At a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local authorities and customers, Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients for Food, Nutrition and Health markets, unveiled a state-of-the-art maize starch dryer at its plant in Viramgam (India).

Commissioned in 1994, the site in Viramgam initially had the capacity to process 75 tons of maize per day. Since then, Roquette has embarked on a journey of improving its skills through technological investments, enabling it to quadruple its manufacturing capacity in support of its customers.

With this capability advancement, Roquette wants to continue strengthening its added value to its customers, in particular in terms of quality. It is also an opportunity for the Group to further develop its activity on the important Indian market, - which is at the heart of its growth strategy in Asia-, and to reinforce its commitment to the local communities.

Strong and sustainable growth in India
Since its establishment in India, Roquette has been working to develop partnerships with farmers' organizations for a win-win working dynamic that will ensure quality and excellence of its maize supply. The unit in Viramgam has a Zero Liquid Discharge facility and an advanced water treatment technology solution for purifying and recycling water from the plant. The plant also aims at minimizing its environmental impact on a daily basis by improving its energy efficiency.

As Rohit Markan, Managing Director of Roquette in India explains, all these actions are very much in line with the sustainable development commitments of the Group: "At Roquette, we have four pillars to meet our commitment to sustainable development: Sourcing, Innovating, Biorefining and Acting sustainably. In the Indian context, we have a long-term view of our investments, whether in technological advancements or improvements of our assets, including aspects related to human development. As a result, we felt it was important to contribute to the region's ecosystem by boosting our ability to support our customers and creating job opportunities. We currently employ 500 permanent and contract workers at our site in Viramgam. Roquette will also continue to partner with the local community to develop community improvement initiatives through a lasting relationship."

For Roquette India, the year 2018 was decisive and marked by several milestones that proved its desire to expand in the country. The Group's manufacturing footprint has grown significantly with the addition of a plant in Ahmedabad producing caramel colors and a site in Nellore that has strengthened its position as a major supplier to the pharmaceutical market and a world leader in high quality pharmaceutical excipients.

Rohit Markan explains: "The relocation of our country head office in Mumbai was a strategic decision allowing Roquette to better serve its customers across the country and to be better positioned to explore investment opportunities that fit with our strategic intent to grow our business in India. We have access to academic and research institutes in which the creation of partnerships and participation in this knowledge ecosystem will contribute to the development of new customized solutions. All these elements are part of the long-term plan to ensure our competitiveness in India as we bring our global innovations and adapt them to local consumers’ needs."

In 2019, the legal entity name change of Roquette India Private Limited came into effect as certified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It is a solid demonstration of the Group's commitment to further develop its activities and investments in India.

Media contacts:
Roquette Corporate
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Roquette Greater Asia
Carolyn Lo
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