Sale of our Primary Products business
The Primary Products business (bulk sweeteners, acidulants, industrial starches, personal care, co-products, ethanol) has been rebranded as Primient from 1 March 2022. It remains wholly owned by Tate & Lyle until the agreed sale of a controlling interest to KPS has closed. This is expected to happen beginning of April 2022.
We supply animal feed ingredients to meet with your feed product requirements, optimising animal productivity with a balanced diet. The right balance of fibre, proteins, vitamins and minerals is essential to keep them at their best.
Understanding our Industry
Corn wet milling is the process by which we take corn (maize) to manufacture ingredients used by millions of people around the world each day. During this process, none of the corn is wasted – every part of every kernel is used in some way to produce the quality ingredients that our customers want.
We use two types of corn: dent and waxy. Dent corn is the most common, and is used to make high fructose corn syrup, food starch, ethanol and animal feed. Waxy corn is used primarily for creating stabilisers, thickeners and emulsifiers for the food industry.
Our Industry
Here at Tate & Lyle, corn wet milling is the process by which we refine corn (maize) to manufacture products that are used by millions of people around the world each day. We waste none of the corn during this process – every part of the kernel is used to produce ingredients for our customers.
We use two types of corn: dent and waxy. Dent corn is the most common, and is used to make high fructose corn syrup, food starch, ethanol and animal feed. Waxy corn is used primarily for creating stabilisers, thickeners and emulsifiers for the food industry.
First we clean the shelled corn shipments to make sure that they are free from dust and foreign bodies.
Once clean, the corn is soaked in water, called steepwater, at 50˚C for between 20 and 30 hours, during which it doubles in size. Sulphur dioxide is added to the water to prevent excessive bacterial growth. As the corn swells and softens, the mildly acidic steepwater starts to loosen the gluten bonds within the corn, releasing starch. The corn can now be milled.
The steepwater is not wasted. It is concentrated in an evaporator to capture nutrients, used for animal feed and fermentation.
The corn is coarsely milled in cracking mills to separate out the germ from other components (including starch, fibre and gluten). Now in a form of slurry, the corn flows to the germ or ‘cyclone’ separators to separate out the corn germ.
The corn germ, containing around 45% of the corn’s oil, is removed from the slurry and washed. It is then dried and sold on for further processing to recover the oil.
The remaining slurry then leaves the separation step for fine grinding. After the fine grinding, which releases the starch and gluten from the fibre, the slurry flows over fixed concave screens which catch the fibre but allow the starch and gluten to pass through. The starch-gluten suspension is sent to the starch separators.
The collected fibre is dried for use in animal feed.
The starch-gluten suspension passes through a centrifuge where the gluten, which is less dense than starch, is easily spun out.
The gluten is dried and used in animal feed.
The starch, which still has a small percentage of protein remaining, is washed to remove the last traces of protein and leave a 99.5% pure starch. The starch can either be dried and sold as corn starch, or it can be modified to turn into other products, such as corn sweeteners, corn syrups, dextrose and fructose.
Get in touch to talk to our specialist team and find out how we can help you.
Explore our animal nutrition expertise
As herbivores, ruminants’ diets are composed of plant material. To achieve their production potential (meat or milk), as well as feeding on good quality forage (grass, corn silage or hay), animals benefit from the addition of energy and protein components to their feed. Our highly digestible ingredients containing energy, protein and fibre can be included in a wide variety of ruminant feeds.
Poultry require high levels of nutrients for growth and/or egg production. Poultry diets are usually based on corn. Our corn-based feed ingredients contribute to poultry’s high energy and protein needs, while their natural pigments provide good colouring for organic broilers and egg yolks. Our feed ingredients are a cost-effective means of providing the high-quality, nutrient rich, corn-based diet your poultry require.
As monogastric animals, feed quality and intestinal health are important in pigs. Our feed ingredients provide energy, protein, starch, and vitamins and minerals for growth, as well as the fibre and organic acids needed for a healthy, efficient digestive system.
Pets require high quality, well-balanced diets. Pets have higher protein and energy requirements than that those of most farm animals. Cats in particular have very specific mineral requirements. Our feed ingredients provide the high protein and methionine levels required in cat diets, while keeping mineral levels at a necessary low level. Our corn-based ingredients provide the lighter yellow/orange colour preferred in pet foods.
Our ingredients are an ideal protein and energy source for fish, complimenting and replacing part of the fishmeal component of fish feed. With no anti-nutritional factors, a low mineral content and high energy level, we can provide concentrated protein for salmon, trout, sea bass and bream diets.
CORNPRO® Corn Gluten Meal is a high–quality, concentrated source of protein for cattle, poultry, pets and fish
CORNPRO® Corn Gluten Meal is essentially corn gluten meal, the dried residue from the kernel after the larger part of the starch and germ has been extracted and the bran separated during the wet milling process.
CORNGOLD® Corn Gluten Feed concentrates the goodness of corn into a multi–nutrient product for cattle, pigs, poultry and pets.
CORNGOLD® Corn Gluten Feed is essentially corn gluten feed, the part of the kernel that remains after the larger portion of the starch, gluten and germ has been extracted during wet milling.
Moist CORNGOLD® Corn Gluten Feed can be ensiled at the farm, for use in on-farm dairy and beef feed rations.
CORNGERM™Corn Germ is a natural source of vegetable oil, and an excellent source of energy for poultry, ruminants, pigs and pets. CORNGERM™ Corn Germ is extracted from corn during the wet milling process.
CORNGERM™ Corn Germ is sold to the oil crush industry for extraction of vegetable oils, and can also be used as an animal feed ingredient. It contains 45% oil which, due to the physical structure of the germ, is easy to include in animal feeds.
CORNSTEEP® Concentrated Corn Steep Liquor is a liquid full of soluble corn nutrients used as a cost-effective source of protein for cattle, pigs, poultry and fish.
CORNSTEEP® Concentrated Corn Steep Liquor contains the soluble fraction of the kernel which is extracted during the wet milling process. The liquid left after the starch, germ and gluten is separated out to produce CORNSTEEP®.
CORNSTEEP® Concentrated Corn Steep Liquor is only for sale from our Koog aan de Zaan plant, in the Netherlands.
Find out more about CORNSTEEP® Concentrated Corn Steep Liquor
Carob is a fruit that originates from the carob tree, native to the Mediterranean region. Natural CARCAO® Feed is derived from the pulp of pods after the seeds are extracted.
CARCAO® Feed (dehydrated carob pulp) is an animal feed and pet food ingredient with excellent palatability. It acts as an intestinal bio regulator and provides antidiarrheal benefits. CARCAO® Feed is rich in fibre, natural sugars and potassium, and offers anti-oxidative properties.
This ingredient is rich in calcium and is free from caffeine and theobromine, which is harmful to dogs.
Mycelium is a feed ingredient that derives from fungi. Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus or fungus-like bacterial colony, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae and is a side stream from the production of citric acid.
Mycelium provides protein, beta glucans and fibre to animal feeds.
Mycelium is greyish in colour and can be easily mixed in with other corn-based ingredients to produce protein-rich animal feed. It is renowned for improving milk and milk protein yields in dairy cattle.
A kernel of corn is one of nature's powerhouses, packing protein, oil, fibre, starches and sugars into a tiny golden capsule. Through technology and ingenuity, we extract every gram of useful material, separating from the starch, the protein, germ and fibre, that then go on to form the core of our animal feed products.
Our tried and tested ingredients are a product of years of experience as a feed ingredient supplier, enabling you to create custom-feed solutions and products that meet the needs of livestock businesses.
Comprehensive support
Technical expertise
Innovation and Insight
Where we operate
Our Boleráz facility was the first privatised company in newly-independent Slovakia. This corn-wet mill produces our entire animal feed product range.
The corn wet milling in Koog, The Netherlands, receives its corn by barge and manufactures a wide range of animal feed products.
Our Noto, Italy, site distributes natural carcao feed for sale across Europe
Our Santa Rosa plant produces animal feed and mycelium for customers across Brazil and the Latin American region.
Our Dayton plant produces mycelium for sale across the Americas.
Our Decatur site covers more than 400 acres and includes our production operations, an administration building, R&D labs and full pilot plant capabilities. We produce animal feed products for customers across the US.
Our Lafayette large-scale corn wet milling plant produces CORNGOLD® Corn Gluten Feed, CORNPRO® Corn Gluten Meal and CORNGERM® Corn Germ for sale across the US.
Our facility in Loudon was commissioned in 1982. It is positioned close to the shoreline of the Tennessee River where it has an active barge terminal. The site includes our full-scale corn wet mill produces our CORNGOLD® Corn Gluten Feed, CORNPRO® Corn Gluten Meal and CORNGERM® Corn Germ for sale across the US.
We know how much you care about the quality of your animal nutrition: good quality feed means healthy, productive and valuable animals.
High standards matter when it comes to corn production; we only process corn from approved suppliers that meet our specific quality requirements; and our computer-controlled wet milling plants are carefully operated with numerous in-process and final product checks using a modern FTNIR (Fourier Transform Near Infrared spectroscopy) methodology.
We use specialist external testing labs to analyse trace components and to make sure that all processing and testing records are documented and auditable. Every plant is ISO 9001-2000/HACCP certified. Plants in the Netherlands and Slovakia are also EFISC (European Feed Ingredients Safety Certification) certified and conform to the one-third party Feed GMP (Good for Manufacturing Practices) scheme.
When it comes to quality, we never stand still, actively encouraging a culture of continuous improvement. This takes teamwork, focus and constant evaluation, but vital in making sure we continue to lead the way in customer satisfaction.