Zoutman to build world's most advanced salt tower at North Sea Port
(Posted on 14/10/22)
Zoutman is to erect the world's tallest and most modern production tower for sea salt at its Ghent Kluizendok site in North Sea Port. The 30 million euro investment features high sustainability as well as creating 40 new jobs and enhancing the port's position as a food port.
The new 64.5-meter tower will provide an additional capacity of 150,000 tons per year. High-tech production may start as early as the middle of next year. The site will include five unique optical cleaners to remove impurities from the salt. To Zoutman this investment is an important landmark. The family-owned company specializing in sea salt aims to double their sales by 2030.
The process in the new tower will focus on producing salt without additives in order to combat salt clumping and hardening. "We find that food companies want to switch to table salt without artificial additives as soon as possible. Because of substantial investments in research, we are the only sea salt producer in the world that can offer a quality product for this growing demand," underlines co-CEO Bert Lamote. On top of that, natural and sustainably sourced sea salt is by far the most environmentally friendly type of salt. When extracting salt from the sea, CO2 emissions are up to 31 times lower than salt extracted from mines, the company said.
The new production tower will rank highly in terms of sustainability. Its high-rise reduces space requirements, doubles production efficiency per square meter and allows the use of gravity to reduce energy consumption. The plant that is self-sufficient in energy and heat will purify and reuse its process water.
The new installation is no chance occurrence for North Sea Port. The West Flanders salt producer has had a storage, production and distribution hub at the Kluizendok in Ghent for years. This has developed into the largest covered salt terminal in Europe and the main hub in Zoutman's logistics. The storage capacity is 300,000 tons of sea salt. Each year, the group ships 450,000 tons of salt to more than sixty countries.
This new Zoutman investment will enhance one of North Sea Port's strategic pillars, CEO Daan Schalck pointed out. "The expansion of the Zoutman Ghent facility fits into our efforts to develop North Sea Port as a food port. The 40 additional jobs as well as the increasing cargo throughput of 150,000 tons of sea salt per year will further establish this development. It is good to see that this company of international standing has an eye for sustainability in the extraction of sea salt, the economical use of space with the very innovative building and its operation. A perfect example of how growth and sustainability can go together."
Latest News
Bold plan to decarbonize Detroit port operations and improve air quality
(Posted on 23/04/24)The Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority has revealed details of an ambitious programme to dramatically... Read more
Port of Antwerp Bruges' quarterly figures reflect resilience
(Posted on 18/04/24)The total cargo throughput of Port of Antwerp-Bruges amounted to 70.4 million tonnes in the first quarter... Read more
North Sea Port records Q1 cargo throughput decline
(Posted on 18/04/24)Seaborne cargo transhipment at North Sea Port fell by 3.2% in the first quarter of this year compared... Read more
Green light for river access channel to HAROPA’s Port 2000
(Posted on 15/04/24)The Administrative Court in Rouen, France has dismissed a summary motion seeking the suspension of application... Read more
Agreement to develop Al Faw Grand Port and Economic Zone in Iraq
(Posted on 15/04/24)AD Ports Group, Abu Dhabi based facilitator of global trade, logistics and industry, has entered into... Read more
Rotterdam calls on EU to position ports smartly for future-proofing Europe
(Posted on 29/03/24)The European Union faces the challenge of reconciling the transition to a sustainable economy with preserving... Read more
Study: ports not ready to handle onboard captured carbon dioxide
(Posted on 25/03/24)A recent study commissioned by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), in collaboration... Read more
ABP pioneers grain-monitoring robot
(Posted on 18/03/24)Spearheading innovation in agricultural storage and safety at work, Associated British Ports (ABP),... Read more
Bilbao hosts intra-European green hydrogen corridor discussions
(Posted on 15/03/24)The Port of Bilbao has hosted a meeting organised by the business agency of the Netherlands, with representatives... Read more
Collaboration to reduce port emissions across North America
(Posted on 10/03/24)Technology group Wärtsilä has entered into a collaboration agreement with Seattle, USA based... Read more
