Zuckerfabrik Anklam

Zuckerfabrik Anklam is a sugar beet processing plant in Anklam, in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1883 as the joint-stock company Pommersche Zuckerfabrik Anklam, it is the only remaining sugar factory in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and one of the most modern sugar factories in Europe. Since 2009 it has been part of the Dutch cooperative group Royal Cosun, operating under the Cosun Beet Company umbrella (formerly Suiker Unie). The plant processes sugar beet into food sugar, bioethanol, biomethane and animal feed. Its beet catchment area stretches from the Polish border in the east to around Rostock in the west, and from the island of Rügen in the north to the Uckermark in the south, covering roughly 22,600 hectares of beet-growing land. The factory works with around 380 agricultural holdings under multi-year contracts, coordinated through the Anklamer Anbauerverband für Zuckerrüben (AVZ e.V.). Zuckerfabrik Anklam has diversified beyond sugar. A bioethanol plant began operation in 2008 with a capacity of 56 million litres, and since 2012 the site has also produced biogas; in 2013 a new facility for producing bio-methane from beet pulp was commissioned, described as unique in Germany for a sugar factory. The company aims to process around 1.6–1.7 million tonnes of sugar beet per season, with 50–60% used for food sugar and the remainder as feedstock for biofuel. As part of Cosun Beet Company, the Anklam site contributes to the group's "Bright Beet Solutions" strategy, which seeks to valorise every component of the sugar beet and support a circular agricultural economy. The German operation is embedded in a larger international agro-food cooperative that traces its roots back 125 years and today involves around 8,000 beet farmers and 850 employees.

Zuckerfabrik Anklam was founded on 31 January 1883 as the joint-stock company Pommersche Zuckerfabrik Anklam. Sugar beet was delivered by ship via a purpose-built branch canal from the Peene river and via a dedicated factory railway connection. The factory was expanded in several stages over the following decades. Towards the end of the Second World War the plant was heavily damaged and could not produce for two years. During this period it was rebuilt, converted into a state-owned enterprise (Volkseigener Betrieb), and between 1948 and 1949 converted into a white sugar factory. From 1984 the operation was known as VEB Zuckerfabrik "Fritz Reuter" Anklam, part of the VE Kombinat Zucker Halle. In 1991 the VEB was privatised and sold to the Danish food group Danisco, which took it over from the Treuhandanstalt on 1 May 1991 together with seven other sugar factories in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg. Extensive modernisation and expansion followed. Danisco invested around 180 million euros in the expansion of Zuckerfabrik Anklam in 1992 and 1994, making it one of the most modern sugar factories in Europe. The sugar factories in Barth, Demmin, Friedland, Jarmen, Prenzlau, Stralsund and Tessin were closed. In 2007 the foundation stone was laid for a bioethanol plant of ABE (Anklam Bioethanol GmbH), which began bioethanol production in 2008 with a capacity of 56 million litres; the investment amounted to nearly 25 million euros. Since then the factory has had a second pillar in renewable energy production. Biogas production was added from 2012, with a planned investment of 16 million euros. When Danisco sold its sugar division to Nordzucker in 2008, the German Federal Cartel Office required that Zuckerfabrik Anklam first be sold to another buyer. As a result, it was sold to Suiker Unie, a subsidiary of Royal Cosun, in early 2009. Since 2 March 2009 Zuckerfabrik Anklam and its subsidiary Anklam Bioethanol GmbH (ABE) have been part of the Dutch group Royal Cosun U.A. Suiker Unie also included two sugar factories in the Netherlands. In summer 2013 the factory commissioned a new facility for producing bio-methane from beet pulp, described as unique in Germany for a sugar factory. At the end of August 2015, the discharge of bio-ethanol into the Peene river adjacent to the factory caused a massive fish kill over several kilometres. On 31 August 2016 Anklam Bioethanol GmbH was merged into Suiker Unie GmbH & Co. KG, so that Suiker Unie GmbH & Co. KG – Zuckerfabrik Anklam again operated as a single company with the bioethanol and biomethane side operations. On 2 July 2020 Suiker Unie GmbH & Co. KG announced its new strategy and new name: Cosun Beet Company GmbH & Co. KG. Today the factory receives beet from a growing area stretching from the Polish border in the east to around Rostock in the west, and from the island of Rügen in the north to the Uckermark in the south. The beet-growing area is about 22,600 hectares, and the sugar yield has more than doubled since 1991. The factory has an EU sugar quota of just under 112,000 tonnes of white sugar, about 4% of the total German sugar quota. On the basis of the quota and the beet volume grown in individual areas, multi-year contracts for a defined beet quantity were concluded with around 380 agricultural holdings. Since the previous restriction on marketing food sugar within and outside the EU was lifted in 2017, the factory expanded its capacities. The cultivation rules are set out in an agreement with the Anklamer Anbauerverband für Zuckerrüben (AVZ e.V.), which is the factory's point of contact for all contractual and cultivation matters. Contract cultivation currently covers a delivery volume of about 1.6–1.7 million tonnes of beet, of which 50–60% is used for food sugar production and the rest serves as raw material for biofuel production in the ethanol plant. Settlement is based on the market price, with Cosun Beet Company GmbH & Co. KG additionally guaranteeing a minimum price. Sugar beet is grown on about 10% of the agricultural land in the factory's catchment area, contributing to a diverse crop rotation. Beet cultivation follows integrated pest management (IPS) guidelines and fully meets the SAI sustainability status in gold. The beet harvest lasts from September to mid-November, with part of the beet stored at the field edge until processing. Processing begins at the same time and continues into January of the following year; this roughly 120-day period is called the Rübenkampagne (beet campaign). All beet is transported by contractually bound haulage companies certified for food and feed transport.

• 2020

  Suiker Unie GmbH & Co. KG announces new strategy and new name Cosun Beet Company GmbH & Co. KG on 2 July.

• 2016

  Anklam Bioethanol GmbH merged into Suiker Unie GmbH & Co. KG on 31 August.

• 2015

  Massive fish kill in the Peene river at the end of August after bio-ethanol discharge.

• 2013

  New facility for producing bio-methane from beet pulp commissioned in summer, unique in Germany for a sugar factory.

• 2012

  Biogas production added, with a planned investment of 16 million euros.

• 2009

  Sold to Suiker Unie (Royal Cosun) in early 2009; part of Royal Cosun since 2 March 2009.

• 2008

  Bioethanol production begins with a capacity of 56 million litres; investment of nearly 25 million euros.

• 2007

  Foundation stone laid for the ABE bioethanol plant.

• 1992

  Danisco invests around 180 million euros in expansion (1992 and 1994), making it one of Europe's most modern sugar factories.

• 1991

  Privatised and sold to the Danish food group Danisco on 1 May, together with seven other sugar factories.

• 1984

  Became VEB Zuckerfabrik "Fritz Reuter" Anklam, part of VE Kombinat Zucker Halle.

• 1948

  Rebuilt and converted into a white sugar factory (1948–1949).

• 1945

  Heavily damaged towards the end of the Second World War; no production for two years.

• 1883

  Founded on 31 January as the joint-stock company Pommersche Zuckerfabrik Anklam.

One of Europe's most modern sugar beet processing plants, positioned within Cosun Beet Company's circular-economy "Bright Beet Solutions" strategy.

• White sugar

  Food sugar produced from sugar beet; the factory holds an EU sugar quota of just under 112,000 tonnes of white sugar.

• Bioethanol

  Produced at the ABE plant since 2008 with a capacity of 56 million litres; 40–50% of contracted beet is used as feedstock.

• Biomethane

  Produced from beet pulp since 2013, described as unique in Germany for a sugar factory.

• Animal feed

  Beet pulp and other side streams processed into animal feed.

• Fertiliser

  Products made from side streams, including fertiliser, as part of the circular-economy approach.

1. 1Cosun Beet Companycosunbeetcompany.de
2. 2Über unscosunbeetcompany.de
3. 3Bright Beet Solutions | Cosun Beet Companycosunbeetcompany.de
4. 4Geschichte | Cosun Beet Companycosunbeetcompany.de
5. 5Zuckerfabrik Anklamde.wikipedia.org
6. 6Zuckerfabrik Anklamwikidata.org