Corporate Profile
Araucaria Unit
Located in the city of Araucaria - Parana, IMCOPA's headquarters employs more than 300 people in several areas, for soybean crushing and manufacturing of soybean products. Its industrial site is one of the most complete in the industry, from soybean reception and storage, to crushing and production of lecithin, refined oil, as well as in the production of soybean protein concentrate and soy ethanol.
The reception and storage area has a capacity to receive about 3.000 tons of soybeans daily. Besides GMO tests, IMCOPA controls the levels of moisture, foreign matter and bean variation, among others, as part of its quality system. The Araucaria plant has a crushing capacity of over 2,400 tons a day. Using a soybean hull separation system, the industrial plant also produces a special meal, the hipro meal with high protein content - around 48%.
The oil and meal extraction is an almost totally automated process, allowing the best rates of production, yield and, most important, safety.
The soybean crude oil made in Araucaria is used to make soybean lecithin and the meal is stored for export. The IMCOPA refinery has a capacity to process 1,000 tons of degummed oil per day, and it is one of the largest plants in capacity in Brazil.
IMCOPA also has a PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottling facility, with a capacity of 300,000 20-bottle boxes monthly. Its brand name, ''LEVE'' is one of the only few non-GMO certified consumer products in Brazil.
The soybean protein concentrate production takes place in Araucaria. The plant is the result of a R&D investment in new products and is one of the few industrial plants in the world to produce soybean meal in a 60% and 70% concentration. This meal is totally exported to the fish and pig feed industries in countries like Norway and Chile. The monthly production of 60% soybean protein concentrate meal is 30,000 tons.
During the soybean protein concentration production, a byproduct - the soybean molasses - is originated. It is used for the soy ethanol production and also as boiler fuel.
IMCOPA generates the majority of the energy it uses. By reutilizing products as fuel for its boilers, the company is on its way to self-sufficiency in fuels and energy.
In its ethanol plant - also a world's first - located in Araucaria, IMCOPA produces up to 10,000 liters of Soybean Hydrated ethanol daily. This byproduct has the same physical and chemical features of the ethanol from sugarcane. The IMCOPA plant is authorized by ANP (the Brazilian National Petrol Agency) to produce and market fuel ethanol for cars. The company's cars were the first ones that use it in its tanks.
Cambe Unit
Acquired in 2004 and located in Cambe - Parana, the plant is established on an area of 12 ha. and features 55.000 sq. m. of facilities.
Its 120-plus employees - split into three shifts - guarantee a production capacity of 2,400 tons of soybeans per day. The unit's reception capacity is around 5,500 tons a day and its storage capacity reaches up to 120,000 tons. All received soybeans are classified and undergo a test that ensures their non-GMO identity.
The productive process allows the unit to make two types of meals: the standard meal with 46% of protein content, and the hipro meal, with 48% of protein content, obtained through the reduction in fiber content by removing the soybeans hulls. IMCOPA Cambe also makes soybean oil. This oil undergoes a process called degumming, in which phosphatide-rich gums are removed. Starting from the removed gums, soybean lecithin is also made and distributed to the domestic and international markets.
From the 2nd quarter of 2009 on, IMCOPA Cambe will also have a new oil refinery, with a capacity of refining 500 tons daily. Also there will be a new PET bottling facility, with a capacity of 900,000 20-bottle boxes monthly.