Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle PLC announced the establishment of a joint venture with Gemacom Tech Indústria e Comércio S.A. (“Gemacom Tech”) through the acquisition by Tate & Lyle of a majority equity interest in Gemacom Tech. 

Founded in 1990, Gemacom Tech is the leading domestically-owned Food Systems business in Brazil, operating from two blending facilities and laboratories in the state of Minas Gerais, about 200km north of Rio de Janeiro. Gemacom Tech provides stabilizer systems and ingredient blends for customers across Brazil and some other South American countries, predominantly in the dairy category.

The transaction to establish the new joint venture, which will be known as Tate & Lyle Gemacom Tech, was completed on 4 December 2014. Tate & Lyle has an option to acquire the remaining equity interest in Gemacom Tech at a later stage. Gemacom Tech has annual sales of around US$30 million.

Joan Braca, President, Speciality Food Ingredients, Tate & Lyle said: “The combination of Tate & Lyle’s global blending capabilities and recipe know-how with Gemacom Tech’s strong local expertise and infrastructure provides us with an excellent platform on which to grow our Food Systems business in Brazil and across South America.”

Henrique de Castro Neves, General Manager, Gemacom Tech, who will also be General Manager of Tate & Lyle Gemacom Tech said: “Tate & Lyle and Gemacom Tech are two highly complementary businesses with the same focus on quality and customer service. Together, we will be able to offer our customers a significantly enhanced range of products and technical expertise”.

Naturex
Naturex is strengthening its position in Latin America in response to growing local demand for natural ingredients. Following the January 2014 acquisition of Chile Botanics and its factory in Linares, the group is now opening a sales office in Santiago, Chile.

The Chilean branch provides current and future customers with the full product portfolio and the latest innovations from Naturex, combined with exceptional local service. Part of a network of three sales offices and two factories in Latin America, the Chilean office is fully in line with the group’s expansion strategy in emerging markets. Guillaume Levade, Sales Director – Latin America is heading the sales office, which will support the development of three strategic markets: food & beverage, dietary supplements & pharmaceuticals, as well as cosmetics. Chilean customers will benefit from Naturex’s manufacturing expertise and global and local capabilities.

Chile is a very dynamic country with one of the highest GDPs per capita within the Latin America region. “This indicator confirms the potential of the country. Combined with the fact that Chile has the most free-trade agreements in the world, we think there is an exceptional opportunity for Naturex to grow our business in this country and facilitate the development of our presence in neighboring countries,” said Levade. The Latin American market remains a top priority for Naturex and the company continues to invest in the area in order strengthen ties to its customers.

The richness of Chile’s natural environment also offers an opportunity for Naturex. The company sources Quillaja saponaria, a native tree rich in saponins from the Chilean forest. Sustainably harvested in partnership with local authorities, the wood is extracted to obtain quillaia extracts with different levels of purity. These specific extracts address different markets according to their final applications by either reinforcing natural foaming in beverages or by acting as a natural emulsifier in flavor or color emulsions and beverages.