Bühler & Hosokawa Join Hands on Sustainable Proteins

Swiss Bühler Group and Hosokawa Alpine Group from Germany have nodded upon a strategic partnership agreement to expedite and reinforce the production of healthier and sustainable plant protein solutions. Collectively, the companies will bestow customers with the most efficacious value chain for pulses being processed into protein ingredients.

As the forefront solution provider in pulses processing, the company provides solutions for the intake, cleaning, de-hulling and grinding of pulses, and further food processing with its extrusion technology, which texturizes plant-based proteins into products with fibrous texture same as that of meat. The company boosts the production process by introducing its leading technology for the dry separation of pulses protein: fine grinding and air classification. The amalgamation of upstream pulses process and process for size reduction and categorization produces the highest yields of high value protein concentrates.

At the end, with this collaboration the companies will be able to provide customers process technology and expertise along the complete field-to-fork pulses protein chain.

Johannes Wick, CEO of Bühler Grains & Food stated- “Hosokawa Alpine will be our preferred partner for integrated solutions for our customers that are processing sustainable proteins. Thanks to their vast expertise in protein extraction, we can now cover the entire value chain for plant-based protein – from any kind of pulses to dry extrudates ready for consumption.”

Dr Antonio Fernández, chairman of the executive board at Hosokawa Alpine asserted- “By working with Bühler, we can fully realize the potential of the value chain. With our combined technologies, we meet the market requirements in the best possible way and drive developments in the process chain forward.”

The strategic partnership will strengthen the innovation and development capacities of both companies. The market for sustainable proteins has been growing significantly over the last years, fuelled by end consumers demanding more sustainable proteins. “With this cooperation, we can address customer needs from the harvest to the final product. We operate in an integrated and collaborative way to ensure a seamless experience for our customers. This starts with our application centers in Uzwil, Switzerland, and the brand-new Food Application Center in Minneapolis, US, created to develop new methods of transforming pulses and grains into tasty new food solutions. They are complemented by Hosokawa Alpine’s facilities in Augsburg, Germany, all of them being available for customer trials. Our collaboration goes through to commissioning and services ensuring high-quality outputs for our customers,” informed Andreas Risch, Head of Special Grains & Pulses at Bühler.

Apart from this most recent partnership agreement, the companies have been working as a team in various projects and industries since the 1980s. This led the two associated to the conclusion that their strong customer focus and creativity power make for a robust fit for the sustainable protein segment. Apart from this collaboration agreement, both companies will carry on marketing their solutions independently through their own existing distribution channels.

Peas, lentils, chickpeas, and many other dry beans are highly enriched with proteins, vitamins, and minerals, which makes them a superb substitute for meat. Pulses sit at the apex of the list when it comes to providing a growing global population with plant protein. Their cultivation is more resource efficient as compared to most animal protein sources, with a positive influence on sustainability.