Bunge to spend $550M on protein concentrate plant

Agribusiness giant Bunge plans to build a $550 million protein concentration facility in Indiana to manufacture key ingredients used in the production of plant-based foods, processed meats and other products. I’m here.

The new facility, which will be built next to Bunge’s soy processing plant in Morristown, will process an additional 4.5 million bushels of soybeans to produce soy protein concentrate and textured soy protein concentrate. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023 and be operational by mid-2025. The new plant will create about 70 permanent jobs.

“Plant-based proteins are a natural extension of our industry-leading portfolio of oils, fats and specialty ingredients,” says Greg. heckman, Bungez The CEO said in a statement. “This new facility is an important step in our long-term strategy to strengthen our downstream higher value food ingredient capabilities.”

Bunge said the announcement comes after it recently invested an additional $10 million to bolster its plant protein technology capabilities near its St. Louis headquarters. and enhanced capabilities to work with dairy products, processed meats and beverages.

Despite a slowdown in consumption of plant-based meat, we are closely monitoring what people eat, how it is produced, and the impact of production on the environment. Food is expected to grow, and for companies like Bunge, building factories now that take years to complete can meet demand in the future should it materialize.

Over the past year and a half, other companies have announced new construction projects to cope with the expected surge in consumption.

Prince We converted an old dairy plant in Minnesota to more than double its pea protein production capacity.

In May, Cargill announced plans to build a new soybean processing facility in Missouri to support growing demand for oilseeds used in food, animal feed and fuel markets. A few months later, the company promised him $50 million to build a corn syrup refinery in Iowa. This will expand the company’s ability to meet the growing demand for raw materials in a more sustainable way.