Akzente News from Nordzucker | Issue 2 | July 2014
Strong performance on the market The customer in focus
Financial year closed
Sugar market in transition
Positive results are a boost for Nordzucker – interview with Dr Michael Noth.
Further consolidation expected in the EU – global demand increasing.
Bright future for commodity supplies Nordzucker sets great store by reliability and competitiveness.
According to the German Foundation for World Population, the Earth was home to
7,200,000,000 people by the end of 2013. That’s 80 million more than in the previous year. Africa’s population in particular is growing rapidly.
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| EDITORIAL |
“It’s the people at Nordzucker who are responsible for all our preparations – people who take our ideas and initiatives and make them a success.”
Dear shareholders, Dear readers, “Sugar has a future” is the motto of both this year’s Annual General Meetings and of our Annual Report. We chose this slogan out of the conviction that we are well-positioned for the market liberalisation in 2017 thanks to our facilities in Europe. In recent years, we have laid some important foundations in order to prepare ourselves for a time without quotas. Some of these initiatives are described here, whether it’s the ongoing improvements to energy efficiency at our plants, or the fact that the savings target from our Profitability plus efficiency programme have been achieved a year earlier than planned. It’s the people at Nordzucker who are responsible for all this – people who take our ideas and initiatives and make them a success, and who we are delighted to feature once again in this issue. However, it’s not just efficient and customer-focused sugar production that plays a decisive role in our competitiveness – it all starts at the cultivation stage. Developing substantial improvements in cultivation in partnership with beet suppliers and research institutes remains one of our most important goals. We do all this in the knowledge that prices are set to drop, because when the quotas expire, there will be an overproduction of sugar in Europe. This situation will trigger another wave of consolidation within the European sugar market. From a global point of view, the sugar market is growing, but not in Europe. If we all want to share in this growth, we have to look beyond our own borders – towards Africa and Asia. We are in a strong position today, but we need to think about the tomorrow in order to ensure that Nordzucker continues to develop over the long term. Happy reading!
As economic prosperity increases, so does sugar consumption on continents such as Africa and Asia.
Hartwig Fuchs
Akzente July 2014
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| CONTENTS |
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Report: Nordzucker Polska operates two plants in Poland and introduces itself at the Annual General Meetings.
For a sweeter summer: Home-made smoothies and jams with ideas from SweetFamily and Dansukker.
PANORAMA
A LOOK AT THE MARKET
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Fire in the sugar silo in Uelzen Sugar has a future – a conversation with Hartwig Fuchs Positive results are a boost for Nordzucker – interview with Dr Michael Noth “Global brands are the driving force” – a closer look at sustainable agriculture Nordzucker receives a sustainability award from Coca-Cola HBC Drawing on shared knowledge – for shared success Profile: Dr Lars Gorissen, Chief Agriculture and Raw Materials Procurement Officer Sowing early is well worth it! A look at our regions. Multifunctional precision: four innovative cultivation methods are ready to be put into practice Combining what we have to do with what we want to do – an interview with Axel Aumüller
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2017: Consolidation expected in the EU sugar market – a commentary by Mats Liljestam Welcome to the market – the EU’s revisions to the CAP
CLOSE-UP
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Building on success – Nordzucker Polska: a profile Hartwig Fuchs with German President Joachim Gauck in India Stevia products receive a warm welcome on the market Tangy maltiness with fruity sweetness – Fassbrause lemonades from Krombacher
SWEET STORIES
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Sugar markets of the future
Fruity drinks to enjoy: make your own smoothies Give your strawberry jam a super-easy added extra with the Taste of the Year from SweetFamily
Talking to ...
Leslie Leinders Sustainable Sourcing Manager, Unilever
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People at Nordzucker: Birgit Kerner heads the laboratory at the Nordstemmen plant and is responsible for quality management and product safety.
IN BRIEF
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Company news
PEOPLE AT NORDZUCKER
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Birgit Kerner is the Laboratory Director in Nordstemmen and Head of the Food Safety Group for Quality Management and Product Safety
CLICKED ON
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Looking online
RECIPE
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Lemon and blueberry tart
Why does Unilever go to such great lengths to be a leader when it comes to sustainability? Leslie Leinders: Half of our raw materials come from agriculture and forestry. Our decisions with regard to how we obtain these raw materials and how we work together with our suppliers can significantly influence global resources and climate change. In addition, they also have far-reaching social consequences, because they affect the living conditions of our farmers and their families. By adopting sustainable procurement practices, we are able to protect limited resources. We can ensure that we take a responsible approach with regard to deforestation, land use as well as social and community-based aspects. By doing so, we can also guarantee the supply security of our company and lower costs. The business case supports this unequivocally. As such, we have made it our aim to obtain 100 per cent of our agricultural raw materials from sustainable sources by 2020. Although we use very small amounts of sugar in general, the sugar we do use is the most sustainably sourced of any company in the world within the fast-paced consumer goods industry. In 2013, we made exceptional progress and increased our percentage from just eight per cent at the end of 2012 to 49 per cent. In Europe, we have driven this project forward with verification according to our Sustainable Agriculture Code. With the support of those companies, such as Nordzucker, who were early adopters of this Code of Conduct, we have been able to increase the amount of sugar from sustainable production to 54 per cent today. Why is Nordzucker a preferred supplier in this respect? Leslie Leinders: Sustainable procurement is a major pillar of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. We therefore expect our partners to accompany us on our path towards switching to a production chain that obtains all its agricultural products from sustainable cultivation. As one of our preferred suppliers, Nordzucker is one such company who adopted our Sustainable Agriculture Code very early on, thus supporting us in making a difference.
Akzente July 2014
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| PANORAMA |
The roof was destroyed. Helicopters fought the fire from the air.
Fire in the sugar silo in Uelzen On 26 June, a major fire broke out in silo 9 at our Uelzen plant. Information suggests that the fire broke out on the conveyor bridge between silos 8 and 9 and then spread to the roof of silo 9, which only went into operation last year. The fire spread quickly and caused parts of the bridge and the roof itself to cave in. As a result of the bridge collapse, the roof of the adjacent silo 8 was also damaged. However, these events are not set to affect the plant’s upcoming campaign.
Hard to extinguish Extinguishing the blaze quickly at a height of 82 metres proved extremely challenging. Special equipment was used to reach the source of the fire: a cantilever arm from the company fire brigade at Airbus in Hamburg as well as
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two police helicopters. On 26 June, the helicopters transported water from the Elbe Lateral Canal to the site of the fire and deposited it over the flames until dusk. The firefighters worked right through until the evening of the following day. At the time of going to print, the cause of the fire was still unclear after investigations by experts began on 30 June. No injuries “We are extremely fortunate that no one was injured by the fire or while fighting it,” said plant director, Sven Buhrmann, once the fire had been extinguished. He went on to thank everyone from the entire area on behalf of the Uelzen plant and Nordzucker AG for their offers of help and their support.
Supplies to customers covered by other plants The silo only went into operation last autumn and had a capacity of 80,000 tonnes of sugar. “The fire in our new silo was a heavy blow for the Uelzen plant,” said Dr Michael Gauß, Managing Director for Central Europe. One of the most important tasks is now the speedy repair of the adjacent silo 8. “First of all, the damaged conveyor bridge has to be removed. We’re doing everything we can to make the silo ready for use in time for the new campaign,” Gauß continued. “The supply of high-quality sugar to our customers was never in danger at any point, as deliveries were taken over by the other Nordzucker plants. I would like to sincerely thank my colleagues for this,” Buhrmann concluded. � tsd
| PANORAMA |
Sugar has a future Sustainability for the region
When the sugar market regime in its current form expires on 1 October 2017, the conditions for beet cultivation and sugar production in Europe will change fundamentally. There will no longer be a quota system, for example. This means that there will no longer be regulations as to which countries and which compa-
nies are permitted to produce however many tonnes of sugar. In some regions with particularly good growing areas, more beet will be grown than in the past, while in other regions beet cultivation will decline. Sugar production will increase for Europe as a whole until a new market equilibrium is reached.
However, the decisive factor for the European sugar industry will no longer be production, but the market. The question will be: how much sugar can be sold, and at what price? At the same time, consumption of sugar will stagnate in Europe. Akzente discussed the conclusions that Nordzucker has drawn ��
Akzente July 2014
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| PANORAMA |
from these circumstances with CEO of Nordzucker AG, Hartwig Fuchs. Why does Nordzucker need to grow? Can the company not simply stay in the markets that it has so far been serving?
It sounds so appealing and so easy, but development requires growth. In terms of the economy, the two parameters simply can’t be viewed separately. This is also something that has been reflected time and again throughout Nordzucker’s history. Strategic, far-sighted decisions have helped Nordzucker to become what it is today – ranked number two in the European sugar industry. The road to where we are now has been a long one, but it has been worth it! Today, Nordzucker is a European company – a strong company with solid foundations. We have recorded excellent results, are technically well-equipped and have a motivated, well-qualified team. But we can’t rest on our laurels. We expect that the number of sugar producers in Europe is going to continue to fall in the future. Price pressure is already high. Due to the expected overproduction after the expiry of the quota system, this pressure is set to rise even further. As a result of our size, we are significantly more efficient than other companies – this is our major advantage over smaller producers, who may not be able to keep pace with the expected increase in price pressure. In addition, sugar is going to start seeing competition from isoglucose in some products. At the same time, wages and salaries are rising, our shareholders expect attractive dividends and our beet suppliers expect an appropriate price for their beet. In order to be able to fulfil
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“As such, we need to go where the market is and think from a market perspective. That’s why we’re looking at growth regions.”
these expectations while also increasing the company’s value, which is our duty to our shareholders, we need to grow. And in order to grow, we need to go where the market is. What exactly does that mean? Where is growth possible?
The sugar market in Europe is limited by stagnating demand. We will not be able to expand further in Europe, or our growth is at least limited here. In addition, our position in Europe can hardly be strengthened any further as a result of the restrictions of competition law. As such, we need to go where the market is and think from a market perspective. That’s why we’re looking at growth regions. Asia and Africa are of particular
interest because the population and economies are growing there and, as prosperity increases, so does consumption – including sugar consumption. This is why we’re looking at various opportunities there, including projects in southern Africa. The idea is the same as it is here: to produce locally and to market regionally. What do you mean exactly when you say: “We need to think from a market perspective”?
For more than 150 years, we have thought about things from a production point of view: How many beet do I have? How much sugar can I get from them, and how can I sell it? Now, we are in the process of really adjusting to the market.
This means completely revising the process chain and looking to see how much sugar we need and how many hectares of land are required to grow the beet. This is quite a change! You just mentioned that the idea is to produce locally and to market regionally. What does that mean?
For me, “producing locally and m arketing regionally” is one of the core tenets of our business. We produce locally in Lower Saxony, in Scania in Sweden or in the west of Poland, and sell our sugar under the familiar brands in that particular region. In Germany, for example, the brand is SweetFamily. We do exactly the same thing in Sweden and Poland. We produce and sell our sugar locally. We
aren’t interested in transporting our sugar halfway around Europe. Our customers – by which I mean both our customers in the food industry, as well as every single one of our consumers who bakes a cake with our sugar or buys one of our products, such as a cake mix or a jar of jam – demand that we produce our sugar in a sustainable way that conserves resources. Local production is one aspect of our commitment to sustainability. There are plenty more of course, for example helping farmers to increase sugar yields per hectare or to reduce soil erosion. Our customers not only want to be able to rely on the fact that our sugar is produced in accordance with our sustainability standards – they also want to know where the sugar comes from. And we are able to offer that!
This principle also applies to the other regions of the world that we are looking at. So we if decide to start doing business in Africa, we will produce sugar there from sugar cane, which we will then sell locally. We n either want to create competition for local sugar beet with “our” cane sugar, nor do we want to transport beet sugar from Northern Germany to Africa. No, the idea is to stay local. And this also goes for our employees. Where possible, we will employ local people and thereby create jobs and development opportunities in the region. �
Interview conducted by Nina Tatter
Akzente July 2014
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| PANORAMA |
Positive results are a boost for Nordzucker Interview with Dr Michael Noth
“The results for the past financial year are just another set of excellent results in a run of highly successful years.” Dr Michael Noth Chief Financial Officer
Consolidated revenues
Net income
in EUR m
in EUR m 2,443
369
2,361
2,018
Impairment Nordic Sugar
Dividend per sha in EUR
89 208
1.80
209 1.00
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
How do you rate the company’s 2013/2014 results?
The results are more than satisfactory. Following last year’s exceptional figures, we were once again able to achieve fantastic results for the 2013/2014 financial year. With net income of around EUR 209 million, our shareholders will be able to benefit from this positive trend with a dividend proposal of EUR 1.30 per share, and the company has been strengthened further. However, we shouldn’t get too used to these kinds of results – in the second half of the year in particular, lower prices on the global market were clearly reflected in our revenues and, above all, our earnings. The high stock levels in the EU and the effects of the 10
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
lower prices on the global market are Until now, Nordic Sugar has achieved already the first signs of what awaits Group campaign a total free cash flow, i.e. payment surresults us after 2017. We need to prepare our pluses, of EUR 520 million. We have now company further for these new chalrecognised an impairment charge of lenges. EUR 89 million on the carrying amounts – at the expense of Nordic Sugar’s impressive operating result of EUR 184 milWere there any other particular Beet yieldSugar was Sugartherefore content Sugar yield lion. Nordic a good aspects to the annual financial t/ha % t/ha investment, and the takeover decision statements? was and remains a sound one. Following an impairment test, we recog2013/2014 63.0 18.0 11.3 nised an impairment loss of EUR 89 milDo you think that Nordzucker is 65.2 17.9 lion on the goodwill of Nordic Sugar I 2012/2013 financially well-prepared for 2017?11.7 should explain this effect. It was a measure that only affected the accounting Nordzucker is very well-prepared for the procedure and did not result in any end of the sugar market regime. We have payments. It has already been accountincreased our equity from EUR 744 miled for in the net income of EUR 209 lion to EUR 1,386 million over the past million. Over the past few years, Nordic five years – i.e. since the takeover of Sugar has achieved exceptional results. Nordic Sugar. In the same period, the
2011/2012 2012/201
Campaign length days
106 125
Net income
in EUR m
d revenues 2,443 208
369
2,361
Consolidated revenues “The exceptional diviin EUR m Net income Dividend per share Impairment dends over the past few in EUR m in EUR 2,443 2,361 Nordic Sugar years are, in particular, 2,018 89 1.80 369 the result of Nordzucker’s Impairment 209 growth strategy. AttractiNordic Sugar 1.00 ve interest on credit is not 89 209 208 possible without further growth.”
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
Hartwig Fuchs 2011/2012 Chief Executive Officer
Net income in EUR m
Investm plant a and in
Investment in property, and in European beet culplant and equipment 369 Dividend per share and intangible assets tivation. Over the last few Impairment 79 in EUR 74 in EUR m Dividend per share Nordic Sugar years, we have consistently in EUR m
64
in EUR
1.30
208
1.80
1.00
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
209
89 expanded our investment volume and will invest even more in the current 1.30 financial year.”
in EUR m
1.80
1.00
64
74
1.30
64
79
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
Axel Aumüller Chief Operating Officer
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
2012/2013 2013/2014
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
12/2013 2013/2014
Investment in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets “We trust in our plants
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
2011/20
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
ampaign results
“After a few teething Group campaignproblems, results sugar beet recovered very well, so
Group campaign results
that 2013 was, all in all, a great year.” Beet yield t/ha
Sugar content %
014
63.0
18.0
013
65.2
17.9
Sugar yield t/ha
Campaign length days
Dr. Lars Gorissen Chief AgriculturalSugar Officer Beet yield content
2013/2014 2012/2013
11.3 t/ha
106 %
11.7
125
63.0 65.2
“As a result of higher sales volumes, we were able to maintain revenues at a high level.”
Sugar yield t/ha
Beet yield Sugar content t/ha % Campaign length days
2013/2014 18.0 17.9
11.3 2012/2013 11.7
63.0 65.2
106
Sugar yield t/ha
Campaign length days
18.0
11.3
106
17.9
11.7
125
125
Consolidated revenues
Net income
in EUR m
in EUR m 2,443
369
2,361
2,018
Impairment Nordic Sugar
Dividend per share in EUR
89
Mats Liljestam Chief Marketing Officer
208
1.80
209
1.30 1.00
sugar has a Future annual report 2013/2014
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
equity ratio has almost doubled from around 30 per cent to nearly 60 per cent. At the same time, we have completely repaid our net debt of EUR 783 million in 2009/2010; by the end of the 2013/2014 financial year, we had deposited a net amount of EUR 52 million with banks, i.e. we did not borrow any more. At the start of this year, we entered into a credit agreement under which up to EUR 400 million can be provided immediately, depending on our requirements. As such, we are in a good position financially for the new challenges after 2017, but could also still do with growth options for the future.
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
You can find more details in our online Annual Report at www.nordzucker.de
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/20
But we haven’t just improved our financ- that we expect to receive from the initiatives every year in the future. We will ing significantly over the past few years Groupopticampaignalso results continue to improve our efficiency – our cost structure has also been in the future, too. Thanks to our solid mised. A competitive cost structure is financial policy and our competitive cost absolutely essential to our ongoing structure, we are able to play an active success in an increasingly tough envirole in the process of consolidation withronment. The savings target of EUR 67 in the EU, and we also have the strength million, which we aimed to achieve by Beet Sugar content yield Campaign length toyield drive forward the prudentSugar internation2014/2015 via our Profitability plus t/ha % t/ha days alisation of Nordzucker. We really have efficiency programme, had already been excellent prospects and will continue to achieved by 2013/2014 – a year earlier 2013/2014 63.0 hard on making 18.0 11.3of the 106 work the most than planned. And instead of the planned opportunities presented to us by the new EUR 67 million, we actually achieved 2012/2013 65.2 17.9 11.7 125 EUR 73 million in savings – a huge success market environment. � that we all worked together to achieve. Interview conducted by Bianca Deppe-Leickel And this isn’t a one-off, but the amount Akzente July 2014
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| PANORAMA |
“Global brands are the driving force” The SAI platform supports and develops sustainable agriculture SAI: Sustainable Agriculture Initiative 1. The SAI platform is a global food industry initiative for sustainable agriculture. 2. The platform aims to integrate all those involved in the production chain who are prepared to play an active role in terms of sustainable agriculture. 3. The initiative collects and develops knowledge about sustainable agriculture, which is then shared with all interested parties in order to achieve a common understanding of the concept and its long-term effects. 4. SAI has adopted an integrated approach that takes into account other major initiatives and concepts also working towards sustainable agriculture. 5. SAI’s activities are directed towards the global development of sustainable agriculture for wider agricultural production via a system of continuous improvements. 6. SAI is supported by companies such as Unilever, Danone, Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Nestlé, McDonalds and many more. � tsd
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The global food industry is the biggest source of demand for agricultural goods – with a growing interest in opting for sustainably produced and safely grown products alongside growing demand. Fifty of the world’s leading food and drinks manufacturers support the SAI, or Sustainable Agriculture Initiative, which aims to promote the development of sustainable agriculture.
a sustainable future,” says Dr Volker Diehl, Senior Vice President Sales, who is responsible for major clients. Back in 2002, Nestlé, Unilever and Danone founded the SAI platform as a non-profit organisation in order to simplify knowledge about research and development in sustainable agriculture and to integrate the various groups along the production chain.
“Sustainability is a major buzzword and a trend that our customers subscribe to out of concern for our environment. Resources are finite, which is why it is so important to pool our strengths in the interests of the credibility of our own brands, so that we can take steps towards
Working together to boost sustainability “Global brands and customers are clearly the driving forces in this process. But we’re also involved and have worked together with a number of beet farmers over the past few months in a pilot phase
to actively support SAI in adapting the sustainability system to the needs of our farmers,” says Chief Agricultural Officer Dr Lars Gorissen. After all, sustainability is a key concept at Nordzucker, and has been for years now. “The biggest challenge is to provide farmers with the simplest questionnaire possible, incorporating other topics such as cross-compliance as well, which can then be completed with an appropriate amount of effort.” The pilot project offered sufficient opportunity to identify potentials and to actively play a role in the process, as well as to integrate the SAI questionnaire into operations. “This was a major step, and we want to continue in this direction,” says Dr Gorissen. � tsd
Nordzucker receives a sustainability award from Coca-Cola HBC
Coca-Cola HBC awards the sustainability prize to one of its suppliers every two years. CMO Mats Liljestam (second from left) and Dr Volker Diehl (third from left), Senior Vice President Sales Eastern Europe, received the prize.
“I would like to congratulate the Nordzucker team most warmly on this excellent result. We really appreciate your support for Coca-Cola HBC. Your valuable contributions towards our sustainability strategy, such as the 20 · 20 · 20 programme to increase sugar beet yields, your new energy and climate strategy, and your recent efforts to address occupational health and safety, for example, are all testament to your long-term dedication to sustainability.” Gary Brewster, Sustainability Director at Coca-Cola HBC
Nordzucker was named the best supplier in the world for sustainability by Coca-Cola HBC (Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company). This award is highly prestigious, since it covers all categories.
Coca-Cola HBC is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and is ranked second in the world among drinks manufacturers, underlining the significance of this award. Board Member for Sales, Mats Liljestam, and Dr Volker Diehl, Senior Vice Pres-
ident Sales Eastern Europe, received the prize at an awards ceremony in Athens on 5 June 2014. Mats Liljestam underlined the important contribution of all employees as well as the beet farmers: “This is an impressive success for all of us. This award represents the recognition of your dedicated work over the years. It should inspire us to continue giving our best every single day and to increase our support for sustainable beet farming in Europe.” � tsd
Akzente July 2014
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| PANORAMA |
Group-wide knowledge-sharing secures joint successes
1-2-3 Fruit Spread suits the tastes of customers in many different countries.
The Product Development department (PD) gathers the troops and sharpens competence New Method Saves Resources The results of the PD and I&T collaboration increase the economic efficiency of the company. Arlöv has – in close cooperation with the two departments – developed and quality assured a new and more effective method for the production of nib sugar. “The method that is now applied in the production line considerably reduces the amount of under-/ oversized sugar particles that previously was sieved off and re-melted and gives us a more effective process than before with assured product quality,” Bjarne Fallesen tells us.
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Our strategy is to be dynamic and to be one step ahead, so that we can support our customers at every stage, whether it comes to questions of product, application or process, says Product Development Manager Ingemar Gröön, when Akzente asks how the department is equipped to deal with the future. His closest colleagues in Germany, Denmark, and Finland nod in agreement as he goes on to say: “A key to success is having the whole organisation in place and continually improving our ability to share knowledge, resources, and experience across the Group. All of us know a lot, but none of us knows everything.”
Knowledge sharing – a foundation for success The first step had already been taken a couple of years ago, when the Product Innovation Management Team (PIMT) was put together. This is where Ingemar Gröön and Kyllikki Kilpi from PD in Denmark/Sweden and Finland respectively and Dirk Clauss and Bjarne Fallesen from Innovation & Technology (I&T) meet to update each other on current projects and discuss future plans and ideas. PIMT is augmented with a comprehensive forum for collaboration between PD and I&T – the Product & Innovation Forum (PIF), where specialist from PD and I&T gathers annually to exchange more detailed knowledge from recent activities and discuss product/process development ideas and projects ahead throughout the whole Group. “In combination, these forums give us a stable platform to work from.
They allow us to have a group-wide outlook when it comes to development work and shared goals. In this way we have established a firm foundation for our contribution to supporting Nordzucker’s business objectives and strategies, at the same time as we, in our work, can benefit from the whole company’s store of knowledge and its resources in an effective and intelligent way,” says Ingemar Gröön. 1-2-3 Fruchtaufstrich A recent example is the revised “1-2-3 Fruchtaufstrich,” which maybe will be introduced at the Finnish market in future. “In Finland we eat a lot of berries. It is a known fact that sugar and berries with a high nutritional value are a good combination. That is the background to why we started our berry sugar project in Finland. We wanted to develop a product that would make it quick and easy to make a tasty dessert that could be mixed cold, using fresh or frozen berries. We succeeded but we were left with the problem of purchasing one of the ingredients and could not launch the product,” says Kyllikki Kilpi. “But, as luck would have it, we Germans had a kind of berry sugar called 1-2-3 Fruchtaufstrich, that was quite similar to the newly developed Finnish berry sugar and worked in the way Kyllikki wanted it to,” Dirk Clauss tells us. “But based on the consumer survey they conducted in Finland our product was a little too sweet for the Finnish market. So we put together a
panel of tasters in Germany who had the job of judging the sweetness preferences of various berry containing applications with the new recipe of 1-2-3 Fruchtaufstrich. As a result we changed the composition of our product, so it is now equivalent not only to to Finnish preferences but also meets the taste preferences of German customers,” says Dirk Clauss. “And we are now seriously considering launching 1-2-3 Fruchtaufstrich in Finland. I am extremely pleased with the result. Together, we have created a product that suits consumers in several countries which will increase production volume and decrease production costs,” says Kyllikki Kilpi. The 1-2-3 Fruchtaufstrich project is an example of how we collaborate throughout the Nordzucker Group. There are similar examples for collaboration with customers in the food industry. Competence share speed up our capabilities The collaboration also means that the team now has easy access to each other’s application laboratories and pilot equipment, with which they can carry out tests, no matter whether it is a question of product, application or process, in e.g. Germany, Denmark, Sweden or Finland. “In this way we have gained a stronger ability to group ourselves than before, so that the right competence is available for projects,” says Dirk Clauss. � mm
Bjarne Fallesen, Innovation & Technology (I&T) “A good example of improving the process for an existing product – keeping the product quality - is the nib-sugar project, which was developed in pilot scale by I&T and PD and successfully implemented in Arlöv.”
Ingemar Gröön, Product development, Denmark/Sweden “I am convinced that, with active product development that functions well, we can make a big difference. We have equipped our forces with the right tools, so that, along with the company‘s other efforts, we can contribute to strengthening partnership with the customer, and, as a result, increase the profitability of the business”.
Kyllikki Kilpi, Product development, Finland “We do not have exactly the same products in Scandinavia and Germany. This applies to both the consumer and industrial sides of the business and is something we should make the most of. At the moment, we are discussing whether the Decoration Icing Sugar we make in Finland can replace an equivalent product in the German product portfolio that Nordzucker itself does not manufacture”.
Dirk Clauss, Innovation & Technology (I&T) “The knowledge sharing area should be seen as a toolbox full of knowledge from the whole organisation, from Sales to I&T, that means we can help customers with their production processes if they need to adapt a recipe, process stage or something similar.”
Akzente July 2014
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| PANORAMA |
“Our aim is to achieve a reliable and competitive supply of raw materials” Dr Lars Gorissen was appointed Chief Agriculture and Raw Materials Procurement Officer of Nordzucker AG by the Supervisory Board in March.
Dr Lars Gorissen was born and grew up in Münster, and went on to study law here, too. He is married and has two children.
“Beet procurement after 2017 is the decisive factor in my division. We want to maintain a similar utilisation of capacities at our plants even after 2017. As such, we have to guarantee the supply of raw materials for the time following the expiry of the quota system, and ensure minimum beet prices – reliably and competitively,” says Dr Lars Gorissen. The prerequisites in Germany and the six other countries where Nordzucker purchases beets to use for sugar vary: “Outside of Germany, we have a fairly clear idea of how the models will look – we want to be able to offer our farmers one-year and multi-year contracts. These multi-year contracts will ensure that we can cover a minimum amount, which our plants require as a raw materials base every year according to our midterm planning. The annual contracts will also enable us to react quickly and flexibly to changes in demand on the market,” Gorissen continues. Both types of contract should primarily be offered to those farmers already supplying Nordzucker with beet. In Germany, the right to supply defined in the Articles of Association of the holding companies must be taken into account when the current sugar market regime comes to an end. “We are currently working intensively together with the DNZ industry association and the holding companies to come up with a new beet procurement concept,” says Gorissen. The concept to be developed is to take into account the right to supply defined in the Articles of Association, while offering competitive farmers without the necessary shareholding the opportunity to supply beet to Nordzucker. “The second area of focus in my division is on continuing to increase the competitiveness of the sugar beet. To this end, we are strengthening our activities in research and development, among other things,” says Chief Agrint cultural Officer Gorissen. �
“We expect that price fluctuations on the sugar market will become more pronounced after 2017. We are therefore working on contractual models that offer planning security to both the farmers and Nordzucker – all with the aim of maintaining Nordzucker’s competitiveness and future viability.” 16
Sowing early is well worth it! Everything points to a good to very good harvest
Farmers made the most of the good conditions in all of Nordzucker’s growing regions.
“The sugar beet’s looking great! Our fields are all looking fantastic,” Nordzucker’s Chief Agricultural Officer, Dr Lars Gorissen, says, praising the farmers’ hard work this spring. From Säkylä and Nordstemmen to Nakskov and Trenčianská Tepla, conditions in spring 2014 enabled earlier sowing in all of Nordzucker’s growing regions. “Almost all of the farmers made the most of the opportunity for greater yields and started sowing the beet very early on,” Gorissen reports. “If the weather plays ball, we can expect to see good to very good harvests everywhere.” Following the unusually mild winter across Europe, the 2014 sowing season started much earlier than the five-year average in almost all of Nordzucker’s growing regions. The differences when compared to the comparatively late sowing season in 2013 will appear all the more dramatic. Northern Germany: a cool, wet May ... In Northern Germany, 90 per cent of the beet was already in the ground by the end of March. A warm, dry April was followed by a comparatively cool May with sufficient rainfall, and all rows were fully closed by the beginning of June, which is very early. “The earlier the ground is completely covered with beet leaves, the higher the rate of photosynthesis,” explains Head Cultivation Advisor, Dr Andreas Windt. “This means that the beets have longer to convert the sunshine into sugar. That’s why, for us, the time when the beet rows close is one of the
most important early indicators of the quality of the harvest in the autumn.” Eastern Europe: promising stocks The Nordzucker beet offices in Slovakia and Poland, where sowing also took place about three weeks earlier than the average, also reported early row closure in June with a good 14 days’ head-start in terms of growth. “Sowing early is well worth it!” says Dr Gerd Jung, Head of Sugar Beet Procurement in Eastern Europe. “Since the early, very compact sowing in March, we have had excellent conditions and plenty of rainfall in both countries. What more could you want?!” he says, looking forward to highly promising stocks in June. Northern Europe: potential slightly above average The farmers in Northern Europe sowed their beet within several time windows. “In Denmark, Lithuania and Finland, sowing took place around two weeks earlier, while in Sweden it was done at around the usual time,” reports Jannik Olejas, Head of Sugar Beet Procurement in Northern Europe. The sowing phase was followed by cold, rainy weather, which delayed field emergence. The beet offices recorded largely very good growing conditions in May. In early June, Olejas described the stocks as very healthy and well-developed as a result of the effects of herbicides. “All in all, the sugar yield potential is slightly higher than the five-year average.” � sdp
Akzente July 2014
17
| PANORAMA |
Multifunctional precision on the beet fields Four innovative cultivation methods are ready to be put into practice New cultivation techniques on the beet fields have had astonishing results: they save resources, reduce emissions, improve the soil structure, reduce the beets’ water consumption, increase protection against erosion and boost the water retention of the soil. Before beet farmers adopt the measures on a broad scale, they are trialled by the Group-wide Nordzucker testing programme. In field trials, Nordzucker tests the local suitability and the efficiency of new techniques on the ground. The results of four new cultivation techniques were recently approved by Nordzucker’s German cultivation advisers so that they can be transferred from field tests to Group-wide practice in terms of cultivation and consultation.
Perfect for lighter soils: springtime strip tilling Till a strip of soil 25 cm deep, apply fertiliser 15 cm beneath the row (“under-root fertilisation”) and sow the beet seeds at a depth of two to three centimetres directly above the fertiliser: “Springtime strip tilling combines three steps in one. For lighter soils, the three-in-one strip tilling method is now highly effective,” explains Dr Andreas Windt, Head Cultivation Advisor for Germany. Tests began near Uelzen in 2006. Nordic Beet Research is testing the procedure in Sweden. In 2014, it was adopted as standard on five per cent of Nordzucker’s cultivated land. “With yields that are at least the same as before, the farmer is able to cut the amount of time spent sowing in half, can save on diesel for up to two field passes and can also save on fertiliser thanks to the precise application.”
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Ready to be put into practice with real-time GPS: autumn strip tilling The three-in-one strip tilling method has not been shown to work on heavier soils. “Heavy soils are not suitable for deep tilling in the springtime with sowing at the same time,” Windt explains. When it comes to growing beet on luvisol soils, the cultivation advisers from Nordzucker in Germany and Denmark are trying out the two-in-one autumn strip tilling method. This method involves tilling the rows separately in autumn. “The real art is applying the seed and fertiliser aggregate in the springtime precisely in the rows that were tilled in autumn,” says Windt. “This works really well where RTK GPS is available – satellite signals and additional equipment that measure and record work processes precisely and in real time. This information makes it possible to achieve the necessary machine-control precision in springtime.” Row fertilisation: standard practice in Scandinavia, new method in Northern and Eastern Europe Row fertilisation, which has been standard in Scandinavia for quite some time, can also save on one whole stage, as well as reducing the amount of fertiliser required as compared with the conventional procedure. Sowing and precise fertilisation is combined in a single step once the soil has been prepared in the usual way. “We want to enable our farmers in Germany, Poland and Slovakia to draw on the positive experiences of our colleagues from Nordic Beet Research when it comes to
row sowing,” Windt confirms. Successful field tests have been conducted in Northern Germany over the past two years. These aim to show whether the targeted use of fertiliser consistently leads to higher yields. From autumn 2014, the results from these precision tests involving row fertilisation with different fertilisers and quantities will be available, offering objective responses and further decision-making aids for Nordzucker beet farmers. Strip-till and apply liquid fertiliser using the under-root method: using organic fertilisers efficiently and with the environment in mind Till the soil in strips and sparingly apply the nutrients precisely where the beet will grow: “Techniques that combine soil preparation and the application of solid, granulated fertiliser using an airflow via flexible pipes are already well-developed,” says Head Cultivation Advisor Dr Andreas Windt. However, there is still room for improvement in the use of liquid organic fertiliser via fixed pipes on the tiller blades. In partnership with the Chamber of Agriculture, in 2014 Nordzucker is testing combined under-root fertilisation with slurry and fermented residues from biogas facilities. ”Improving the efficiency of fertiliser is one of our goals,” says Windt. “In addition, under-root fertilisation avoids the emission of unpleasant odours.” This technique looks like it might be a viable future option for lighter soils in Nordzucker growing regions, and for soils undergoing intensive preparation in springtime and which have real-time GPS. � sdp
GPS increases efficiency in beet cultivation.
The conditions for beet growing are good. Advice is at hand. Nordzucker cultivation advisers help to transfer knowledge into practice.
Strip tilling protects lighter soils from erosion. Even large yields have to start somewhere.
Effective sowing depends on the proper preparation of the soil.
Akzente July 2014
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| PANORAMA |
Combining what we have to do with what we want to do Nordzucker readies its plants for new emissions limits Mr Aumüller, what is the Industrial Emissions Directive all about?
The Emissions Directive sets out guidelines for the approval and operation of industrial facilities in the EU. Despite emissions limits already being low, the EU wants to further reduce the environmental impact of industrial facilities. In addition, the IED also improves fairness among the competition, where previously divergent limits in the 28 member states have now been brought into line. This is something that we welcome! – even if it only affects production standards in force within the EU. What limits have changed, and how is Nordzucker responding to these changes?
Industrial facilities in the EU will soon be subject to even more stringent environmental regulations. The reason for this is the new EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), which came into force in 2011. The transfer of these regula-
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tions into the national legislation of all EU member states is set to be complete in 2014. We spoke to Axel Aumüller, Chief Operating Officer, about the new IED and its implementation in Nordzucker plants.
The IED requirements for boilers with an output of more than 50 MW are of particular significance for Nordzucker. From January 2016, significantly lower limits for carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate will apply. Depending on the location, we currently use boilers with outputs of between 20 and 90 MW for steam generation and conversion into electricity via turbines. The combined power-and-heat generation systems are primarily run on gas, as well as oil and coal. Most of our facilities are already operating very close to the new limits. Here, we will be able to meet the IED requirements with the further optimisation of exhaust gas purification, the installation of new turbines or other combined measures. In the long term, however, it is not practicable for all our facilities. Environmental issues are an integral part of all of our investment
The new Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) ...
CO2 emissions from direct and indirect sources in kg/ t sugar
471
New emissions limits will apply to production facilities in the EU as of January 2016. A look inside our Uelzen sugar house.
450
453
479
432
18
21
18
2009
2010
2011
CO2 emissions from direct sources kg/t sugar
decisions. The primary aim of our sustainability strategy is to minimise environmental pollution, or to prevent it before it even occurs. As a result, for some facility set-ups, exhaust gas purification at the end of the chimney is only the second-best solution. In some plants, we are able to achieve more from an ecological, as well as from a financial point of view, when we are able to intelligently combine what we have to do with what we want to do, and switch over entirely to new types of technology. At selected sites, Nordzucker will adopt a guideline to regulate the remaining hours of operation for a plant. This option allows old plants to be operated for a further 17,500 hours maximum, so that the best-available technology can
500
... is a complex set of regulations. Many details are yet to be clarified: What do the national strategies and implementation provisions look like exactly? How will local authorities check that the directive is being enforced and provide approval? The implementation of the IED in German law alone resulted in amendments to eight federal laws in 2013: starting with the Federal Pollution Control Act (BImSchG), the Water Resources Act (WHG) and the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act to the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, the Environmental Damage Act and, last but not least, the German Criminal Code.
CO2 emissions from indirect sources kg/t sugar
be installed at a later date. This boosts our planning security and enables us to invest in technologies that not only avoid emissions, but which also continue to lower our energy consumption. What has been the extent of your measures so far? Which projects has Nordzucker already launched with regard to the IED requirements?
Over the past year, our team of experts has developed and tested individual alternative strategies for each of our 13 plants. Many of these projects will be put into action between 2018 and 2023. Currently, we’re already working on lowering nitrogen oxide emissions even further at the Nykobing plant. This facility uses oil as a
fuel and we are working with the authorities and energy providers to look at ways to switch over to gas, and what this would cost. In Klein Wanzleben, preliminary work is already under way to install a low-emission gas turbine and to optimise boiler ventilation. We will optimise the efficiency of the boilers in Chełmża in time for the 2015 campaign, thereby continuing to improve our environmental footprint. We increase the productivity of our plants on an ongoing basis. In fact, in the current financial year alone, we will be investing a total of EUR 95 million in our plants across the Group. The focus will be on profitable projects that reduce energy consumption and emissions. This is a major commitment to our European sites. � Interview conducted by Susanne Dismer-Puls
Akzente July 2014
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| A LOOK AT THE MARKET | Regional distribution of the global population 2013 / 2100 forecast in millions
Grafik
2002 – 20
As the global population grows, so does its requirements in terms of food and the demand for sugar. The world’s population is currently growing at a rate of around one per cent, or 83 million people, per year (source: statista.com). Per day, this equates to around the number of people living in a city like Braunschweig.
355
513
2013
2100
180
Europe
North America
742
639
2013
2100
160 140
Asia 4,299 4,711
120
02
Ver
Global situation 10,853 7,162
2013 Latin America / Caribbean
Africa
617
736
1,111
2013
2100
2013
2100 10
4,185
0 -10
2100
Oceania 38 69 2013
2013
2100
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision, 2013
Sugar markets of the future Population growth and increasing prosperity also boost the demand for sugar in developing countries and emerging markets
Dr Thordis Möller Specialist Economics
“For internal surveys, if we are analysing how much sugar will be in demand and where, we need a whole range of additional parameters.” Population growth and the increase in income are the main drivers of sugar consumption. “If we also take into account country-specific market information, long-term forecasts by the OECD and European Commission, and the corresponding per capita consumption for the country in question, we are able to make predictions for sugar market scenarios in every region of the world.” Increasing income changes eating habits As the global population grows, so does its requirements in terms of food and the demand for sugar. Earth is currently home to almost 7.2 billion people. “According
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02
Ände in M
2100
Global sugar consumption is growing by two per cent every year, with consumption currently at 170 million tonnes per year. There are two key values here for anyone who is involved in analysing the development of the sugar markets, as is Dr Thordis Möller.
9
to recent estimates by the United Nations, this figure will be 9.6 billion by 2050, i.e. in 36 years’ time,” says Möller. “The population is growing almost exclusively in developing countries and emerging markets, however.” These emerging markets include regions of Africa, as well as primarily China and India. In these countries, sugar not only benefits from increasing populations, but also from economic growth of between four and eight per cent as well as increasing prosperity. “A new middle class is becoming established – one whose eating habits are changing as its income grows, in favour of more meat, processed products and sugar,” Thordis Möller says of China. Since the early 1960s, sugar consumption has risen here from around two kilos to 11.6 kg per person. The trend has been similar for one billion Africans, who now consume an average of 16 kg sugar per person per year – although the differences vary hugely between the continent’s 53 countries. Sugar as an indicator of prosperity In many emerging markets, the differ-
ence remains large as compared with per capita consumption in the well-developed sugar markets (mature markets) of industrialised nations. The 34 OECD countries show sugar consumption statistics of between just under 30 kg (Norway) and more than 60 kg (Australia) per capita per year. Möller is convinced that “the difference as compared with mature markets illustrates the potential”. European market stagnating What is less spectacular is the situation on mature sugar markets in industrialised nations. While the population in subSaharan Africa is growing at an average of 2.5 per cent per year with economic growth of 4.9 per cent, Western Europe is more or less stagnating on all fronts when it comes to growth parameters relevant to sugar consumption. Nothing about this situation looks set to change in the near future, according to Möller, who quotes a recent long-term prognosis by the UN, which states that the population of Europe is set to shrink from 742 million today to 639 million by the end of the century – a decrease of 14 per cent. � sdp
Quellen: U
2017: consolidation expected on the EU sugar market The end of the quota system will have consequences for the EU sugar market. We expect to see significant overproduction as a result of the expiry of quotas for sugar and isoglucose. Sugar and isoglucose manufacturers will know to make best use of their capacities after the end of the quota system. As we have learnt from other agricultural markets that have already undergone liberalisation, it always takes time for a new market equilibrium to be established. Until this has occurred, there will be considerable price pressure in the EU sugar market. For 2017, we expect production of sugar and isoglucose in the EU to reach 20 to 21 million tonnes. This means that, with consumption stagnating at 17.5 to 18.5 million tonnes, we anticipate an EU-
wide surplus of 1.5 to 3.5 million tonnes of sugar. In contrast to the stagnating EU market, which is defined by surpluses, demand for sugar will continue to increase around the world by around two per cent per year. To be able to participate in this growth, we need to think beyond our European borders. That’s why we are taking a closer look at the growth regions of the world. In Africa, for example, sugar consumption is currently 16.2 million tonnes. By 2020, this amount is set to be 19.9 million tonnes, corresponding to an increase of 23 per cent. Where the population and economy are experiencing growth, the demand for sugar also increases. We need to play a part in this. �
“Until a new market equilibrium is established, the EU sugar market will experience considerable price pressure.” Mats Liljestam Chief Marketing Officer
Welcome to the market The EU is incorporating sugar into the new CAP
Christian Kionka Senior Vice President Corporate Public Affairs
In practical terms, as of the start of 2014, the sugar market regime (SMR) is history. “Since then, sugar has been part of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), just like other field crops,” explains Christian Kionka, Senior Vice President Corporate Public Affairs. However, not all of the previous SMR regulations have yet been integrated into the new version of the CAP revised in 2013.
“The sugar experts at the European Commission in Brussels are currently hammering out future export and licensing laws, as well as regulations for private storage,” reports Kionka. A total of around 160 SMR implementation provisions are expected to have been assessed by CAP experts by the end of the year. High stocks increase price pressure High stocks and falling prices defined the market situation for sugar in the EU in June 2014. A good four million tonnes of sugar were imported into the EU from other countries in the 2012/2013 sugar marketing year, Kionka reports. At the
same time, the EU’s stocks increased by one million tonnes. “These figures give a clear message,” he says. There’s no way that the EU can claim to suffer a shortfall. “Building up stocks increases the price pressure. This is exactly what the Commission was aiming for with its additional market measures,” says Kionka. Added to this are volumes resulting from free trade agreements with other import quotas for Central and South America (253,000 tonnes), Moldova (34,000 tonnes), Ukraine (20,000 tonnes) and South Africa (150,000 tonnes, still in negotiation). Preparing for more pronounced price fluctuations As in previous years, the European Commission agreed on an additional 400,000 tonnes of sugar per year to be imported for industrial use until the end of the quota system in 2017. With its current market policy, the EU is today creating a market situation that was previously only to be expected after the end of the quota system in 2017. After 2017, all of the sugar
produced in the EU will be able to be sold anywhere in the EU because there will no longer be any quotas for sugar for human consumption. “Today, sugar production from quota and non-quota sugar already amounts to around 18 million tonnes. Consumption has been constant at 16.5 to 17 million tonnes for years now. Producers in competitive regions have announced that they will make increased use of their capacities. We can also expect to see increased production of isoglucose, which may lead to significant pressure due to the flooding of the European market,” says Kionka. However, there is also relief, too. With the expiry of the quota system, the export limit of 1.4 million tonnes imposed by the WTO in 2005 will also end. This means that sugar can be exported by the EU to the world market in unlimited quantities. “The end of the quota system and the minimum price for beet following 45 years of regulation will pose challenges to sugar producers and beet farmers, but it will also offer opportunities,” Kionka summarises. � sdp Akzente July 2014
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| CLOSE-UP |
Nordzucker Polska produces sugar in Chełmża and Opalenica and sells its products under the SweetFamily brand.
In January 2014, a champagne cork popped in the beet office at the Opalenica sugar plant. “We made a bet,” grins Dr Gerd Jung, “about who would achieve the higher sugar yields in 2013. The winner was Nordzucker Polska – for the first time, sugar yields per hectare were higher here than they were in Northern Germany.” The beet yields have also developed impressively. Since 1999, yields have increased from an average of 35 tonnes sugar beet per hectare at the start to 70 tonnes today. “We salute the fact that the farmers were able to achieve the same yields as western growing regions in just 13 harvests,” says Jung, Senior Vice President Beet Procurement Eastern Europe, in acknowledgement of the achievement.
Project launch between recession and optimism When Gerd Jung travelled to Poland with colleagues back in the mid 90s to investigate doing business there, the country was experiencing the optimism of a new era accompanied by a recession. With the exception of a few agricultural cooperatives, most of the two million agricultural businesses in Poland at the time were small, family-run operations with a total area of between seven and 15 hectares divided between small fields of around one hectare each. Nordzucker is active on the Warta and the Vistula Back then, Poland had around 80 sugar plants, which the Polish government divided between four holding companies. Most of them were gradually privatised. Forty kilometres west of Poznan, with its population of 550,000 on the banks of the Warta, Nordzucker was awarded a majority shareholding in the Opalenica
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Building on success Nordzucker Polska has achieved a great deal in 15 years sugar plant in 1999. This was followed shortly afterwards by the neighbouring plants in Wschowa and Szamotuly. Near the city of Torun on the Vistula river – a good three hours’ drive north from Opalenica – majority holdings in the Chełmża, Krasiniec and Melno plants were also acquired.
a llocation of quotas in 2004. All this, coupled with the reservations of several Nordzucker shareholders, who remained highly sceptical of the new subsidiary for a long time. “These were challenges that brought employees and farmers together in one ambitious family very early on,” says Jung.
Big challenges bring people together “The start wasn’t easy,” Jung remembers. A lack of structure, antiquated technology and patchy infrastructure, accompanied by chronic surpluses of sugar on the Polish market, which created price pressure that extended far beyond accession to the EU and the
Perfect division of labour Four plants were closed. At the same time, Nordzucker invested in the modernisation and expansion of the plants in Chełmża and Opalenica from 2000 to 2006. Working alongside local entrepreneurs, a high degree of organisation was quickly created for the entire beet logis-
The Opalenica plant produces white crystal sugar. The Opalenica plant is supplied with beet by around 1,500 farmers. The consignments are tested in the lab.
The sugar is packed into one-kilo bags and 25-kilo sacks at the Opalenica plant. Quality controls are carried out at the laboratory in Chełmża.
The Chełmża plant has two campaigns a year – one beet campaign and one raw sugar campaign.
tics chain. “This was extremely important for us,” Jung emphasises. “Around our plants, groups came together who now work as contractors or forwarders, increasing professionalism in beet harvesting and logistics.” All of the beet is pre-cleaned on the field and delivered exclusively by truck. This saves farmers significant expenditure. The Opalenica and Chełmża plants benefit from smooth processes in harvesting and beet delivery, as well as from high-quality beet. Cash-saving recommendations for farmers In order to communicate new ideas to farmers and to implement them in a way
that boosts yields, Nordzucker also invested in cultivation advisers very early on – a service that was previously unheard of in Poland. “Increasing field emergence, applying fertiliser at the correct distance from the seeds, sowing early and combating weeds in a targeted way – basically, doing the right things at the right time,” Jung says, s ummarising major topics over the past few years. The interim results as seen by the 320 employees at the Opalenica and Chełmża plants before their 15th Nordzucker campaign are also highly impressive: both plants now manufacture twice as much sugar as they did in 1999, while energy consumption has been cut by a
third. Campaigns last an average of twice as long as before. Production processes have become more efficient, more precise and safer. In 2009, Nordzucker Polska put a new refinery facility into operation at its Chełmża plant. This facility processes raw cane sugar, which is transported to Chełmża via the Baltic Sea port of Gdansk. Both plants now manufacture white crystal sugar that, in 2014, met the highest customer standards in terms of quality and service and which is available in onekilo bags for retail, as well as in 25-kilo sacks, or big bags, for the food processing industry. � sdp
Akzente July 2014
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| CLOSE-UP |
The German President recently travelled to India. Nordzucker CEO, Hartwig Fuchs, was part of the delegation.
With President Gauck in India CEO, Hartwig Fuchs, took part in the President’s official visit The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck, visited India from 4 to 9 February. He was accompanied on his six-day tour by a delegation of 15 business representatives from Germany. CEO of Nordzucker AG, Hartwig Fuchs, was a member of the delegation and summarised his impressions of the trip for Akzente:
“Following my two-and-a-half-year stay in India in the early 1990s, I was of course delighted to be invited on this trip as a delegate. We had a very busy and varied schedule, ranging from an official state banquet with the Indian President and plenty of semi-official appointments, to a visit to a construction site for Delhi’s new underground transport system. The overall economic development in India is very exciting – but of course, I was most interested in the sugar industry there. India is an enormous market and the single biggest consumer of sugar in the world. In addition, India is the biggest swing factor on the global sugar market. As such, there
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were several reasons why the trip was particularly fascinating. One of India’s major up-and-coming economic sectors remains the IT industry. I know the country well, and yet the visible evidence of rapid economic growth left a deep impression on me. We visited the campus of an IT company in Bangalore, for example, that employs and trains and incredible 26,000 IT specialists. Right next to this up-and-coming India, there is, of course, still the poor side of India, and these two worlds collide wherever you look. This is something that never fails to be quite startling. My summary of the trip? It was a fantastic opportunity to visit this exciting country once again and also to experience it alongside our President, who fulfils the duties of his office with great moral integrity, warmth, openness and curiosity, thereby increasing Germany’s positive standing on the international stage.” � nt
India l 1,210,569,573
inhabitants
l Area:
3,287,469 km²; nine times the size of Germany
l Largest
single sugar market worldwide
l Per
capita consumption of sugar in India: 20.5 kg/year Comparison: Per capita consumption of sugar in Germany: 34–35 kg/year
“We judged the situation perfectly” Stevia products receive a warm welcome on the market with sugar in their recipes. We also have the biggest stevia producer, Pure Circle, at our side as a raw materials supplier. This results in a highly dynamic process, because we can advise our customers with regard to new recipes,” underlines Matthias Meyer. Many consumers reject products containing artificial sweeteners but are still interested in a low-calorie alternative.
Conjure up fantastically light desserts and spreads with SteviaZucker.
Stevia products from SweetFamily have enjoyed an impressive and successful year following their market launch in December 2012. With increases in volume of 117 per cent and excellent repurchase rates, the sugar substitute made from the stevia plant has become a retail success and has a growing fan base among end consumers.
“The launch has been an unreserved success. SteviaZucker represents a new retail category – low-calorie natural
sweeteners. Stevia is an attractive alternative, it tastes great, especially in combination with sugar, and is easy to use,” says Oliver Ditsch, Senior Manager Marketing and Sales Retail at Nordzucker. In terms of retail, these products expand the market and represent added value. Matthias Meyer, Sales and Marketing Manager at NP Sweet, is in direct contact with industrial customers regarding the use of stevia. He sees a number of positive aspects: “We can advise our customers on how to combine stevia
A great-tasting alternative “The most important factor remains whether the product tastes good or not. Stevia combinations are obviously meeting customers’ expectations. As such, these products are also seen as ‘solutions’ – they taste good while reducing the number of calories consumed,” says Meyer. With the first two products available across Europe, SteviaZucker and Stevia Gelierzucker, we have made a very promising start. But of course, we want this to continue: “We are currently developing practical portions for convenient use in tea and coffee – another growing segment.” To gain even more ground, classic advertising, tastings and displays are also required to boost the purchase impulse for customers beyond the aisle itself. “We’re going to redouble our efforts here,” says Ditsch. As promising as these first steps have been, there still remains much to be done in the near future. Matthias Meyer is working with his colleagues from the application technology department to create the right blend for customers and their new products, for example by developing the relevant basic recipes followed by blind tastings. At the same time, he has a few new customers who he wants to develop further with extra products and bring projects to market-readiness. “We judged the situation with stevia perfectly – now we need to maintain the momentum,” he states. � tsd
Akzente July 2014
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| CLOSE-UP |
Krombach, in the Siegerland hills, is not just home to famous beer – Fassbrause lemonades are also made here.
Tangy maltiness with fruity sweetness KROMBACHER’S FASSBRAUSE features Nordzucker sugar Nestled in the rolling landscape of the Siegerland, in the foothills of the Rothaar Mountains, is the town of Kreuztal (pop.: 30,000). One of the town’s districts is known throughout Germany as a result of the popular beer adverts: Krombach. It is home to the brewery of the same name, which was founded in 1803. But Krombach doesn’t just brew Pilsner beer – it has also been making refreshing and non-alcoholic Fassbrause (malted lemonades) for two years now. These lemonades are sweetened with Nordzucker sugar. The elderflower and lemon flavours kicked it all off: KROMBACHER’S FASSBRAUSE has been available since 2012.
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“Our brewery is located in an idyllic woodland. So that our buildings stay in keeping with the landscape, most of them are kept in neutral green tones,” Krombacher brewery spokesman Dr Franz-Josef Weihrauch explains when meeting us. The Krombacher brewery, which is a major employer in the Siegerland region and which produces all of its Krombacher products right here, “is
one of the largest and most cuttingedge breweries in Europe,” states Weihrauch, who goes on to explain: “Our production facility is split into two parts. We distinguish between what we call the ‘old’ facility – with its brewhouse, fermentation and storage area, filtration, administration and quality control areas – and the Littfetal area, which is located a bit further down the road. This is home to our bottling plants and logistics facilities. Both parts, i.e. production and bottling, are connected by an underground service duct. The entire grounds cover an area of around 210,000 m2.“ For two years now, Krombacher has been offering a non-alcoholic refreshment drink also featuring its familiar name: KROMBACHER’S FASSBRAUSE. The first two flavours were launched in summer 2012. The first Fassbrause was made in Berlin more than 100 years ago based on a malt extract. With KROMBACHER’S
FASSBRAUSE, the brewery has revisited the traditional idea of Fassbrause, i.e. manufacturing the lemonades in exactly this way, without the use of any nonalcoholic beer. This makes KROMBACHER’S FASSBRAUSE a 100 % non-alcoholic refreshment. “We create the malt extract with our pure, fresh spring water,” says Weihrauch. “This is then mixed with the lemonade component, giving the drink its fruity, tangy flavour,” Weihrauch continues. The lemonade component of the Fassbrause is also made in Krombach. For the apple-flavoured version, natural apple juice concentrate is used, for example. The lemonade component is sweetened with sugar from Nordzucker. “We set great store by high-quality, natural ingredients. This is why our Fassbrause is free of colourings, preservatives and artificial flavourings,” emphasizes Dr FranzJosef Weihrauch. Fassbrause has been enjoying a resurgence in popularity at supermarkets and drinks wholesalers over the past two
100 % non-alcoholic: KROMBACHER’S FASSBRAUSE is made using malt extract.
Facts and figures Krombacher Brauerei Bernhard Schadeberg GmbH & Co. KG l Established
1803
l Products:
beers, mixed drinks with beer, lemonades and Fassbrause malted lemonades
l Around
900 employees, of whom 700 in Krombach
years – the benefits of which are also being enjoyed by Krombacher. “Our Fassbrause products have developed exceptionally well. While we produced 60,000 hectolitres of Fassbrause in the first year, this increased to an incredible 85,000 hectolitres by the second year,” Weihrauch reports. This makes Krombacher Germany’s leading producer of Fassbrause. Two years ago, the lemon and elderflower flavours were launched, with the apple flavour launched last year. KROMBACHER’S FASSBRAUSE in rhubarb was then launched in May. “The natural
malty sweetness and delicious rhubarb flavour make for a very mild refreshment. Just like the other three flavours, rhubarb Fassbrause is also ideal for the summer,” Weihrauch says. Fassbrause is just one of Krombacher’s products to contain sugar from Nordzucker. Mixed drinks containing beer, such as Krombacher Radler shandy or Cab Cola and Beer, as well as other lemonades produced by Krombacher, are also sweetened with our sugar. “We receive around two to three lorryloads of sugar every week,” Weihrauch concludes. � nt
l Beer
output: 5.5 million hectolitres/year
l Fassbrause
output: 85,000 hectolitres/year
In four refreshing flavours. And now also in rhubarb.
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| SWEET STORIES |
Fruity drinks to enjoy: make your own smoothies Smoothies have shot to prominence as popular health drinks over recent years. These fruity drinks are made from whole fruits – sometimes even including the skin and core. Smoothies can either be bought ready-made or you can whip up a sweet power drink yourself at home. This is how to do it: purée the fruits with a hand blender or mixer until you achieve a smooth, creamy consistency. Smoothies are available in a whole range of flavours – you can mix them using just fruit, or create a more filling drink with milk or yogurt. For recipes and ideas, please visit our websites at www.dansukker.com and www.sweet-family.de � nt
Strawberry smoothie with elderflower syrup Ingredients:
Preparation:
for eight glasses
Wash, clean and halve the strawberries and put them in a tall mixing jug. Add SweetFamily SteviaZucker, syrup, finely grated orange and lemon zest, and the orange and lemon juice.
750 g 10 g 1 tbsp 1 1 15 8
30
strawberries SweetFamily SteviaZucker elderflower syrup unwaxed orange and unwaxed lemon, each with juice and zest ice cubes lemon balm leaves
Wrap the ice cubes in a dish towel and smash them up. Add the ice to the strawberries and blend coarsely with a hand blender. Pour the smoothie into eight glasses and garnish with the lemon balm leaves before serving.
Summer smoothie Ingredients per glass:
Preparation:
75 g
Put all the ingredients into a mixing jug and blend until smooth. Then simply pour the smoothie into a glass and serve.
berries, e.g. raspberries, blueberries or strawberries 100 ml semi-skimmed milk 100 ml low-fat natural yogurt 100 g ice cubes 1 tbsp icing sugar
Adding a special touch to strawberry jam
Tried it yet? SweetFamily preserving sugar Taste of the Year in Sea Buckthorn flavour.
To add a special touch to strawberry jam, SweetFamily from Nordzucker is offering its Flavour of the Year in Sea Buckthorn flavour. It’s a delicious addition that is true to Nordzucker’s North German roots: strawberry jam with an added hint of sea buckthorn! This sweet taste of summer is now easy to create yourself. Thanks to its flavour, sea buckthorn is the ideal partner to the fruity sweetness of strawberries, adding a slightly tangy note to home-made jams. Thanks to its easy preparation, the new preserving sugar for strawberries is also ideal for people new to jam-making. � nt
Akzente July 2014
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| IN BRIEF | Award-winning
Employees at the Uelzen plant receive a special award from the German Raw Material and Chemical Industry Employers’ Insurance and Accident Prevention Association
Personnel
All change at the Trenčianska Teplá plant
Danny Gießer, Christian Schulze, Helmut Ficker and Kai Knechtel were awarded the ‘Special Sugar Industry Prize’ from the German Raw Material and Chemical Industry Employers’ Insurance and Accident Prevention Association (BG RCI) in mid-May in Frankfurt am Main. The Uelzen workers received prize money for their ‘moveable steps on the foot rail’ idea. This year was the 17th time that this prize has been awarded by BG RCI, and it goes directly to the innovative brains of companies.
The Trenčianska Teplá plant in Slovakia has been under new management since May, with Tomáš Adámek assuming his post as Director on 15 May this year. He succeeds Pavel Kyselica, who has left the company. � ed
Sweden
Fire at the raw sugar warehouse in Tjustorp A fire broke out at an external raw sugar warehouse in Tjustorp, Sweden, at the end of February this year. Extinguishing the fire proved extremely difficult and time-consuming. The fire was eventually extinguished with the aid of sand. All of the buildings affected had to be torn down and all the sugar stocks, as well as the sugar that had been contaminated with sand, had to be disposed of. � ed
The Uelzen employees noticed that they had to work under unfavourable ergonomic conditions when carrying out visual inspections, as well as when performing repair and maintenance work on the sight glasses of the evaporation dryer. As a result, they developed small steps which enable the height to be corrected and, moreover, which can be securely fixed to the protective ring around the evaporation dryer without the risk of slipping. The steps can also be moved easily as they are lightweight. Since then, this simple and transferable solution has been helping to improve health and safety conditions at work. “I’m delighted about this award on behalf of our colleagues. Many improvements coming directly from the everyday work of employees help to make the working environment safer. We are proud that this has once again been rewarded by the association and feel that we are inspired to continue in this vein in the future,” said Sven Buhrmann, plant director, after the ceremony. � ed
Meeting
Sustainability day with Coca-Cola From left to right: Dr Volker Diehl (Nordzucker), Mario Kraft (Coca-Cola), Dr Nicol Stockfisch (IfZ), Dr Heinz-Josef Koch (IfZ), Ulrike Sapiro (Coca-Cola), Marion Schaefer (Nordzucker).
32
Two representatives from Coca-Cola attended an agricultural day on the topic of sustainability ‘in the field’ with Nordzucker on 24 April 2014. They found out more about sustainability systems in beet cultivation and also visited the Institute of Sugar Beet Research (IfZ) testing grounds near Göttingen. � ed
Dedicated
Klein Wanzleben plant receives certificate for promoting young talent The Federal Employment Agency in Magdeburg awarded Nordzucker’s Klein Wanzleben plant with an official certificate for the promotion of young talent. This award is given in recognition of the plant’s exceptional dedication in terms of training and promoting young talent in 2013/2014. “I am delighted with this award. It shows that we are on a very positive path with our many training measures. Searching for young talent and recruiting specialists will continue to be very high on our agenda,” emphasises Lars Wärmer, Training Supervisor in Klein Wanzleben. � ed
Personnel
Dr Piotr Wawro appointed to the Executive Board of the 3N centre of excellence Dr Piotr Wawro, Vice President Corporate Innovation and Technology, was unanimously voted onto the Executive Board at this year’s general meeting of the Niedersachsen Netzwerk Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (3N) centre of excellence in Werlte. He has since been representing the interests of Nordzucker. The centre of excellence focuses on the use of renewable resources and supports the partnership between business and research institutes in Lower Saxony. Nordzucker has been a member since 2006. � ed
Well attended
German Agricultural Society (DLG) field days The DLG field days took place from 17 to 19 June in Strenzfeld near Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt. Nordzucker was once again present with a stand. “We enjoyed some very interesting conversations,” said Dr Andreas Windt, who was responsible for and highly satisfied with the three field days. “Our stand was very well attended and we were involved in some great discussions with our guests about the future of beet cultivation after 2017, and we were able to use our catch crop demos to show what the EU greening policies mean for beet cultivation.” The DLG field days finished successfully after being attended by a record 23,000 visitors. ARGE NORD and the DNZ industry association were also in attendance at the Nordzucker stand. � ed Personnel
New director at the Nakskov plant Runi Egholm has managed the Nakskov plant in Denmark since 1 May. He took over the management of production last year and has been working for Nordic Sugar since 2008. As Director, he succeeds Klaus Bøggild, who retired at the end of June after 30 years with the company. Klaus Bøggild had taken over management of the plant in February 2007. � ed
Akzente July 2014
33
| PEOPLE AT NORDZUCKER |
Birgit Kerner Manager Quality Controlling, Nordstemmen plant In 1993, Birgit Kerner started working in the laboratory at the Nordstemmen plant for five hours a week. “At the time, my kids had just started school and I wanted to return to the workplace,” she says. She has been Laboratory Director since 2006, and is responsible nine employees in the beet lab-
34
oratory and the works laboratory during the campaign. In the beet laboratory, her team conducts an average of 900 to 1,000 analyses per day, determining, for example, the sugar content of each consignment. In the works laboratory, an established sampling plan monitors the entire production process within each eight-hour shift during the campaign. The shift samples are analysed and compared with predefined internal parameters. During the inspection of outgoing goods, the employees then moni-
tor whether a consignment meets the specifications of the order. “For a customer who packages cocoa in sachets as an instant drink, for example, the sugar needs to have a particular grain size. This is because there is a set amount of sugar allocated for each portion. However, if the sugar is too fine, the sachet cannot be sealed properly.” In addition to such tasks, she is also the Head of the Food Safety Group for Quality Management and Product Safety. � nt
| CLICKED ON |
A look online at Nordzucker and SweetFamily Nordzucker website online, featuring new investor relations pages The pages for shareholders on the Nordzucker website have been redesigned. You can find three current topics in the ‘News’ menu. Here, you can view content from the latest Letter to the Shareholders or the Annual Report, or you can read more about the lead article in the latest issue of Akzente. You can also find details of various key dates under the ‘Financial calendar’ submenu. If you would like to subscribe to our publications, you can do this very easily under ‘Service and Contact’. Here, you will also find the link to the Nordzucker Aktientreff share meeting website. Visit us online: http://www.nordzucker.de/aktionaere Online edition of the Annual Report invites you to have a read As a courtesy to our shareholders and other interested parties, we also provide our latest Annual Report as an online edition, in addition to the hard copy. With just a few clicks from the homepage, you can access the Letter from the Executive Board, the key performance indicators and the articles in the report that highlight the motto ‘Sugar has a future’. Via the navigation bar, you can quickly and easily access the Group’s management report, financial statements and notes. You will also find the Corporate Governance submenu here. The online version of the Annual Report 2013/2014 has been available since 3 June. View it here: http://annual-report.nordzucker. com/2013/gb/
New look: pages for Nordzucker shareholders
Nordzucker Holding AG has a new website Are you a shareholder of Nordzucker Holding AG? Then drop by the holding company’s new website! Find out voting results from the Annual General Meeting, information about the Nordzucker Holding AG Executive Board, or download the holding company’s Annual Report. You can find the report under ‘Downloads/ General’. You can also access the holding company’s website directly: http://www.nordzuckerholding.de or via a link under ‘Shareholders’ on the Nordzucker AG home page. All a question of taste! In line with this slogan, from mid-July you will be able to complete a simple quiz on the SweetFamily home page to find out what sort of preserving sugar is bestsuited to your favourite jam. Take a look at www.sweet-family.de and be inspired by the wide range of delicious recipes there. � ed
New websites: Nordzucker Holding AG
Nordzucker AG – online Annual Report
SweetFamily: What kind of jam are you?
Imprint Published by: Nordzucker AG, Küchenstraße 9, 38100 Braunschweig, tel +49 531 2411-348, fax +49 531 2411-378, akzente@nordzucker.de; Editorial team (ed): Bianca Deppe-Leickel (bdl), Susanne Dismer-Puls (sdp), Oliver Ditsch, Frank Knälmann, Tomas Kocis, Mariann Mellström (mm), Dr. Thordis Möller (tm), Tanja Schneider-Diehl (tsd), Marion Stumpe, Nina Tatter (nt); Layout: Sieler Kommunikation und Gestaltung GmbH, Frankfurt; Printed by: Sigert GmbH Druck- und Medienhaus, Braunschweig | Image credits: Marek Kruszewski, Nils Hendrik Müller, Günter Nimptsch, Nordic Sugar (Apelöga), Nordzucker, Shutterstock
Akzente July 2014
35
Lemon Blueberry Cake Ingredients (for 12 servings):
Cake batter: 5 eggs 60 g SweetFamily SteviaZ ucker 1 organic lemon 120 g spelt flour 1 tsp baking powder Filling and icing: 550 ml passionfruit juice 500 g blueberries Zest and juice of 3 organic lemons 30 g SweetFamily SteviaZ ucker 1 sachet vanilla pudding powd er 10 mint leaves
Per slice approximately: 176 calories; 3.6 g fat; 28.6 g carbohydrates; 5.2 g protein
Preparation: 1. Preheat oven to 180 째C upper and lower heat (fan-assisted 160 째C). Line a 24 cm-diameter springform pan with baking parchment. 2. Beat eggs approximately 4 minutes with a hand mixer until creamy. Add SweetFamily stevia sugar and beat for an additional 3 minutes until a malleable foam has formed. Zest one lemon into the mixture. 3. Mix flour with baking powder and lightly fold into egg foam. Pour batter into pan and smooth. Bake on middle rack for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Cut cake base horizontally. Lay bottom part on a serving platter and place springform ring around it. 4. Wash blueberries and allow to drip dry. Spread 250 g of blueberries and 25 ml of passionfruit juice on cake base. 5. Zest 3 lemons. Press 100 ml of juice from lemons and mix with 500 ml passionfruit
juice. Set 50 ml of this mixture aside. In a small saucepan, bring the rest of the juice, 30 g SweetFamily stevia sugar and the lemon zest to a boil. Mix the pudding powder with the cold juice, then pour into boiling juice. Bring to a boil while stirring. 6. Pour half of the lemon pudding onto the cake base with the berries, place the second layer of cake on top and drizzle with 25 ml of passionfruit juice. Chill the cake for 12 hours in the refrigerator. Cover the remaining pudding and allow to cool to room temperature. 7. Remove the springform ring. Stir the pudding until mixable and spread it on the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with the remaining blueberries and mint leaves. Preparation time: Approx. 45 minutes (excluding baking and chilling)
You can find deliciou more tips and s re www.sw cipes under:
eet-fam
ily.de