Vic-sur-Aisne Potato Starch Cooperative Votes to Join Tereos

15 Dec 2014 --- The 216 members of the Vic-sur-Aisne Potato Starch Cooperative, who held their Combined General Meeting today, approved their cooperative becoming a member of the Tereos Group by a huge majority (92%).

Following the Haussimont Potato Starch Cooperativ which became part of Tereos Group in March 2014, the Vic-sur-Aisne Potato Starch Cooperative has become the 10th cooperative to join the Tereos Group. This membership boosts the French starch potato cooperative sector and gives visibility to Cooperative growers, in a European market that has become more open and more volatile since the end of potato starch quotas in 2012.

Between now and 2017, the Haussimont (Marne) plant will add value to productions of 500 cooperatives growers of Haussimont and Vic-sur-Aisne, produced on around 10,000 hectares. It will double its production and will process 450,000 tons of starch potatoes. Thanks to a growing season of around 200 days, the Haussimont Plant will meet some of the highest standards in Europe.

Tereos has invested €5 million in its Haussimont Plant in the Marne Department since its purchase in 2012, in order to develop its food starch supply and export opportunities.

Potato starch, which has properties that are complementary to those of wheat and corn starch, is recognized by industrial companies for its unique properties: its thickening and gelling ability for sauces and soups, its transparency for use in confectionery, and its whiteness for paper production.

The world's fifth-largest sugar group, Tereos is specialized in processing sugar beet, sugar cane and cereals. The Group also has leading positions on the markets for alcohol (No. 1 in Europe and No. 3 in Brazil) and starch (No. 3 in Europe). Tereos has 42 industrial sites and employs 24,000 people across four continents. In 2013-14, the Group recorded 4.7 billion euros in revenues. A cooperative group, Tereos unites 12,000 cooperative growers around a long-term vision: adding value to agricultural raw materials and contributing towards the supply of quality food.