On the sidewalk of the rue de Monceau in Paris, a stationary cement mixer and a few construction cones signal that the work at Avril HQ is gradually coming to an end. Already, the elevated building and its bright atrium accommodate 400 employees out of more than 7,000: general management, legal and financial services, human resources, etc., as well as teams from Lesieur and Sofiprotéol, the financial player of the group. Impossible to contain in a Parisian building this giant of the food industry, which likes nothing more than pressing sunflower seeds, rapeseed and soya, in order to extract oil intended for cooking (Lesieur, Isio 4…), animals (Sanders), vehicles (Oleo 100 biofuel…) and chemists.
Everything is out of the ordinary with this strong man who is celebrating his 40th birthday this year, including his birth, marked with the seal of sovereignty. Little rewind. In 1973, after an exceptional drought, the United States decreed an embargo on soybean exports to Europe. Frightened, France finds itself addicted to proteins made in the US, vital for livestock. In consultation with the State, oilseed and protein crop growers fought back in 1983, with the creation of the Sofiprotéol financial fund, to take control of production, from the seed to the factory. It is a success. The oil “bank” is now a subsidiary of Avril, capable of mobilizing up to 100 million euros per year in genetics, seeds, ingredients and even cosmetics.
For its part, the parent company is in 5th place in the French food industry, with 73 industrial sites in Europe, Africa and the American continent, and a turnover of 7 billion euros in 2021. After a year of war between Russia and Ukraine, the main sunflower-producing countries, sovereignty remains more than ever an obsession for general manager Jean-Philippe Puig. At the age of 62, including a good ten years at the helm of this partnership limited by shares, this engineer works in concert with 120,000 partner farmers: “This spring, 900,000 hectares should be sown in sunflower. This will make it possible to harvest the 300,000 tons that were missing last year to be totally autonomous.”
Inflation does not spare the giant
For the consumer, it is the assurance that Lesieur will remain made from 100% local seeds. Securing supplies also requires relaunching the cultivation of lentils, chickpeas and Camargue rice under the Vivien Paille brand, acquired from the Soufflet group in 2022. A nice move at a time when plants, considered beneficial for health and the planet, vampirizes the menus of flexitarians.
Iso 4, Puget, Costa d’Oro oils, Italians do it better sauces: Avril’s kitchen is filling up with acquisitions. Nevertheless, inflation does not spare the giant, which is currently fighting to adjust the prices upwards: “Negotiations with large retailers remain difficult, denounces Jean-Philippe Puig. Even if the Egalim law has put order and transparency in business relations, the pressure is mounting.”
And the calves, cows, pigs, in all this? For lack of a buyer, the group ceased the activity of Matines last June, after years of difficulty. The vagaries of egg prices, the need to invest in open-air farms and avian flu have weighed on the profitability of poultry farmers. Only the Sarthois group LDC, the leader with Loué chickens, wanted to buy the Matines brand, as well as Ovoteam, a specialist in egg-based products for restaurants and bakeries. A year earlier, Avril had also separated from Abera, a pig slaughtering company, sold to the Bigard group.
“No question of disengaging from Sanders”
“Inevitably, the world of livestock is wondering about the fate of Sanders, a company of the Avril group, number 1 in animal nutrition, observes Xavier Hollandts, professor at Kedge BS, specialist in agricultural strategies. There are two possibilities: to curb investments or looking for a buyer. But who could buy, given the issues of dominant positions and food independence?
In fact, Sanders finds himself trapped in the livestock crisis. Soaring agricultural raw material and energy costs, as well as the latest drought, are discouraging livestock keepers. Some sell the cattle, others go out of business or retire without a successor. Despite financial support from the state, volume sales of pellets in France plunged by nearly 6% at the start of 2022.
Aware of this slow decline, InVivo, France’s leading cooperative group, has already taken its toll by selling its livestock feed branch to the American ADM. Quite a symbol. “There is no question of disengaging from Sanders, slice Jean-Philippe Puig, who released 6 million euros in aid to breeders in September. We are maintaining our mission with farmers with the desire to consolidate this activity.” Ensure sovereignty again and again.
Green chemistry, this Eldorado
Under these conditions, the growth relays are on the border between agriculture and chemicals. First in biofuels, a field cleared by Avril in the 1990s with Diester obtained from “crushed” rapeseed and sunflower seeds, and a heavy industrial process. Having become the French leader in biodiesel at the pump, the Saipol subsidiary moved upmarket in 2018 with Oleo100, made from 100% rapeseed of French origin. Bad luck: motorists are turning away from diesel. Avril then took a decisive turn by targeting trucks, buses and construction machinery, as well as trains. For two years, passengers on the Paris-Granville line have been traveling thanks to rapeseed, without suspecting that the yellow flower avoids – on its very small scale – digging into the trade balance.
Far from the bucolic image, political leaders, industrialists and NGOs have been torn apart for decades on the question of biofuels. Clara Jamart, head of agriculture and forestry campaigns for Greenpeace, does not budge: “There is not enough arable land in the world for crops intended for agrofuels. Moreover, the impact on the climate and the biodiversity turns out to be negative.” Right in her boots, Avril replies that “Oleon 100 reduces CO2 emissions by at least 60% compared to diesel of fossil origin”. And paves his way to an even more lucrative activity: green chemistry. Fatty acids from rapeseed oil replace palm oil and animal fats in detergents. Even more surprisingly, the Evertree subsidiary uses rapeseed protein to manufacture plant-based glues for furniture. Paint, inks, lubricants, foams for seats… countless applications remain to be discovered, provided you invest. In September, Avril raised 1.18 billion euros from a consortium of a dozen banks (BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Crédit Mutuel, La Banque Postale, etc.). Special feature of the transaction: these new resources are indexed to the achievement of climate-related objectives, in particular the 30% reduction in the group’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“This operation provides visibility on funding for the next seven years to modernize tools and accelerate external growth in all our business sectors, anticipates the CEO. Avril is already investing 60 million euros in the modernization of the Saipol biofuels plant in Sète.”
In addition to deep pockets, the giant Avril has a long arm. Its influence goes beyond the economic sphere. Its current president Arnaud Rousseau, 49, is currently the only candidate to succeed Christiane Lambert at the head of the agricultural union FNSEA. His election in April should go off without a hitch. The farmer from Seine-et-Marne, who did not wish to speak, could retain his functions at the summit of Avril and the federation. In 2015, the late Xavier Beulin raised a lively controversy by wearing this double hat. It is well known: history does not repeat itself, it stutters.