AGRANA's Sugar Factories
In the 2007|2008 sugar beet campaign, AGRANA Group's sugar refineries produced 711,080 tonnes of sugar from a total of around 4.6 million tonnes of sugar beet.
Austria
AGRANA's two sugar Austrian refineries, in Leopoldsdorf and Tulln, both in Lower Austria, process up to 13,000 tonnes of sugar beet per day. The sugar produced during the season is stored in sugar silos before being sold on, either packaged or in bulk, over the course of the year.
The Tulln refinery houses the central packing plant for retail products. All of the 26 varieties of sugar marketed in Austria under the Wiener Zucker brand are packed here, automatically stored in a high-bay warehouse and shipped to the retail market. These products account for around 25% of total sugar sales.
The plant in Leopoldsdorf is exclusively involved in the production of sugar for the reprocessing industry (soft drinks, confectionary, other foodstuffs and fermentation). This sugar is shipped either in tankers, big bags or 50kg sacks.
On average, every Austrian consumes between 35kg and 38kg of sugar per year.
Hungary
Magyar Cukor ZRT, AGRANA's Hungarian subsidiary, produces sugar sold under the Koronas Cukor brand in the only remaining Hungarian sugar factory in Kaposvar.
Around half of the sugar sold by AGRANA in Hungary is marketed through the broad Koronas Cukor product range. The remaining sugar is sold to the reprocessing industry. As in other markets, the confectionary and other food industries are among AGRANA's major customers.
Czech Republic
Moravskoslezske Cukrovary a.s., AGRANA's subsidiary in the Czech Republic, processes sugar beet at its two refineries in Hrusovany (near the Austrian border) and Opava (close to the Polish border). The daily processing capacities of the plants are 4,700 tonnes in Hrusovany and 3,300 tonnes in Opava, respectively.
The Czech subsidiary also strategically markets its extensive retail product range under a local brand, Korunni Cukr.
Slovakia
Slovenske Cukrovary s.r.o., AGRANA's subsidiary in Slovakia, processes 2,800 tonnes at its plant in Sered.
AGRANA markets its products in Slovakia under the brand Korunny Cukor. This brand has been successfully promoted since its launch in 2001 and is characterized by a broad range of outstanding quality products.
Romania
S.C. AGRANA Romania S.A. has two refineries. At the Buzau plant, approx. 300km north of Bucharest, only raw sugar is refined. The Roman facility, in the Bucharest metropolitan area, is also equipped to process sugar beet. The processing capacity for sugar beet in Roman amounts to around 4,000 tonnes per day, with both refineries able to process around 900 tonnes of raw sugar per day.
Retail products in small pack sizes make up a key share of the Rumanian market. AGRANA is the market leader in this segment with its Margaritar Zahar brand.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Southern Europe and, in particular, the countries in the west of the Balkan region, are important markets for AGRANA. The new sugar market regulations have blocked sugar exports from the European Union. In order to be able to continue supplying the Balkan region, AGRANA has set up a 50:50 joint venture with its long-standing distribution partner SCO Studen & Co Holding | Vienna to build a raw sugar refinery in Brcko, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The refinery was commissioned in June 2008 . The production capacity of this refinery amounts to 150,000 tonnes of sugar per year.