Fermentis is a business unit of Lesaffre Group, a global key player in yeast and all its applications for over 170 years. This world-leading manufacturer of fermentation and characterization solutions recently unveiled innovative upgrades at major production plant in Ghent (Belgium), allowing the company to deliver significantly improved beer yeast quality and packaging flexibility.
A few years ago, Fermentis inaugurated the Fermentis Campus , a unique hub dedicated to beverage fermentation. Built on a wonderful site in Northern France, just outside Lille, the Fermentis Campus was designed as a hosting hub for everyone involved in beverage fermentation: the Fermentis team, the Fermentis Academy and of course, all our partners and customers throughout the world. The site includes state-of-the-art facilities, especially for applied research and development through the Fermentis Academy program.
With the Fermentis Academy, dedicated to applied research and development as well as education, the site is equipped with the very best installations to explore the fascinating world of beverage fermentation. The technical hall, at the heart of the Campus, includes over 50 different fermentation vessels,including 1hl fermenters and barrels to study all fermentation conditions.
The Fermentis Campus also includes a physicho-chemistry and microbiology lab, designed to study the technical features of the beverages produced on site using our microorganisms, and a sensory lab welcoming trained panels of beverage tasters help us characterize and explore all our product range in a variety of conditions.
Constantly striving for improvement to offer the best to brewers, Fermentis inaugurated new production facilities at Algist Bruggeman yeast factory in Ghent, Belgium. These innovative upgrades at major production plant allows the company to deliver significantly improved beer yeast quality and packaging flexibility.
The developments were designed and built to meet strict quality, traceability and logistical requirements with the goal of improving the microbiological quality of yeast and better servicing Fermentis customers around the world.
Key components of the project include:
- Existing yeast production workshop upgrades.
- New state-of-the-art machinery and dry yeast transport and cleaning equipment.
- Fully cleanable production lines in both humid and dry conditions, to reduce possible cross contamination.
- Additional quality control checks to eliminate any leaks, soft bags or labelling errors including an intelligent camera system.
- A self-storage system featuring robot cells for automatic packaging, transport and intermediate storage.
- Innovative new packaging updates, including easy-to-open features, unique QR codes for improved product traceability, and on-demand customizable secondary label printing to meet market- or customer-specific requirements.
Stéphane Meulemans, General Manager at Fermentis, says, “We are thrilled to see the results of another big investment in our future: a brand-new production line in one of our key factories of the Lesaffre Group. This new facility has allowed us to raise the quality of our yeast to new standards, unheard of in the industry.”
Geert Van Renterghem, General Manager at Algist Bruggeman, says: “A well- functioning team has the power to achieve extraordinary results. And this has been my overwhelming experience with this project. The collaborative spirit is a hallmark for our organization, driving cutting-edge advancements in the quality of our end products, exceptional customer service and responsible resource management. Our commitment to sustainable energy and water use underscores our dedication to protecting and preserving the planet.”