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THE COMPANY TODAY
Lallemand Inc. is a privately held Canadian company, founded at the end of the 19th century, specializing in the development, production, and marketing of yeasts and bacteria. The company has five major divisions: North American Yeast and Ingredients (based in Memphis, USA), European Yeast and Ingredients (based in Vienna, Austria), Specialty Yeast and Bacteria (based in Toulouse, France), Bio-Ingredients (based in Montreal, Canada) and the British Isles & African Yeast and Ingredients (based in Johannesburg, RSA). Administrative offices for the parent company are in Montreal, Canada.
North American Yeast and Ingredients Division, with headquarters in Memphis, TN, operates through the subsidiaries Lallemand Distribution in Canada, American Yeast Sales in the U.S., and Lallemand Mexico in Mexico. Its yeast plants in Montreal, Baltimore and Memphis and mix plant in Mexico produce fresh, cream and instant dried bakers yeast along with inactive yeasts, specialty yeasts, dough conditioners and baking powders. These products, along with a broad range of other baking ingredients, are marketed mostly through its own sales and distribution organization.
European Yeast and Ingredients Division, with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, produces specialty yeasts, yeast extracts and derivatives and also produces and markets bakers yeast (fresh, cream and instant dried) under renowned brand names from its production, drying and packaging plants in Estonia, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Portugal and its distribution centers in the above mentioned countries as well as in Lithuania, Czech Republic and Spain.
Specialty Yeast and Bacteria Division, with headquarters in Toulouse, France, is a technically-driven business focusing on applications of yeast and bacteria in food, fermented beverages, human and animal nutrition, fuel ethanol and for agricultural (plant care) and pharmaceutical uses. It operates worldwide through a network of subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures. It is organized in Business Units, each dedicated to a field of industry: Oenology, Brewing, Animal Nutrition, Human Nutrition (ingredients, supplements and pharmaceutical products), Ethanol Technology (fuel ethanol and spirits), Specialty Baking Ingredients and Plant Care. The Division has sales offices in several countries and bacteria and ingredients plants in Canada, France, United States, United Kingdom and Finland.
Bio-Ingredients Division with headquarters in Montreal, Canada and sales offices in Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and the USA, offers inactive yeasts, yeast extracts and yeast derivatives worldwide to various food and feed companies for their savory attributes and to the fermentation industries as highly bioavailable nutrients. Its Lake States unit operates a torula yeast plant in Wisconsin USA.
British Isles & African Yeast and Ingredients Division with headquarters in Johannesburg, RSA, was created in 2006 with the acquisition of Rymco, better known as Anchor Yeast, and in 2009 was expanded to include the British Isles following the acquisition of the ex-DSM/ GB yeast production and bakers yeast distribution activities in the UK and Ireland. The division offers bakers yeast as well as specialty yeasts from plants in Felixstowe in the UK, Johannesburg and Durban (SABP) in South Africa and Maputo in Mozambique. SABP also produces in Durban lysine for the South African and world markets.
Other activities and investments of Lallemand include a participation of 50 % in Macco Organiques Inc., which produces specialty salts of organic acids at its plant in Valleyfield, Canada, and in Bruntal, Czech Republic, and exports them throughout the world.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Lallemand conducts its R&D activities not only through internal projects but also in collaboration with many universities and other governmental and private research institutions around the world.
Internal projects are conducted by Lallemand’s own scientists in laboratories and pilot facilities located in Montreal, Canada (incl. at Biotechnology Research Institute), Toulouse, France; Grenå, Denmark; Theix, France (INRA); Tallinn, Estonia (Competence Center at University of Tallinn) and Espoo, Finland.
HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE GROUP
Lallemand was founded in Montreal at the end of the 19th century by a young immigrant from Alsace, Fred “Lallemand”. The
plant on Préfontaine Street was built in 1915, and production
of bakers yeast started there in 1923. Roland Chagnon acquired
the Lallemand business in 1952, and the Chagnon family is still
the current owner.
Lallemand’s bakers yeast activities expanded beyond Canada
in the early 1970’s with exports to the northern US. This was
followed by the acquisition of yeast plants in the US (American
Yeast 1989 and GB USA in 1995) along with their markets including a base in Mexico. A mix plant in Mexico (1997) and a new
yeast plant in Memphis (2003) were added later. Starting in 1993 the company expanded its bakers yeast operations to Europe
and Africa, buying, consolidating and expanding yeast plants
in Estonia, Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, South
Africa, Finland, Denmark, Portugal and the UK.
Lallemand’s specialty yeast activities began during the 1970’s
with the production of distillers’ and wine yeasts. In the early
1980’s, Lallemand established a European branch, followed by
branches in the US, South America, South Africa, Australia and
Asia. Starting in early 2000, a new emphasis was given to the
development of markets and new products related to the beer
and fuel ethanol industries, leading to the acquisition of the
Siebel Institute in Chicago, AB Vickers in Burton-upon-Trent, and
the establishment of the Ethanol Technology business with its
renowned Alcohol School.
In 1985, Lallemand started to market bacteria for the malolactic
fermentation of wines. This led to the 1988 acquisition of a bacteria plant in Aurillac, France, followed by the acquisitions of the
Laporte Biochem plant in Milwaukee, and the Rosell Institute in
Montreal, some 10 years later. Lallemand built a solid research,
production and marketing activity in the bacteria field for human
and animal nutrition, as well as for the pharmaceutical industry.
In 2007 it launched its activities in the plant care sector through
the establishment of a joint venture (ITHEC) in France followed
by the acquisition in 2008 of Verdera in Finland.
All these acquisitions were accompanied by on-going product
innovations and investments in plants to modernize the existing
structures or to transform their priorities.
Today, Lallemand is present through plants, distribution centers
or representation offices on all 5 continents.
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