Ohly announced that it has agreed to divest its Hutchinson Torula Yeast facility and associated Torula whole cell business to Lallemand, a global producer of yeast and bacteria based products, with immediate effect. The divestiture follows a strategic review by Ohly to find a partner to better utilize and sustainably secure the future of the Hutchinson site.
“We are proud of the vital role that the Hutchinson site has played in enabling Ohly Americas to expand in the North American yeast market," said Ralf Fink, CEO, Ohly. “We believe this transfer of ownership will yield important benefits for our partners, customers and employees by ensuring the continued delivery of whole cell yeast products to its existing customers whilst providing job security for the Hutchinson site team, whose valuable contributions we are deeply grateful for.”
Ohly will continue to operate globally and within the US out of its Boyceville facility, now being able to focus on Torula yeast extract based specialties and PRODRY culinary powders. Therefore, as part of the divestiture agreement Lallemand and Ohly have entered into a long-term supply partnership to supply Ohly with cream raw material from Hutchinson for use in all downstream products at Boyceville.
Lars Asferg, president and GM of the Lallemand Bio-ingredients business, said, “Lallemand is already a well-established global supplier of inactive yeast products for savory and health food applications. The acquisition of the Hutchinson business will provide our new and existing customers with a wider choice of products and taste profiles and further develop our technology leadership. We are delighted to have formed a supply partnership with Ohly demonstrating our long term commitment to the specialty inactive yeast sector."
