July 26, 2016 In Good Taste

Volume 8 | Issue 4

Whatever the fruit, whatever the form, ATYS makes all sorts of taste treats come alive. From strawberry to tropical fruits, stabilized whole

TYS Group was founded in 1965 and is well known to food industry professionals all over the world. Formerly SIAS MPA, the company was a subsidiary of the Pernod Ricard Group. Pernod Ricard, wanting to create maximum growth, sold the subsidiary to a new shareholder group, Butler Capital Partners. Over the past 18 months, ATYS Group has restructured its operations, improved its financial performance, and continues to show solid growth potential. In fact, ATYS production increased by 25 percent between 2001 and 2003.

The company’s new name, and the new logo and graphics it sports, reflects the changes that have taken place and represents the increased opportunities for growth and performance and the ability to better serve its customers. Today, the ATYS team is poised to put its international food industry experience and energy into leading an ambitious growth strategy and creating demonstrable value to its customers.

Global Giant
ATYS, a name taken from the Greek God of flora and fertility, is based in 16 countries on five continents. The 2,500 people that make up ATYS use skills acquired over 35 years of mastering complex food manufacturing technologies to bring customers the finest products. All of ATYS’ 20 plants are equipped with quality control and development laboratories with its primary research and development center located in Paris, France.

ATYS supplies a wide range of high quality fruit and natural ingredient preparations to its customers and provides value-added services through logistic support, technical innovation, product safety and full transparency. Atys México is located in the bountiful area of Zamora México. Ever since its foundation, Atys has been the creative impulse in the development of fruit preparations and bases for the national dairy industry, and has remained as the unquestionable leader in the fruit preparation market, supplying more than 50 percent of the national consumption for the dairy industry. Several of the well known global food companies are numbered among its customers, particularly in the dairy industry, including Danone, Gamesa (Pepsico), Nestle, Unilever and Yoplait.

ATYS’ Mexico plant is a vertically integrated fruit packing and processing facility. ATYS’s Mexico produces fruit preparations for the Mexican and Central American markets, while its fruit packing operation prepares frozen fruit for its sister companies around the world. Based on eight acres of land, and including frozen and dry warehouses, plant capacity is around 52,000 tons (115 million pounds) per year and current business is around 48,000 tons (100 million pounds). Its 235 permanent employees and up to 600 additional temporary employees during harvesting prepare 7,000 tons (15 million pounds) of frozen product annually.

“By being a part of the ATYS organization, we have access to the latest product development ideas as well as the most progressive processing technology in the world,” says Juan Sarracino, chief executive officer of ATYS Mexico. “In conjunction with our 15 sister companies, we share access to global markets for flavor trends and raw materials. So no matter what your newest product innovation may be, ATYS can help you increase your chances for success. ATYS believes the more knowledge we can share with our customers, the bigger the advantage we can offer them and their products.”

ATYS US, the company’s headquarters, is located in Brecksville, Ohio and houses research and development laboratories as well as one of the industry’s most advanced pilot plant facilities for testing and evaluation purposes. Its Botkins plant, built in 1994, is one of the newest and largest production facilities and represents state-of-the-art fruit processing. Botkins also is the home to the latest ATYS technologies, which are the result of years of research aimed at maximizing fruit integrity in the finished product. ATYS also operates a plant in Fort Worth, Texas, the first plant in the world specifically designed as a gravity flow fruit processing plant. An ATYS US subsidiary, Flavors From Florida in Winter Haven, Fla., specializes in fruit juice drink bases, citrus purees, sherbet base purees and special emulsions for the beverage industry.

Flavorful & Fresh
“New concepts are the lifeblood of our customers’ marketing efforts and we take that responsibility seriously,” says ATYS Mexico’s Sarracino. “Drawing on our extensive domestic experience, as well as our unique international perspective, we’re constantly developing fruit preparations that not only meet current customer taste trends, but help to set them for the future. Our product development laboratories, both here and overseas, are readily available for your custom development requirements.”

About 90 percent of ATYS Mexico business is providing fruit flavorings to the dairy industry. ATYS helps add zip to standard products like cottage cheese by adding its fruit preparations. In addition to flavoring dips, ATYS México also helps companies develop frozen dessert treats, beverages, bakery and confectionery products.

However, its yogurt market segment is where it excels. “Our years of domestic experience, combined with our unique French heritage, have poised us for being a most valuable consultant for yogurt new concepts,” says Sarracino. “The most well-known consumer brands around the world trust their success to ATYS Mexico constant development and innovation.”

A growing part of ATYS Mexico’s business is ATYS’ bakery products, which enhance fruit-filled pastries and cookies. The delicate balancing act of maintaining the best of nature’s essence while delivering the flavor, color and functionality customers need has become an ATYS trademark. “The new launch of our fillings is an exciting time. We’re the only company in Mexico supplying these types of fillings,” says Sarracino. “They are high viscosity fillings that can be heat resistant over a long period of time without losing freshness and taste characteristics and we’re really excited about the possibilities these products will bring to our customers.”

Fruit Futures
Customers in the food industry in general are very concerned about food safety and ATYS is answering their call. “Control of chemicals, pesticides, foreign bodies – all of these are big concerns of our customers,” says Sarracino. “We are an FDA certified facility, bioterrorist free and are certified in HACCP food safety and by the AIB for good manufacturing practices. ATYS is also Kosher-certified. We are continually addressing safety issues and are devoted to meeting the demands of our customers.

ATYS Mexico expects to launch around six new products per month for the entire year. In January 2005 it premiered its green tea based drink, another trend in the industry – the use of functional ingredients to enhance product value and marketing potential. “We’re working with more and more functional ingredients currently. We’re concerned not only about quality but also about the health benefits we may be able to supply to the consumer,” says Sarracino.

Ultimately, the ATYS team shares common values of professionalism, capacity for change, exceptional customer service and integrity. “For a company with multiple plant locations in many countries, diversity in lifestyle, history and culture is a given. It is that diversity that creates the unique team spirit of the ATYS Group and it is that team spirit that makes ATYS the global leader in fruit and natural ingredient preparations,” says Sarracino. “More than ever, we want to be respectful participants in the local life while striving to bring improvements in the food quality and the technology requirements of our customers. “

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