Functional ingredient manufacturer Beneo is quadrupling the storage capacity at its Offstein facility in Germany, with the aim of improving efficiency and strengthening its business contingency resilience. The warehouse, which opened in February, allows for increased storage of the company’s crystalline functional carbohydrates: Isomalt, Palatinose and galenIQ. 

The 25-metre-high warehouse reportedly has a storage capacity of more than 8,500 Euro pallets and is located close to the company’s packaging and shipment operations in the region. Along with its worldwide external warehouses, the additional storage capacity in Offstein further supports the company’s multi-storage strategy for improved business contingency. Furthermore, transport emissions are reduced, as a larger proportion of functional carbohydrates is now stored on-site than in external warehouses. 

In their crystalline form, the company says, the ingredients store well in humidity and temperature monitored facilities, such as the warehouse. The automated high-bay facility allows for a higher proportion of direct loading, the company says, freeing personnel from the storage and retrieval process to be used more efficiently in other onsite activities.

Dr Ralph Cartarius, Operation MD at Beneo’s Offstein facility, said: “The new warehouse gives much more storage potential for our functional carbohydrates. It also helps us to gain cost, time and logistics efficiencies, as well as bolstering our business contingency strategy still further. Previously, the majority of our crystalline Palatinose, Isomalt and galenIQ was stored externally, as the onsite facilities were limited. This expansion increases our supply security and reduces transport, but it also saves valuable time and energy for us to redirect into other operations.” 

The production plant was initially opened in Offstein in 1989, with a large-scale capacity expansion undertaken at the site in 2002, with the company’s Palatinose ingredient launched in 2005. The low glycaemic ingredients are designed to be used in applications including confectionery, bakery, and sports nutrition products.