Iscal Group

COMPANY NAME

I

PROFILE

THE ISCAL GROUP

BELGIUM’S SUGARY CENTRE

powered by Inside Food & Drink

want an article created?

1

insidefoodanddrink.com Inside Marine

apply here

THE ISCAL GROUP

I

PROFILE

’s Belgium sugary centre O The Iscal Group is an important European sugar manufacturer.

With a history dating back over 150 years, the group is now positioned as a major actor of the Belgian sugar industry. The company boasts the most recently built sugar refinery in Europe at the company’s headquarters in Fontenoy which is considered to be one of the best performing factories on the continent – with a goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. February 2022 saw the appointment of Robert Torck as CEO of Iscal Sugar, who spoke to Inside Food & Drink’s Jordan Yallop.

2

Inside Food & Drink

perating the most advance factory of its kind in Europe, it’s safe to say Iscal always has its eye on the newest technology, future innovations and sustainability concerns within the sugar sector. These modern solutions are the brainchildren of a company with far older roots, dating back to 1868 when the Moerbeke sugar factory was founded near to the city of Ghent in Belgium.

This later led to the creation of Finasucre, a family-owned holding company representing the Moerbeke and Escanaffles sugar factories in Belgium – which remains a powerhouse in the global industrial agri-food sector. Finasucre is operated by the Lippens family.

Iscal, as it is today, was born from the 1988 acquisition of the Frasnes sugar factory and the creation of Fontenoy facility which saw its first sugar beet arrive in 1993. The later merger of the Moerbeke, Frasnes, Fontenoy, Wez and Veurne factories solidified the name of Iscal in the industry.

It was in 2007 that all of Iscal’s production was centralised into the single facility at Fontenoy, with a processing capacity of 12,000 tonnes of sugar beets per day. 12 years later in 2019, the company’s reins changed hands from father to son.

Iscal welcomed Robert Torck as the new CEO in 2022. With more than 20 years in the agri-industrial sector, Mr Torck aims to continue Iscal’s development and make the company the best possible partner that it can be. Almost exclusively focusing on B2B, Iscal produces sugar in seven grain sizes, from extra fine to extra coarse. These various sizes have uses in baking, brewing and even pharmaceuticals.

“Olivier Lippens gave over the family business to his son Jérôme.

At this point the new generation of the Lippens family was heading

the sugar business as well as Finasucre,” explained Mr Torck. “I’m here to support Jérôme who can now concentrate on the overseas activities of Finasucre which has factories in Africa, Europe, Asia, America and Australia. I am here to fully concentrate on the company’s activities in Belgium.”

Proud to be Belgian Iscal currently has approximately 150 employees, divided over administration, agriculture and production at its centralised Fontenoy facility. This site recently underwent an investment of €20 million in a new sugar silo. Started in September 2021, when completed it will be one of the biggest of its kind in Europe and will be able to store 80,000 tonnes of sugar when filled to capacity – taking Iscal’s overall capacity to 126,000 tonnes. The silo is expected to see its first grains in September 2022.

Sugar production at the Frasnes site was halted in 2004 and it has since been used as a storage and transformation site by the company. Coupled with the Fontenoy facility, the pair have a combined storage capacity of 96,000 tonnes, meaning Iscal will double its storage capacity once the new silo is operational.

This investment will also have a direct influence of the company’s carbon footprint and sustainability. Due to the Frasnes site being located 25km away, the product has to be transferred by truck, meaning associated fuel costs will be cut due to the closer proximity of the new silo.

Mr Torck said: “The company has a major vision to be carbon neutral by 2030; we want to release zero carbon through our production stages. It is said the greenest energy is the energy you do not use and this is why we have invested in the new silo to further reduce fuel costs.”

Inside Food & Drink

3

THE ISCAL GROUP

I

PROFILE

This focus on proximity is also present in the company’s supply of raw materials, with the company sourcing 99.6% of all its sugar beet from Belgian farmers. In fact, the company is proud to be the only sugar factory in Belgium to still be 100% Belgian owned.

85% of all of Iscals’ sugar is delivered within Belgium. Iscal’s production accounted for one quarter of all Belgian sugar in 2021

totalling 203,759 tonnes, so it is easy to see the company’s desire to invest in further storage.

The number of beets needed to produce this quantity of sugar stood at 1,276,000 tonnes during the same year. To give some perspective, all Iscal’s beet fields combined amount to 0.5% of the whole Belgian territory. On the back of the scale of this production, Iscal reported a turnover of €116 million in the 2020-2021 financial year.

From farm to factory The journey from sugar beet to the kitchen is a long one, as every beet goes through an in-depth 17 step process, from harvest and transport to refining and delivery.

Mr Torck said: “The sugar industry is a complex process which typically uses a lot of energy and due to its complexity, the qualifications of the staff are quite high. This may be the reason that there has been no new sugar factory in Europe for more than two decades.”

Two of the major resource drains in the manufacturing processes are energy and water. Each beet contains approximately 75% water – which is removed during refining. With Iscal’s current production capacity, this equates to around 1 million litres of beetderived water a year. In a nod to the company’s sustainable credentials, this water is treated and cleaned and re-used in the process around three times before returning to the Scheldt river.

At the time of the interview, Mr Torck said rising energy prices have seen the cost of the plant’s energy rise from 3% of the company’s annual turnover to 11%. This, along with the company’s sustainability concerns has prompted a major investment in a new biogas installation.

4

Inside Food & Drink

Mr Torck said: “As I mentioned, sugar is a very energy intensive industry, you use a lot of energy in the transformation of beets into the final product. As such, we create our own biogas to supplement the energy we are using.

“To give you an idea, with this investment of €1.5 million, 15% of the energy we now use comes from biogas – which is created by our own organic waste from the beets. Biogas is what you call green gas and since we are producing it ourselves, we purchase less gas for our energy. We thank HoSt Bioenergy Systems in the Netherlands for providing the biogas installation.”

A sweet philosophy In line with sustainability, Iscal also produces co-products derived from the refining process, such as leftover pulp of the beet’s flesh which is compressed into cattle feed. The beet scum is rich in lime, which is charged with minerals and can be used as a soil corrector to alter the pH level of soil.

Iscal’s stance on CSR also extends to the farmers that grow the raw materials that are used.

Mr Torck said: “We have a long-standing relation with the farmers, a dedicated team of 11 people to manage the 2,500 farmers who grow our beets. Since low quality beets produce less sugar, working hand-in-hand with our growers is essential.”

Mr Torck mentioned that aside from rising energy costs and sustainability, one of the main factors concerning the sugar industry is public perception.

“There is room for balance, I need to enjoy myself from time to time so I’m convinced that that that there is a place for sugar.

There must a place for good things in life – that’s my philosophy,” he concluded. n Inside Food & Drink

5