EIB invests €40m in Sodiaal R&D
The transaction is part of the European Strategic Investment Fund (SIEF), also known as the "Juncker Plan".
Sodiaal, the biggest dairy cooperative in France and third biggest in Europe, has 20,000 members and transforms 4.7bn liters of milk annually at 70 industrial sites in France.
It is involved in all segments of the dairy chain: fluid milk, cream, butter, cheese, dairy ingredients and specialized nutrition. The entire R&D program in which the EIB is investing is an €80m ($91m) project over the period 2018-2021.
New center in Rennes
Sodiaal's CEO, Jorge Boucas, said, "This funding illustrates our desire to focus on upgrading our product mix, in line with our #Value strategic transformation plan."
“It will enable us to develop our research and development activities for our European and global markets and will support in particular the development of our new research center located in Rennes, Brittany, in the heart of the Milk Valley."
The cooperative will focus on the areas of infant nutrition, the functionalization of dairy components, processing technologies and new modes of food packaging, while strengthening its cooperation with public and private research institutes.
