Earlier this week, (March 12), the official groundbreaking ceremony for a new deep-freeze warehouse took place at the site of the DuPont Nutrition & Health (Danisco Deutschland GmbH) in Niebüll, Germany. The new storage center is part of a joint project, which reflects the cooperative efforts of the sites of Epernon, France and Niebüll, Germany to secure additional capacity in cultures.

DuPont is hoping to maintain their recognized reputation for stability and performance by leading yogurt, fresh fermented and cheese industry customers around the world.

Synergies will be generated by enlarging storage capacity in Niebüll and by the leverage of existing fermentation capacity from the Epernon facility. The storage expansion in Niebüll will be built on top of the current logistics building. DuPont expects the construction work to be completed in Niebüll in the fourth quarter of 2018 and that the 12-meter-high building will be put into operation later this year.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Sonia Huppert, Global Regional Product Management Leader, DuPont Nutrition & Health said: “We are seeing more discerning consumers in general, increasingly focusing on healthier living, turning to naturally functional, sustainable and more personalized nutrition, in which dairy is a value creator.”

“In addition, there is a profound consumer shift to plant-based foods, fueled by a current buzz on social media among young consumers about fermented products. These consumers are increasingly opting for lactose- and gluten-free products based on plant ingredients for which DuPont Nutrition & Health has recognized expertise and innovative solutions for plant-based fermented foods.”

“The realization of this investment in the ground breaking ceremony at the Niebull site form part of a previously announced $60 million European cultures plants expansion plan. This investment in cultures continues to reinforce DuPont Nutrition & Health’s leading position and will enable us to support customer growth and geographic expansion plans by serving and anticipating the needs of the global yogurt, fresh fermented and cheese industry,” she explains. 

“The investment of around €7 million (US$8.6 million) forms part of the previously announced US$60 million expansion plan for European cultures plants. We count on a combination of local planners and regional specialist companies to realize this important plant extension, building upon the overall logistics of the plant,” says Reinhold Sand, Niebüll Site Managing Director, DuPont Nutrition & Health.

The new deep-freeze warehouse will be run at a temperature of minus 55 degrees centigrade.

“The cold storage cell will be equipped with a new, very energy efficient insulating panel and due to this, the new cooling system will on average run significantly less per day, which reduces energy use,” explains Michael Paulsen, Niebüll Site, Works Manager, DuPont Nutrition & Health.

Furthermore, a heat recovery system will be integrated into the refrigeration technology.

Michael Paulsen adds: “In the new storage there will be ports with different temperature zones as well as a semi-automated transport system to load and unload a freight elevator that ensures the material transport from the ground to the upper floor.”

A two-story building with 300 square meters of floor space at each level will be in front of the new deep-freeze warehouse. The building will include logistics, building technology, office workplaces, switch rooms as well as social rooms for the employees working at the logistics center.