Greenfield soy milk factory now in operation

French beverage producer LSDH Group’s new greenfield soy plant in Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel, France, is now fully operational. The facility uses pulse storage and processing technology from Bühler for the dry processing section. The cleaning and dehulling process line has an output capacity of 3 tons per hour while the soybean storage capacity is 240 tons.

Plant-based beverages, such as soy, oat and almond drinks, have gained traction in recent years due to increasing consumer demand. The global soy beverage (milk) market alone is predicted to reach a revenue of around AU$17.6 billion by 2031.

This greenfield soy plant is part of Atelier INOVé, a new industrial facility owned by LSDH in partnership with finance company Sofiprotéol. Approximately AU$52m has been invested in the facility in order to meet the company’s ambition to be a key player in the plant-based beverage ingredient market in France.

Bühler supplied the complete cleaning section including its MTRB separator, the MTSC destoner, the SORTEX A optical sorter, the OTW fluid-bed heat-exchanger, the MHSA dehuller, the MOZJ dampener, several aspiration channels and all the process auxiliaries such as mechanical conveyors and pneumatic lines.

Frederic Bobineau, Sales Manager at Bühler Group, said: “The installed plant is specific for soy processing; however, there is space for installing additional processing lines for other raw materials, such as oat flour and oat flakes, and we have the technology.” This future expansion is in line with LSDH’s plans.

Initially established as a dairy company, the French family business employs 2000 people in its two business areas: liquid and vegetable. Salads and aromatic herbs are packaged in the two production sites of the vegetable business area. The five sites of the liquid business area are in charge of the production and packaging of various beverages and liquid foods. Atelier INOVé, where the Bühler-equipped soy plant is located, is part of the company’s recently opened innovation ecosystem.

LSDH has also been prioritising the close cooperation with local farmers for the supply of agricultural raw materials, supporting the local communities and reducing, when possible, the overall environmental footprint, therefore creating a positive impact throughout the value chain, from the field to the finished product.

“We have been carrying out many trials with farmers in the region to have local production of soy and oats — it is more complicated for rice,” said Thibaud Bombart, Project Manager within LSDH Group. “Developing the supply chain and being able to control the entire chain, from supply to the finished product, is important to LSDH, especially because we work with distributors and want to be able to offer them local soy ingredients that can be used in their products such as plant-based yoghurts, ice creams and cheeses.”

The 9000 m² plant started production early this year with a capacity of 100 million litres of plant-based beverages per year. It will also produce raw juices for the food industry and finished products (fresh juice and long-life juice) for mass distribution.

“We have now installed the line for the processing of soybean, but we do not intend to stop there. Besides soy there are many other ingredients, such as quinoa, spelt, buckwheat, barley and sunflower, that can be used for plant-based beverages, and we want to find the best way to produce them, especially those with high levels of protein. For that, we count on Bühler’s expertise and technology going forward,” Bombart said.