BENEO held an inauguration ceremony on April 11th, 2025, for its new processing plant. The site, located in Germany, processes local pulses into high-quality food and feed ingredients.
A manufacturer of functional ingredients for food, feed and pharma and member of the Südzucker Group, BENEO officially inaugurated its first pulse-processing plant after a construction period of just one and a half years. The opening is the result of an investment of around €50 million by the Südzucker Group in its site in Obrigheim, Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. Here, pulses such as the local faba bean are processed into ingredients for food and feed production. To mark the occasion, on 11th April, 2025, a special inauguration ceremony was attended by Daniela Schmitt (Minister of Economic Affairs of Rhineland-Palatinate), Johannes Steiniger (Member of the German Bundestag), Nicole Eicher (Mayor of Obrigheim), Dr. Niels Pörksen (CEO of the Südzucker Group), Olivier Roques (CEO of BENEO GmbH), Niels E. Hower (Member of the Executive Board of BENEO GmbH) and Dirk Dinger (Chairman of the Works Council of the Obrigheim plant).
Up to 25 new jobs will be created at the new plant, which has been built next to the existing BENEO site where its sugar replacer Isomalt and the smart carbohydrate PalatinoseTM (isomaltulose) are produced, on an area of around 4,000 square metres – about half the size of a football pitch. According to the announcement, sustainability has been a key focus for the new development, with the plant production running entirely on electricity from renewable energy sources. Additional power is generated by a rooftop photovoltaic system and waste heat from production is used to heat the building, while the pulse processing requires no water.
BENEO points out that the site’s sustainability credentials are further reinforced by a zero-waste approach, ensuring that all raw materials are fully utilised as ingredients for the food and animal feed industries. The faba bean itself also plays a key role in sustainable agriculture, as pulses require no nitrogen fertiliser and enhance the soil quality for future crops. BENEO’s faba beans are grown in Germany, in close proximity to the production plant, and are REDCert2 certified, which is equivalent to the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) from SAI at the highest “Gold” level.
At the inauguration event, Niels E. Hower, Member of BENEO’s Executive Board, emphasised the combination of tradition and innovation at the Obrigheim site: “What began more than 30 years ago with the processing of beet sugar into ingredients with added health benefits is now being continued at the new plant. The faba bean is a legume with a long history. Here in Obrigheim, we will process it into high-quality, plant-based ingredients that will contribute to future-proofed nutrition.”
“Feeding a steadily growing world population in a sustainable way is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges of our generation,” said Dr. Niels Pörksen, CEO of the Südzucker Group. “The Südzucker Group pursues the vision of contributing to a healthy and sustainable world worth living in – and one of the many ways we are doing this is by investing in the expansion of our plant-based protein division. Today is therefore an important milestone for us.”
Sustainability remains a priority for many producers in the petfood, livestock, and aquafeed sectors, with a number of companies committing to clear environmental targets. With more than half of pet owners considering plant-based proteins to be better for the environment, demand has grown for sustainable and locally sourced vegetal protein ingredients within this and the wider animal nutrition industry. In parallel, the availability of certain conventional ingredients has become less reliable. This has led manufacturers to broaden their ingredient portfolios, creating increasing interest in alternative sources of protein, starch, and fibre that offer both nutritional value and supply chain resilience.
With the expansion of the site, BENEO is expected to be able to meet this increased demand while supporting its sustainability goals through the full valorization of its faba bean raw material. By producing a protein concentrate, starch-rich flour, and hulls, BENEO explains it is supporting waste reduction and circularity goals, while also providing consistent, high-quality ingredients for petfood and feed manufacturers.
