends and nutritional premixes to our product portfolio, which will be extremely beneficial for our customers. In addition, throughout Europe and Asia Pacific, Barentz will extend their ingredients portfolio for their current customers in the savory, bakery, prepared food, confectionary, meat and snack sectors, with our powdered specialties.” 

Barentz International has acquired an equal stake in AmTech Ingredients who will also be handling the sales, marketing and distribution of the Vitablend ingredients and custom blends.