Tereos and Agristo to revive former sugar factory site into potato producing facility

30 Aug 2023 --- Tereos, a cooperative group of sugar beet growers, has announced a partnership with Agristo, a Belgian producer of frozen potato products, to “reindustrialize” the site of its former sugar factory in Escaudœuvres, in France. The project will generate 350 jobs and require an investment of €350 million (US$380.2 million).

The initiative will set up a production unit for frozen potato products, creating new outlets for local producers, with the aim to start production by the second half of 2027.

Transformation of the Escaudœuvres plant
The Escaudœuvres site has been producing sugar beet for 150 years and will switch in the following years to potato production.

The project will require the support of government departments and will be divided into several phases. The first phase, which will last until 2025, will involve obtaining technical, administrative and industrial authorizations. This phase should be simplified because the project is part of a continuing agri-food business. 

The second phase will include dismantling the existing plant and preparing the site for construction. The next step, expected to start in 2025, will see the building of the new potato processing plant. 

The final phase, hoped for in the second half of 2027, will mark the production launch.The final phase, hoped for in the second half of 2027, will mark the production launch.

“With this agreement, Agristo and Tereos are writing a new chapter together for the Escaudœuvres site, a project that will bolster the region’s economic future,” the company explains. 

“Tereos remains a major economic player in the Hauts-de-France region, with nine industrial and administrative sites employing more than 1,500 people.” 

Haussimont plant to stay open
Meanwhile, Tereos announced yesterday it was looking for a buyer for its Haussimont potato starch mill in Haussimont (France), with the cooperative aiming to maintain industrial activity at the plant.

Tereos has confirmed that it will maintain “some forty jobs” – including ten temporary positions – at the site in its logistics and support activities and part of its agricultural services.

“It’s good news for jobs, of course, but it’s also good news for regional agriculture, which can see new long-term market opportunities opening up and agribusiness developing. We're delighted to see this tradition of agriculture winning continue. This is Tereos’ objective,” says

Gérard Clay, chairman of the board of directors at Tereos.

Edited by Marc Cervera