EANS-News: AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG / AGRANA builds a wheat starch plant at its Pischelsdorf facility - investment volume EUR 56 m Sustainable use of synergies with existing bioethanol plant (with document)

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Wien (euro adhoc) - Over the next two years, AGRANA Bioethanol GmbH will be
investing around EUR 56 m in building a starch factory for the production of
wheat starch and gluten at the site of its bioethanol plant in
Pischelsdorf|Lower Austria. The facility will start operations at the end
of 2013 and boost the workforce at the Pischelsdorf site from the current
level of around 80 to 120.

The plan is for the new facility to process around 250,000 tonnes of wheat to
make 107,000 tonnes of wheat starch and 23,500 tonnes of wheat gluten as well
as 55,000 tonnes of wheat bran. The wheat starch produced at the plant will
largely be employed in technical applications (e.g. in the paper industry).
Wheat gluten is used in the baking sector. It is also used in pet food for cats
and dogs. The bran produced serves as animal feed. Through its production of
wheat starch, AGRANA, which has specialised in the production of corn and
potato starch, will be offering customers an additional starch product and
thereby rounding off its product range in the starch segment.

The construction of the new wheat starch facility at the site of the existing
bioethanol plant will generate important synergies given that raw material
constituents unused in the production of wheat starch and gluten can be used in
the production of bioethanol and the high quality, GMO-free, protein-rich,
animal feed Actiprot.

Positive green-house gas and energy balance of bioethanol production
Over the course of its entire lifecycle, from planting and fertilising the
crop, transport, processing until its use as a fuel in engines, AGRANA
bioethanol reduces emissions of green-house gases compared to petrol by around
50%. As such, AGRANA bioethanol already complies with the minimum requirements
of the EU from 2017 in terms of the reduction in green-house gas emissions from
biogenic fuels compared to fossil fuels. At 1:3, i.e. every unit of energy used
produces three energy units of output, the energy balance of the bioethanol
produced in Lower Austria is very positive. In conjunction with the CO2
recovery plant currently under construction in Pischelsdorf, which will be used
mainly in the production of biogenic carbonic acid for the beverages industry,
representing a classic example of CCU (carbon capturing for use), the new wheat
starch plant is an additional step in the direction of the optimal and
sustainable processing of agrarian raw materials.

"This multi-phase processing of agricultural raw materials is an example of how
AGRANA actually puts the underlying principle of closed-cycle economics into
practice on a daily basis as far as is possible", says Johann Marihart, CEO of
AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG.

About AGRANA
AGRANA is the foremost sugar company in Central and Eastern Europe. It is the
leading supplier of specialised starch products in Europe, as well as being the
largest producer of bioethanol in Austria and Hungary. In its fruit segment,
AGRANA is the top global producer of fruit preparations for the dairy industry
and one of the leading producers of fruit juice concentrates in Europe. In its
2009|10 business year, AGRANA recorded revenues of approximately EUR two
billion. AGRANA employs around 8,000 personnel at 52 facilities in 25 countries
around the world.

According to the environmental impact assessment of its Pischelsdorf site,
AGRANA Bioethanol GmbH can process up to 620,000 tonnes of cereals (mostly
wheat and corn) grown regionally to produce up to 240,000 m³ of bioethanol and
up to 190,000 tonnes of the high quality, GMO-free, protein-rich, animal feed
ActiProt.

This press release is available in German and English at www.agrana.com.

Further inquiry note:
Investor Realtions:
Mag. (FH) Hannes Haider
Tel.: 01-21137-12905
hannes.haider@agrana.com

Public Relations:
Mag. Ulrike Middelhoff
Tel.: 01-21137-12084
ulrike.middelhoff@agrana.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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Attachments with Announcement:
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http://resources.euroadhoc.com/us/bzt2q5f5

company: AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG
Donau-City-Straße 9
A-1220 Wien
phone: +43-1-21137-0
FAX: +43-1-21137-12045
mail: info.ab@agrana.com
WWW: www.agrana.com
sector: Food
ISIN: AT0000603709
indexes: WBI, ATX Prime
stockmarkets: Präsenzhandel: Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, official market: Wien
language: English

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