Specialist Nutrition has secured a five-year deal worth that could be worth up to €135m to supply by-products from a US ethanol plant as sustainable feed to farmers in New York.

Part of the Arvum Group in Waterford, Specialist Nutrition turns co-products produced by the distilling, brewing and biofuel industries into animal feed.

The deal with Attis Industries sees Arvum establish a US base in Syracuse, New York, to market and distribute 500,000 tonnes of feed annually to New Yor’s dairy farmers.

Attis said the agreement to market the wet cake and syrup co-product streams into speciality feed applications as the first step in transforming its Fulton facility into a GreenTech campus.

Tracing its origins back to 1859, Arvum Group comprises a number of agri businesses, spanning seeds to animal feed. The family firm had turnover of €25.3m in the year to June 2018 and booked a pre-tax profit of €725,000. Bank debt was €3.1m, total liabilities amounted to €7m and net worth at period end was €9m.

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“Our expansion into the US market has been achieved following two decades of strong collaboration with international food and beverage companies in Europe,” said Arvum Group CEO Roy Power (pictured).

“Our team have spent a year working with Attis, stepping them through our process to the point where they are confident in signing a five-year deal that changes the sustainable nature of their business.

“The deal means we can supply of locally-produced animal feed to New York state farmers, while the ethanol plant will be lowering its carbon footprint and increasing efficiencies.”