Driving sustainability in animal nutrition
Uzwil (Switzerland), June 29, 2022 – Swiss Bühler Group today announces the creation of a joint venture with IMDHER S.A. de C.V., a leading player in the animal nutrition market in Mexico, that will drive process efficiency, quality, and sustainability in the feed industry. Animal protein remains an important part of human nutrition and global meat consumption is rising. It is therefore essential to ensure that the animal protein value chain is as efficient and sustainable as possible. Bühler is committed to reducing the environmental impact of all its customers’ operations. The new company, called IMDHER Bühler, will offer Bühler’s core machines as well as IMDHER’s expertise to IMDHER’s customers, providing solutions that will help them to improve the capacity and efficiency of their operations. IMDHER brings four decades of experience building plants to produce animal feed, including pet food and aqua. The family-owned business is a turnkey supplier to the Mexican feed market, with 20% market share. Bühler is buying a minority stake of 49% in the joint venture. The new company, IMDHER Bühler, will be managed by IMDHER General Manager, Luis Díaz.
Despite recent trends in western societies towards plant-based alternatives, meat consumption globally is rising, largely driven by increasing wealth and growing middle classes. Bühler is committed to ensuring this growth is achieved in a sustainable way. The joint venture with IMDHER is an important step toward that goal.
Expertise in sustainable growth
“We believe that the growth in meat consumption can be achieved while reducing environmental impact. By using the latest and most efficient technologies to reduce waste and energy consumption and to contribute to animal welfare, we provide our support toward meeting the nutritional needs of millions of people in a more sustainable way. With IMDHER, we have a perfect partner to serve the important and growing Mexican market with more efficient solutions and optimize an extensive installed technology base,” says Johannes Wick, CEO of Bühler’s Grains & Food business.
IMDHER is one of the best recognized players in the Mexican animal feed market, specialized in the integral design, manufacture, assembly, construction, and start-up of turnkey plants for the production of nutritious feed for animal consumption for various species. The company has built over 100 feed plants in Mexico and has the experience and capacity to carry out works of high complexity while customizing to the specific needs of its customers.
Bühler offers process solutions and services to transform a wide range of feed ingredients to safe, healthy, and nutritious animal feeds at the highest yields with animal welfare and feed conversion rate in mind. It brings the technology for efficient and hygienic animal feed processing installations, as well as over 150 years of sound processing expertise, which also allow retrofits and improvements on the installed base.
“The joint venture with Bühler represents an opportunity for us to add Bühler’s technology and solutions to our existing assets and therefore to expand the offering to our customers in Mexico’s vibrant and expanding market,” says IMDHER General Manager, Luis Díaz.
Bühler’s expertise in feed solutions will help IMDHER’s customers produce top quality feed while making more economical use of their raw materials and energy, thus improving the CO2 footprint of operations. This is in line with Bühler’s target to have solutions ready to multiply that reduce energy, waste, and water in customers’ value chains in all the markets it addresses by 50% by 2025.
A proven partnership
“The participation has come about as a result of our talks with IMDHER over several years. Our first joint projects are already under way and working well. We will not only install Bühler core machines but also enable IMDHER’s existing installed base to be connected to Bühler Insights, our central platform for connected products and services. This will improve the efficiency of IMDHER plants, and reduce energy consumption and waste,” says Olivia Enriquez, Director General, Bühler Mexico.
Bühler has been present in Mexico since 1959. Today it has a local and dedicated team of 115 employees providing services to customers across the region, as well as Cuba and Central America. Mexico is the sixth biggest producer of animal feed in the world, and is particularly strong in broiler and layer chickens, pigs, and dairy. In addition, the pet and aqua feed markets are currently growing fast.
“With this equity stake, we will be able to combine IMDHER’s and Bühler’s expertise to provide the dynamic animal nutrition market in Mexico with solutions that help them meet their process, efficiency, and sustainability targets. We look forward to working with Luis Díaz and his team and leveraging their skills and experience and ours in this fast-growing market,” says Johannes Wick.
Media contacts:
Burkhard Böndel, Head of Corporate Communications
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 33 99
Mobile: +41 79 515 91 57
E-mail: burkhard.boendel@buhlergroup.com
Dalen Jacomino Panto, Media Relations Manager
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 37 57
Mobile: +41 79 900 53 88
E-mail: dalen.jacomino_panto@buhlergroup.com
Martha Rodriguez, Head of Marketing
Bühler SA de CV, Primero de Mayo No. 1804 Col. Zona Industrial,
Toluca, Estado de México, México CP 50071
Phone: +52 722 262 05 12
Mobile: + 52 722 620 97 86
E-mail: martha.rodriguez@buhlergroup.com
About IMDHER
Family-owned company from Mexico specialized in the integral design, manufacture, assembly, construction and start-up of turnkey plants for the production of feed for animal consumption for various species. With more than 40 years of existence, it was founded in September 1980, IMDHER has the expertise and manpower to design and build complete plants and it is also an original equipment manufacturer.
www.imdher.com.mx
About Bühler
Bühler is driven by its purpose of creating innovations for a better world, balancing the needs of economy, humanity, and nature. As a relevant solution partner for the food and mobility industries, Bühler is committed to have solutions ready to multiply by 2025 at the latest that will reduce energy, waste, and water by 50% in its customers’ value chains. Billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies as they cover their basic needs for food and mobility every day. Two billion people each day enjoy foods produced on Bühler equipment; and one billion people travel in vehicles manufactured using parts produced with Bühler technology. Countless people wear eyeglasses, use smart phones, and read newspapers and magazines – all of which depend on Bühler process technologies and solutions. Having this global relevance, Bühler is in a unique position to turn today’s global challenges into sustainable business. Bühler contributes to safely feeding the world and is doing its part to protect the climate, producing solutions that make cars, buildings, and machinery more energy efficient.
Bühler invests up to 5% of turnover into research and development. In 2021, some 12,500 employees generated a turnover of CHF 2.7 billion. As a Swiss family-owned company, Bühler is active in 140 countries around the world and operates a global network of 103 service stations, 30 manufacturing sites, and Application & Training Centers in 24 countries.
www.buhlergroup.com
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