Turnover: 2.8 billion EUR (2023)

Country: France

Cristal Union is a French sugar cooperative formed in 2000 by the merger of the Arcis, Bazancourt, Corbeilles and Eclaron sugar factories. The company is at the same time a sugar group, an agricultural alcohol operator, and a bioethanol and feed producer.

The cooperative's historical activity is sugar production, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of Cristal Union's sales. The group owns eight sugar factories that produce beet sugar for the retail and industrial markets.

Cristal Union's sugar brands are : Papa, created in 1981, Erstein (1893) and Eridania (1899). As a leading French producer in the industrial sugar market, Cristal Union, together with its commercial subsidiary Cristalco, has developed a range that includes all types of industrial sugar

News

Cristal Union's Sainte-Emilie sugar refinery invests in decarbonation 04/09/2023

  • Investment in a beet pulp drying unit: €25 million
  • Cristal Union Group sales in 2022: 2 billion euros
  • Number of Cristal Union sugar factories in France: 8

Cristal Union in top form 08/06/2023

  • France's second-largest sugar producer: Cristal Union
  • Record results for fiscal 2022-2023
  • 2,000 employees and 9,000 cooperative members
  • 2.3 billion euros in sales last year (up 30%).

Sugar: a high price for decarbonization 06/04/2023

  • Hundreds of millions of euros are needed to decarbonize the industrial sites that emit the most CO2.
  • Sugar manufacturers are among the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.
  • The Cristal Union group estimates the total cost of decarbonizing its 8 French sugar factories at over €1 billion, or 59% of its total sales.
  • By 2050, all Cristal Union sites could be energy self-sufficient.

Cristal Union strengthens its position in specialty alcohols 06/07/2022

  • Cristal Union produces six million hectolitres of agricultural alcohol a year, in addition to its sugar business.
  • Half of this production is considered "specialty" bioethanol, destined for the perfume, cosmetics, spirits, detergents and pharmaceutical markets. The other half is used for fuel production.
  • Cristal Union expands its regenerated alcohol unit in Aube
  • The site recovers unfit-for-sale products from its customers, purifies them and returns them to the market
  • Cristal Union operates three other sites in France

Cristal Union to pay beet growers more 13/06/2022

  • Union Cristal has increased its net profit by 40% over 2021-2022, and raised its beet growers' remuneration by 16%
  • The group aims to raise its price to 35 euros by 2022
  • Debt reduced by 9% to 334 million euros on sales of 1.8 billion euros, up 6.4% thanks in large part to soaring prices
  • After reaping substantial profits from sales of hydroalcoholic gel during Covid, Cristal is counting on further increases in ethanol sales

The group operates through 18 production sites and grows 18,000 hectares of beets. The group represents more than 10,000 growers.

In 2020, the group carried out major restructuring plans to cope with its difficulties. As a result, two sugar factories were closed: Toury (Eure-et-Loir) and Bourdon (Puy-de-Dôme). In October 2020, the group announced that it was beginning to reduce losses and recover.

For the 2019/2020 marketing year, the group reported an annual net loss of 89 million euros, compared to 99 million euros in the 2018/2019 fiscal year.

Studies mentioning this company

The sugar market - France

Other companies mentioned:

  • Südzucker
  • Raizen
  • Tereos Groupe
  • Cristal Union
  • 901 le marché du sucre en France
  • Saint Louis Sucre (Sudzucker groupe)
  • Sucden Sucres et Denrées
  • Finasucre
  • Béghin Say (Tereos)
  • Daddy (Cristal Union Groupe)
  • Giraudon et Fils
  • La Perruche (Tereos Groupe)
The bioethanol market - France

Other companies mentioned:

  • APM Maersk
  • Ford
  • Renault Groupe
  • Volvo Group (Renault Trucks et Volvo Trucks)
  • Stellantis (Groupe PSA et Fiat)
  • Volkswagen Group
  • TechnipFMC
  • Vinci Energies
  • Tereos Groupe
  • Cristal Union
  • Bioénergie du Sud-Ouest
  • AtkinsRéalis
  • Maguin
The sugar market - Italy

Other companies mentioned:

  • Südzucker
  • Cristal Union
  • Co.Pro.B.
  • Eridania s.p.a
  • Srb s.p.a
  • Italia Zuccheri Commerciale s.r.l
  • Inagra s.r.l
  • Rader s.p.a