Beet sugar and sugar specialties for food, pharma, fermentation and non-food – produced in sugar factories across Europe.
Südzucker AG
Mannheim · Rain/Lech · Zeitz · Wabern · Obrigheim/Pfalz (Offstein Plant) · Offenau · Plattling · Ochsenfurt · Roye · Étrépagny · Tienen · Merksem · Oostkamp · Wanze · Wijchen · Polska Cerekiew ·New on Amplifa
About Südzucker
Südzucker AG, headquartered in Mannheim, is a European producer of beet sugar and sugar specialties for industrial processing. The sugar division produces crystalline sugar in various quality grades, organic sugar, cane sugar, rock candy, nib and powdered sugar, fondants, icings, liquid sugar, invert sugar as well as glucose and glucose-fructose syrups. A sucrose-based pharmaceutical excipient (COMPRI®) complements the portfolio; by-products such as molasses, beet pulp and BeetKraft® (fibre material for paper and packaging) are marketed as co-products. The value chain ranges from beet cultivation with farmers through processing in over 20 sugar factories in Germany, France, Belgium, Poland and Moldova to logistics with an own fleet of more than 100 silo and tank vehicles. In research centres in Germany, Austria and Belgium, the company offers recipe development, pilot production, sensory testing and analysis. Customers include the bakery, chocolate, confectionery and beverage industries, dairies, pharmaceutical suppliers, fermentation, animal nutrition as well as paper and packaging.
- Site
- Mannheim
- Processes
- Beet sugar production (sugar factories in DE, FR, BE, PL, MD), Glucose syrup production, Production of fondants, icings & icings sugar, Fermentation & biotechnology (enzymatic processes), Bioethanol production, Wheat starch production, BeetKraft® fibre material for paper & packaging, Anaerobic methane fermentation (biogas)
- Materials
- Beet sugar (White/Extra White/Higher Grade), Organic beet sugar, Cane sugar, Rock candy sugar / rock candy powder, Nib sugar (Nib/Pearl Sugar), Powdered sugar (Icing Sugar), Brown sugar / Cassonade, Fondant / Icings
- Certificates
- BRC, GMP+ FSA 2020, Organic (SKAL), Organic (Lacon), Bioland, BioSuisse, ECO PL, ECOCERT, ISO 9001, IFS 6, Organic Certification (SKAL/Lacon/Bioland/BioSuisse/ECOCERT/ECO PL)
- Founded
- 1837
- Industries
- Food and Beverages (bakery, chocolate, confectionery, beverages), Pharma, Fermentation / Non-Food, Animal Nutrition / Feed, Paper and Packaging (BeetKraft®)
- 01
Beet cultivation with contract farmers
- 02
Beet reception and transport
- 03
Sugar factory processing (extraction, purification, crystallisation)
- 04
Refining into sugar specialties (fondants, syrups, agglomerates)
- 05
Packaging (bulk and packaged goods)
- 06
Logistics with own silo/tank vehicle fleet and external warehouses
Products and Processes
Beet sugar (White/Extra White/Higher Grade)
Crystalline standard sugar for food and beverage applications in different purity grades.
Organic beet sugar
From organic farming, certified according to Bioland, BioSuisse, ECOCERT and others.
Liquid sugar / invert sugar
Liquid sweeteners for beverages, bakery products and fruit preparations.
Glucose / glucose-fructose syrup
Syrups with technological properties for texture, colour and shelf life, e.g. in the industrial bakery sector.
Fondant / Icings
Ready-to-use fondants and icings for confectionery, chocolate fillings and decoration, also sugar-reduced.
COMPRI® (Ph. Eur. compliant)
Sucrose-based pharmaceutical excipient for pharma and life-science applications.
BeetKraft®
Sugar beet fibre material that can replace up to 40% of wood fibre in paper and packaging formulations.
Animal feed (molasses, beet pulp, wheat bran)
Pelleted and liquid co-products for animal nutrition.
Bioethanol / wheat starch
Non-food products made from sugar and wheat produced at the Zeitz site.
Products and Applications
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beet sugar production (sugar factories in DE, FR, BE, PL, MD)Engineering | – | – | – | 500 t batch (Strzelin) | Sugar beet, Beet sugar |
| Glucose syrup productionPlastics | – | – | – | – | Glucose syrup, Glucose-fructose syrup, Hydrolysates |
| Production of fondants, icings & icings sugarPlastics | – | – | – | Laboratory scale – Industrial scale | Fondant, Icing Sugar, Icings |
| Fermentation & biotechnology (enzymatic processes)Plastics | – | – | – | – | Sugar, Carbohydrates |
| Bioethanol productionEngineering | – | – | – | – | Sugar, Starch |
| Wheat starch productionEngineering | – | – | – | – | Wheat |
| BeetKraft® fibre material for paper & packagingEngineering | – | – | – | – | Dried beet pulp (sugar beet fibre), NBSK/SBSK wood fibre |
| Anaerobic methane fermentation (biogas)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Beet pulp, Plant by-products |
| R&D / pilot production / sensory testing / recipe development (application technology)Engineering | – | – | – | Laboratory scale – several cubic metres (syrups) | Sugar, Sugar specialties, Glucose syrup, Fondant |
| Packaging (bulk & packaged goods)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Sugar, Sugar specialties |
| Agglomeration (dry mixes with free-flowing properties)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Icing Sugar, Preserving Sugar, Powdered sugar |
| Logistics (silo/tank vehicles, intermodal transport)Assembly | – | – | – | – | Sugar, Sugar specialties |
7 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar factory | Südzucker AG | 20+ plants | – | – | Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Moldova |
| Biogas plant | Südzucker Polska S.A. | 1 | Total capacity 50 MW; >9,000 m³ biogas/h | 2025 | Strzelin, Poland |
| Wheat starch factory | Südzucker AG | 1 | – | 2016 | Zeitz, Germany |
| Bioethanol plant | CropEnergies (Südzucker) | 1 | – | 2005 | Zeitz, Germany |
| Lab and pilot plants for process/product development | Südzucker | – | Laboratory scale up to several m³ (syrups) | – | Research centres Germany, Austria, Belgium |
| Specialty sugar development laboratory / fondant production | Raffinerie Tirlemontoise | 1 | – | – | Oostkamp, Belgium |
| Silo and tank vehicles (own fleet) | Südzucker | >100 | – | – | Germany |
Additional services
Quality and Certifications
The production sites are certified according to recognised standards such as BRC, GMP+ FSA 2020, ISO 9001 and IFS 6; organic products carry certificates from, among others, SKAL, Lacon, Bioland, BioSuisse and ECOCERT. Certificate documents can be retrieved via the download centre by document type and production country.
| Evidence | Cerekiew (PL) | Ropczyce (PL) | Oostkamp (BE) | Strzelin (PL) | Swidnica (PL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRC | |||||
| ISO 9001 | |||||
| GMP+ FSA 2020 | |||||
| Organic Certification (SKAL/Lacon/Bioland/BioSuisse/ECOCERT/ECO PL) |
History
- 1837
Foundation of the first sugar production company of the later Südzucker
- 1926
First merger: founding of Süddeutsche Zucker-Aktiengesellschaft (predecessor of Südzucker AG)
- 1951
Foundation of Zuckerfabrik Franken GmbH
- 1988
Second merger: Südzucker Aktiengesellschaft Mannheim/Ochsenfurt
- 1989
Shareholdings in Agrana (Vienna) and Raffinerie Tirlemontoise (Brussels)
- 1991
Foundation of Südzucker GmbH Zeitz (sugar and glucose syrup factory)
- 1996
Start of activities in the Polish sugar industry (today Cukier Krolewski)
- 2001
Acquisition of Saint Louis Sucre, Paris
- 2003
Acquisition of 14 Silesian sugar factories in Poland
- 2005
Start of bioethanol production in Zeitz
- 2006
IPO of subsidiary CropEnergies
- 2012
Shareholding in ED&F Man, UK
- 2014
Brand relaunch (new Südzucker logo)
- 2015
Renaming to Südzucker AG
- 2016
Start of production at the wheat starch plant in Zeitz
- 2018
Partnership with DouxMatok, Israel
- 2022
Joining the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi)
- 2023
Majority stake in Felix Koch Offenbach
- 2024
Launch of BeetKraft® (fibre material for paper and packaging made from sugar beet)
- 2026
100th anniversary of the Südzucker Group; Strzelin produces the first verified CO₂-free beet sugar