"The food industry is facing profound changes!"
Interview with Thomas Wünsche, Industry Director Food & Beverage at ANDRITZ Separation
The world population is expected to increase by about two billion people in the next 20 years, bringing with it enormous challenges in global food supply. Moreover, young consumers are placing much stricter demands on sustainability and animal welfare. How the international technology group ANDRITZ intends to accompany the food processing industry through this transformation was explained by Thomas Wünsche in an interview with Wirtschaftsforum.
Wirtschaftsforum: What are the main focus areas of your activity?
Thomas Wünsche: The central objective is the development of process solutions that deliver high-quality proteins faster to supply the rapidly increasing world population. The global decrease in agricultural and grazing land, an increasingly strong focus on animal welfare and husbandry, and crop failures due to droughts or floods necessitate the search for alternative process solutions. These processes must deliver proteins in a shorter time with less resource use. Independence from climatic factors, reduced land use alongside decreased energy and water use are at the forefront and simultaneously reduce CO2 emissions. In this context, we are dealing with solutions that contribute to minimizing food waste and at the same time enable the production of health-promoting foods. An example of this is the production of proteins through alternative methods, such as the use of larvae.
Wirtschaftsforum: The latter is a hot topic in public discourse.
Thomas Wünsche: However, the urgency of the global protein shortage is misunderstood – with potentially catastrophic consequences for humanity if we do not take decisive action today. According to WHO forecasts, the world population will grow by approximately two billion people in the next 20 years, with this population increase particularly affecting the countries of the so-called Third World – regions where sustainable food security is already inadequately guaranteed today. The debates we have in Europe about alternative protein sources or vegan foods completely miss the central issue. I recently spent a longer period in Nigeria – and it is surprising how much more far-reaching many innovations in food technology are already being implemented there.
Wirtschaftsforum: How is this noticeable?
Thomas Wünsche: In Europe, we face a luxury problem. An average person has a need for about 100 g of proteins per day. If the protein price per kilogram increases by one EUR, nobody here notices it. In Nigeria, where the average monthly salary may be 100 EUR, such a price increase is an existential problem. Indeed, food prices there have quadrupled in some areas over the past few years, while wages have only risen by about 20%. To ensure a sustainably secure supply of essential foods, the highest possible efficiency is imperative. On one hand, the efficiency of processing and valorizing agricultural products must be increased, and the staple foods produced must be made durable under climatic factors. On the other hand, humans and animals compete in the use of basic food components. The use of nutrients unsuitable for human consumption should be preferred in animal nutrition, while the so-called conversion rate, i.e., the transformation of plant proteins into animal proteins, must be sufficiently optimized. It is precisely at this point that we can provide targeted support with our know-how.
Wirtschaftsforum: Impulses from which Europe can also learn?
Thomas Wünsche: Especially young consumers question established eating habits and pay particular attention to sustainability and animal welfare. This also puts the local food processing industry in the face of profound change – during which we want to support our customers as a strong partner.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Wünsche, with an annual turnover of over 8.6 billion EUR, ANDRITZ acts as an international technology group in various industries – from the paper industry to the construction of hydroelectric power plants. How does the Food-and-Beverage division, which you are responsible for, fit into the overall context of the company's activities?
Thomas Wünsche: Over the past 20 years, ANDRITZ has significantly expanded through strategic acquisitions, including company parts of well-known brands such as Krauss-Maffei and Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz. We have now successfully consolidated all these elements under the name ANDRITZ, thus appearing as a coherent unit in the market – this has not been a straightforward challenge in the Food-and-Beverage segment, as ANDRITZ was not primarily associated with this economic sector previously.
With an annual turnover of approximately 140 million EUR, this area of activity still represents a relatively small part of the overall market engagement of our company, even though we see very clear growth potentials for our technologies and pursue them confidently.
Wirtschaftsforum: What is your core competency in this regard?
Thomas Wünsche: In the food-and-beverage segment, ANDRITZ appears as a classic machinery manufacturer – thus, we supply plants as functional basic units. In our 170-year company history, we have been developing and implementing comprehensive solutions for the food and animal feed industries, and many other sectors, for decades. Additionally, the business unit 'Alternative Protein Solutions' was established, which is exclusively dedicated to holistic process solutions for our customers. Against this backdrop, we have made significant investments in a new R&D center, where we can simulate and validate corresponding processes to subsequently manufacture customized plants for our customers on this basis.