# Viscofan

Viscofan is a Spanish manufacturer of casings for meat products operating in over 100 countries.
It is a global producer with the capacity to manufacture the four main technologies available in the artificial casings market (cellulose, collagen, fibrous and plastic).
The company has been trading in the Madrid Stock Exchange General Index since December 1986. Viscofan is a former component of the IBEX 35.

## History

Viscofan was founded in 1975, the year in which the production and commercialization of its products began. The company's growth led it to start share trading in the Madrid Stock Exchange General Index in December 1986.
As part of its growth strategy, in 1988, Viscofan acquired the food group IAN (Industrias Alimentarias de Navarra), which enabled it to gain momentum in the industry at a national level.
Following this, the company designed an international expansion strategy which began with the acquisition of the German company Naturin GmbH&Co in 1990, and with the opening of new commercial offices in other countries.
In 1995, it acquired Gamex in the Czech Republic, and Trificiel in São Paulo (Brazil). Its expansion continued, and in 2005, it acquired Koteksprodukt AD in Serbia and the assets of AB Tripasin of Sweden. A year later, in 2006, Viscofan strengthened its presence in the American market with the purchase of the American assets of Teepak (US and Mexico).
In 2008, the company executed the expansion of its co-generation plant in Spain. In the same year, Viscofan Bioengineering (VBE) was established, it was meant to be a business unit that combined 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 centre for the company's collagen casings, where it has an additional cleanroom to produce collagen products for medical use.
In 2009, the company created Viscofan Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. in China. Viscofan already distributed its products in China prior to this but it did not have its own production centre. 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.

## Production lines

Viscofan produces the four kinds of artificial casing available on the market:
* Cellulose casings: this variety uses natural cellulose as its raw material. It is mainly used to produce traditionally cooked sausages. In most cases, the casing acts merely as a cooking mould, and is 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. Collagen offers high resistance because it can be used 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 a uniform calibre. It is mainly used for high-calibre 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 the 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 10 countries – Spain, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Serbia, China, United States, Brazil, Mexico, and Uruguay – and has commercial offices in 15 countries.