NEW YORK — E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. is beginning to see some of the top-line synergies come forward from its 2011 acquisition of Danisco and its assumption of full ownership of Solae in 2012, said Ellen Kullman, chairman and chief executive officer.
In a May 31 presentation at the Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York, Ms. Kullman said DuPont is “really happy” it acquired Danisco and the integration is going well with cost synergies ahead of schedule. She said the company now is in the process of integrating the Solae isolate business into Danisco.
“We have a full suite of products in both bakery, in meat, in dairy and in other segments of food ingredients, and we continue to drive forward,” she said.
DuPont acquired Danisco in 2011. DuPont in 2012 acquired full ownership of St. Louis-based Solae, which develops soy-based ingredients, from Bunge. Previously, Solae was a joint venture between DuPont and Bunge. DuPont earlier this year combined three of its food-related units into one business called DuPont Nutrition & Health. Danisco, Solae and Qualicon are the three units.
Ms. Kullman said DuPont is spending a lot of time globalizing the Danisco business.
Specifically, Ms. Kullman pointed to China as a country where there is a big opportunity for the food industry.
Commenting briefly on the news that Monsanto’s bioengineered wheat recently showed up in a field in Oregon, Ms. Kullman said bioengineering is an area coming under more scrutiny than ever before. But with global populations increasing and arable land holding steady, it’s a technology that is needed, she said.