Fazer is building a plant to produce xylitol from oat hulls in Finland
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
Fazer (international
family-owned company offering quality bakery, confectionery, biscuit and grain
products, plant-based meals, non-dairy products, on-the-go food and drinks as
well as food and café services) is investing in an innovative facility that will
be an excellent example of a circular bioeconomy solution. In Fazer's oat milling
process, a substantial amount of hulls is currently diverted as a side stream
for energy production. Nevertheless, the hulls contain valuable xylose that will
be used to produce xylitol at the new plant.
Press release: “New
Innovation From Oats - Fazer Builds 40-million-euro Xylitol Factory in Lahti”,
5/3/2019.
Figure 1. Oat hulls will be the feedstock to
produce xylitol in the new facility of Fazer
Location
|
Next to
Fazer's oat mill on the Lahti site (Finland)
|
Cost
|
40 M€.
|
Feedstock
|
Oat hulls.
|
Products
|
Many
forms of xylitol: food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical grades.
|
Employment
effect
|
It will
create 30 new jobs at Fazer in Lahti and also indirectly employ people.
|
Timeline
|
Works at
the Fazer site started in February 2019.
The major
investment will take place in 2019-2020.
The
company plans to expand the xylitol production to its mill in Sweden.
|
The investment will strengthen Fazer's position as a forerunner in value added grain-based products. The xylitol market is expected to grow and Fazer targets Northern Europe and beyond with this plant-based raw material of Finnish origin. Furthermore, xylitol is an important ingredient for Fazer's confectionery business (it is the only company producing chewing gum in Finland).
