Last year Duynie Group gained a foothold in France by acquiring a local feed company based in the Alsace region in the Northeast. This region hosts many livestock farmers and is therefore a promising market.

A new family in France

Briefly: 
<ul>
<li>In 2020 Duynie Group acquired a feed company in France </li>
<li>Involving our new colleagues was challenging due to Covid-19 </li>
<li>Offering innovative feeding solutions in France gives opportunities towards the future</li>
</ul>

Cross border opportunities
The managing director of the acquired company - Olivier Guisnet - now leads Duynie Feed France. “We have joined an innovative family of businesses with whom we share the entrepreneurial value as we are also specialised in maximising the value from co-products”, he says. “This allows us to benefit from the European organisation of Duynie Group, sharing insights and opportunities, especially in France and in bordering regions in Germany and Belgium. For this we already organised several meetings with the sales teams in these countries.”

After the announcement of the acquisition in April 2020, the company was renamed as <a href="http://www.duynie.fr" title="Duynie France website">Duynie Feed France</a> in October 2020. Integration into the Duynie Group happened against the backdrop of the pandemic. “This was surely challenging”, Olivier says. “Our contact with our new family members was mostly online, which is not easy due to the difference in language. Due to covid-19 Dutch IT-managers had difficulties travelling to France, but now we are fully aligned with the Duynie Group domain and ready for the future. We share all values of Duynie Group. At Duynie Feed France we are passionate about growing our sustainable business by being a reliable partner for our suppliers and customers.”

Integration during the pandemic

Olivier recognises the innovative value of Duynie Group. He expects a lot of moist compound feed from co-products, which is an innovation in France. “It is unknown over here and will help our suppliers and customers reducing their environmental footprint. We can also expand the range of co-products we process. Besides brewers spent grains we can considerably increase the volume of potato steam peels, now we are part of Duynie Group.” Olivier also refers to tools developed by Duynie Group that now become available to French farmers. “Special apps allowing these farmers to order products and find and share relevant information”, he says. “As a new family member we know that we can offer many interesting new options to our suppliers and customers.”

New options for French farmers

Other cases:

The cooperation between Duynie Group and Muntons, a UK-based manufacturer and distributor of malt-based foods and ingredients, has a long history. It started over two decades ago, when the concept of co-products as a source of value was unknown.

Old friends find new opportunities

How to drive efficiency when the availability of co-products is uncertain? Every day Cornel van Gelderen, manager logistics of Duynie Group, faces the challenge of predicting the unpredictable. Cornel’s team uses advanced planning software, which optimises the sustainable logistics performance.

Predicting the unpredictable

The co-product of brewing beer – brewers spent grain - is rich in fibre, protein and several other interesting components. The last decades it has mainly been used for animal feed and to limited extend as biomass for renewable energy. A lot of potential from this co-product is still unlocked.