Leading food waste recycler, PDM Group, is strengthening its relationship with SARIA Bio-Industries, one of Europe’s leading producers of high quality proteins and fats from animal by-products. Both businesses have committed to expanding the network of food chain by-products recycling solutions, with a particular focus on the ReFood brand, across the UK.

The two companies have signed a deal which sees SARIA acquire a majority stake in the Doncaster-based PDM Group. PDM’s management team is very positive that this investment will enable the company to expand its nationwide portfolio of anaerobic digestion (AD), biomass-to-energy and rendering facilities and look at new business development opportunities.

PDM and SARIA have worked in partnership for a number of years, delivering the UK’s first ReFood AD plant, which officially opened in Doncaster on September 9th 2011. With investment from the German-based SARIA group, PDM will be able to fast-track its plans to create a national network of ReFood plants providing local, secure and sustainable solutions for food waste.

Andrew Smith, chief executive of PDM, comments: “We’re delighted to have strengthened our relationship with SARIA. Our two businesses complement each other, and the shared expertise means we have the potential to develop an industry-leading offer to food chain waste management. As a result, PDM will continue to set the benchmark in how to maximise food chain by-products as a resource and help the UK eradicate food waste from landfill by leading the sector in providing the infrastructure, capacity and demand for recycling across the food chain.”

Franz-Bernhard Thier, member of the board of SARIA and director of PDM adds: “As a result of this cooperation we are able to share knowledge and technology to produce new products from animal by-products and commercial food waste in an effective and efficient manner.”

To find out more about PDM, visit www.pdm-group.co.uk or www.refood.co.uk

Notes to editor

PDM

• To find out more about ReFood’s food waste recycling and collection service visit www.refood.co.uk
• PDM Group has a long tradition of providing quality services to each sector of the food supply chain.
• For more than 80 years, the family-run company has been the UK’s largest processor of meat and poultry by-products and has diversified its offering into food processing; pet food ingredient manufacturing; renewable energy generation and recycling of food waste and used cooking oil.

SARIA

• Headquartered in Selm, Germany, SARIA Bio-Industries (www.saria.com) is an international manufacturer of quality products for human consumption, animal nutrition, agriculture, aquaculture, and industrial applications.
• The company focuses on producing high-quality proteins and fats from animal by-products. SARIA is also active in the renewable energy sector (biodiesel and biogas) and is a significant provider of services to the agriculture and food industries.
• Some 4,000 people work for the SARIA Group in ten European countries.