Who are Prolein Olatein?
The company is the fruit of an agreement between two businesses, Avril and Royal DSM – a strategic alliance in order to build, in Dieppe, the first industrial site dedicated to the extraction of rapeseed protein as an ingredient for foodstuffs. Avril is a French agri-industrial group, founded in 1983 and specialising in both human and animal foodstuffs, as well as in energy and renewable chemistry. The fourth largest food group in France, it specialises in the transformation of oil grains and other products into human and animal foodstuffs, as well as renewable energy. Royal DSM is a Dutch company, founded in 1902, working across different sectors such as foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, as well as industrial chemicals. World-renowned, it is one of the main suppliers of ingredients, expertise and solutions for the food and drinks industry.
In which sector does the company operate?
Within the agri-food sector, Prolein Olatein is a company producing rapeseed for human consumption, an underused resource. Based on a partnership between Avril and Royal DSM, the two companies share three production units producing rapeseed for the CanolaPro brand.
Why choose Normandy?
The project sprung up on the former Saipol industrial site, an offshoot of the Avril group. This investment breathed new life into the site,
“The project, in line with our commitments, offers a new future for the Dieppe site, while repositioning it in a new growth activity, providing long-term industry.”
As the CEO of Avril, Jean-Philippe Puig explains
Normandy is a region renowned for its agricultural know-how, and its abundance of primary products, which favoured the set-up. The project, supported by the Normandy Regional Council, is in line with trends for more plant-based consumption, and offers greater protein autonomy for France and Europe.
Strong regional assistance:
AD Normandie has been assisting this project, alongside the EU which provided €4m worth of financial assistance. The site has been completely reconverted to house the new industrial units needed to produce the pure protein. In total, 50 jobs have been created with the start of production in 2022, with a further 20 to 30 indirect jobs in Normandy.
What is the future for Prolein Olatein in Normandy?
After 5 years, the objective of the company is that the whole of the 70 000 tonnes of colza grains crushed every year becomes colza protein. The factory, a one-of-a-kind, hopes to make CanolaPRO the next large-scale vegetal protein, and made in Normandy to boot.
While the choice of Normandy was linked to the original Avril site, the major reason was also the strong regional presence in the agri-food sector and the strategic interest of the region to develop future-proof projects and solutions for future generations.
