Central Soya

Why The Oresund Region?

"By taking the decision to open the new lecithin application centre at our site in Aarhus, we knew we could rely on a highly qualified, experienced staff and extensive state-of-the art facilities. The idea behind this project was to benefit from synergy effects between our different teams, in a very promising and key segment of our activities. We are very satisfied. The realisation of the project, from the time the decision was taken to the opening of the application centre in February 2000, took only 4 months. This demonstrates one more time the high degree of commitment, flexibility and expertise of our Danish employees. As a consequence, Central Soya will further strengthen its position as the world leader in the lecithin market."

Jim P. McCarthy Group Vice President, Central Soya

Central Soya

Founded in 1934, Central Soya Company, Inc. is a leading US company processing soya beans to produce raw materials and goods for agricultural, food and industrial markets. The company is owned by the Eridania Beghin-Say group, one of the world leaders in the agro-industry and food sector. Headquartered in Fort Wayne (Indiana), the company employs approximately 1,200 people in 8 production plants and various world-wide sales offices. Central Soya’s annual net sales are about US$ 1.2 billion.

Central Soya European Proteins

In 1992, Central Soya bought the Danish company Aarhus Oliefabrik's protein division dealing with the processing of soya beans to establish Central Soya European Proteins A/S (CSEP). Central Soya was mainly attracted by Denmark's strong position in the agro- and food sector and the expertise of Danish engineers and food technologists. CSEP is now one of the group’s eight production facilities. With approximately 130 employees, CSEP has annual sales of around DKK 400 million (US$ 49 million).

The expertise of the Danish staff was instrumental in exploiting new market potential for Central Soya’s soya protein products. CSEP initiated marketing and sales activities in several European countries, the Baltic region and the CIS countries, and the Middle East. Today, the company enjoys a leading position in these markets.

More recently, the decision within Central Soya to open a new lecithin application centre in Aarhus for its German subsidiary Central Soya Stern Lecithin has emphasised CSEP’s significant role in the group’s research and development plan, particularly in the strongly growing soya protein concentrate and lecithin markets. The lecithin application centre opened in February 2000 and provides experienced and highly qualified experts, state-of-the-art research equipment as well as facilities to conduct seminars and customer training in the use of lecithins. An additional factor behind the project was to develop applications and recipes that are particular to local tastes in the various European markets where CSEP is already operating.

The expertise and know-how of the efficient and dedicated Danish staff coupled with the adaptability of the existing facilities in Aarhus proved absolutely decisive once again. With this new application centre, Central Soya possesses a supplementary tool to create value for its lecithin customers.

Source: Invest in Denmark