Agri-Processing Plant
The Agri-Processing Plant in Selby is a joint venture between Tereos, a French agri-industrial co-operative, and Sedamyl, a leading Italian producer of products for the food and paper industries, as well as for fermentation.
Location: Selby
Client: Sedalcol UK Ltd
Cost: £45m
Completion: Initial Project 2015, expansion ongoing
The Selby plant was the first major investment in the UK by the Sedamyl/Tereos joint venture. The plant converts wheat into starch, gluten, bran and grain neutral spirit and the process includes milling, separation, drying, fermentation and distillation to produce high-quality products for the food and drink industry.
The new plant was constructed on a brownfield site formerly operated by Tate & Lyle for Citric Acid production, and extends to some 15.4 hectares (37.7 acres) overall. The plant currently processes 265,000 tonnes of wheat and exports 45 million litres of grain neutral spirit, 16,000 tonnes of gluten, 60,000 tonnes of bran, and 50,000 tonnes of starch annually.
The project required the clearance of redundant process plant and buildings, decontamination, and construction of new grain intake and storage, wet and dry mills, fermentation tanks, distillation complex, and tank farms for alcohol and chemical storage. Additional facilities include finished product storage, product outloading facilities, new production offices, and a new roads and services infrastructure.
The main process equipment was designed, delivered and installed by Sedamyl and associated specialist companies. Blyth & Blyth were the Lead Consultant for the entire project, which included advising on the land purchase, remediation, utilities, Planning and Building Warrant approvals, all civil/structural design/infrastructure design and plant/services coordination, architectural input (with support from Hypostyle), tendering, contract management and site supervision. The project was undertaken with 2 years from site purchase to commercial operation.
Key challenges
The key challenges initially focussed on the UK legislative requirements for development of the brownfield site and for obtaining Planning and Building Warrant approvals for a large industrial development in a semi-urban setting. The Local Authority, Blyth & Blyth and Sedalcol worked effectively together to obtain the necessary approvals , which included assessments for noise, air quality, flood risk and drainage. The site is permitted under IPPC and operation is regulated by the Environment Agency.
As much of the plant and equipment was sourced from mainland Europe, the team overcame both technical and linguistic challenges to ensure coordination of the plant with the civil and structural work, compliance with UK Regulations, delivery on programme, and safe installation and commissioning.
Ground conditions were poor which necessitated extensive piling and ground improvement.
The site is within a zone with a high susceptibility to flooding, therefore drainage systems, utilities and critical plant and equipment were designed to mitigate risk to the plant from inundation by the adjacent River Ouse.
Results
The plant is highly successful and there has been continuous investment in capacity and product range since completion. Sedalcol work well with the local community and have brought opportunities for highly-skilled operators to the area, as well as supporting local farmers and large food and drink manufacturers throughout the UK and Europe.
The new plant was constructed with no lost-time accidents and was completed within a challenging programme and within budget.