Viscofan
| Company type | Sociedad Anónima |
|---|---|
| BMAD: VIS | |
| ISIN | ES0184262212 |
| Industry | Meat casing manufacturer |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Cáseda, Spain |
Key people | José Domingo de Ampuero y Osma (Chairman) José Antonio Canales (CEO) |
| Revenue | €849.697 million (2019)[1] |
| €130.283 million (2019)[1] | |
| Total assets | €1.085 billion (2019)[1] |
| Total equity | €784.366 million (2019)[1] |
Number of employees | 4,628 (2019)[1] |
| Website | www.viscofan.com |
Viscofan is a Spanish manufacturer of casings for meat products, operating in more than 100 countries.[2] The company produces the four main types of artificial casings available in the market: cellulose, collagen, fibrous, and plastic. It has been listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange General Index since December 1986 and was formerly included in the IBEX 35 index.[3]
History
Viscofan was established in 1975, the same year it began producing and commercializing its products. By December 1986, the company had grown sufficiently to be listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange General Index.
In 1988, as part of its expansion strategy, Viscofan acquired the food group IAN (Industrias Alimentarias de Navarra), which helped strengthen its position in the domestic market.
The company then pursued international growth, acquiring the German firm Naturin GmbH & Co in 1990 and opening new commercial offices abroad. Further acquisitions included Gamex in the Czech Republic (1995), Trificel in São Paulo (Brazil) (1995), Koteksprodukt AD in Serbia (2005), and the assets of Sweden’s AB Tripasin (2005). In 2006, Viscofan expanded its presence in the Americas by purchasing the U.S. and Mexican assets of Teepak.[4]
In 2008, the company expanded its co-generation plant in Spain. In the same year, Viscofan Bioengineering (VBE)[5] was established as a business unit combining biosciences and engineering to supply collagen-based products for use in repairing damaged tissues in patients. The Viscofan Group's Bioengineering unit is located in Weinheim (Germany), a benchmark center for the company's collagen casings, where it has an additional cleanroom to produce medical-grade collagen products.
In 2009, the company created Viscofan Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. in China. Viscofan already distributed its products in China prior to this but lacked its own production center. A year later, in 2010, the first converting plant in the country was inaugurated.
In 2012, Viscofan Uruguay S.A. was created, serving as the first collagen converter in Latin America.
In 2013, a collagen extrusion plant was opened in China. A year later, in 2014, the company opened an extrusion plant in Uruguay.
In 2015, coinciding with its 40th anniversary, Viscofan sold the IAN Group to concentrate fully on the casing business. The company also acquired Nanopack Technology & Packaging to strengthen its plastics business line and inaugurated a new plastics plant in Mexico.
In 2016, Viscofan enhanced its position and expanded its product offering with the acquisition of Vector USA and Vector Europe.[6]
Production lines
Viscofan produces the produces four types of artificial casing:
- Cellulose casings: this variety uses natural cellulose as its raw material. It is mainly used to produce traditionally cooked sausages. In most cases, the casings act as cooking molds and are generally peeled off by the manufacturer before sale to end consumers. Viscofan holds around 50% of the global market share of this product.
- Collagen casings: these casings use collagen as their raw material, a protein that is extracted from cattle and pig hides. This is an alternative to natural casings for the production of fresh and processed sausages. These casings are strong enough for quick stuffing, hanging and oven cooking. Viscofan holds around a third of the global market share of this variety.
- Fibrous casings: these are made with a mix of cellulose and Manila hemp, a plant-based paper that gives the casing high strength and uniform caliber. It is mainly used for large-diameter and sliced meats such as mortadella or pepperonis. Viscofan is among the 3 top producers in the world of this technology.
- Plastic casings: this kind of casing uses different plastic polymers as its raw material, which are mainly used for cooked products such as ham, mortadella and cheese. Viscofan also has plastic products for packaging, such as shrink bags for fresh or frozen meats and plastic films to separate sliced foods. Viscofan is among the 5 top world producers in this technology.
International presence
Viscofan exports a large part of its products to other markets and is currently present in over 100 countries. It has production centers in 13 countries – Spain, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Serbia, China, United States, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Canada, Australia and Thailand – and has commercial offices in 15 countries.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Viscofan. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
- ^ Morgado, Firmino. "Viscofan, oligopolio con poder sobre el precio". Expansión.
- ^ Fernández Hódar, José Antonio. "Viscofan capea con ganancias un contexto de mercado adverso". Expansión.
- ^ "History of Viscofan S.A." FundingUniverse. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "Viscofan Bioengineering".
- ^ MarketScreener (21 October 2016). "Viscofan : Viscofan acquires Vector's companies in Europe and United States | MarketScreener India". in.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
- ^ S.A., Viscofan. "Worldwide Artificial Casings Production - Viscofan". www.viscofan.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
Bibliography
- Guillén, Mauro F.; García-Cana, Esteban (2010). Guillén, Mauro F.; García-Cana, Esteban (2010). The New Multinationals: Spanish Firms in a Global Context (in Spanish). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521516143.
- VV.AA. (2012). Expansión (ed.). Las 40 empresas que crecen en tiempos de crisis (in Spanish). Bubok Publishing. ISBN 978-84-686-3028-1.