Tessenderlo Group is a family-controlled Belgian industrial conglomerate whose common thread is the maximal valorisation of molecules and by-products — summarised in its corporate motto "Every Molecule Counts." Following the 2023 absorption of Picanol Group, it operates five segments: Agro (sulphur-based liquid fertilisers, sulphate of potash and off-patent crop protection, with North America as the profit engine), Bio-valorization (PB Leiner gelatin/collagen and Akiolis rendering), Industrial Solutions (DYKA plastic pipes and Kuhlmann water-treatment chemicals), Machines & Technologies (Picanol weaving machines, Proferro foundry, Psicontrol electronics, Melotte and Osterwalder), and T-Power (a 425 MW gas-fired plant in Belgium). The group is in a strategic pivot: it is contributing PB Leiner to a 15%-owned collagen joint venture with Darling Ingredients, has bought a 20% "cornerstone" stake in FMC Corporation, and is reshaping itself into a hybrid of wholly owned operations and long-term minority listed holdings, under the direction of controlling shareholder and CEO Luc Tack.
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### What the company does
Tessenderlo Group manufactures and sells a diversified set of industrial and agricultural products. Its own description (FY2025 press release boilerplate), paraphrased: it is an industrial group concentrating on agriculture, the valorisation of bio-residuals, machinery, mechanical engineering, electronics, energy and industrial solutions with a water focus; it is headquartered in Belgium, active in over 100 countries, employs roughly 7,000 people, and builds its strategy around valorising every product and process to the maximum ("Every Molecule Counts").
### Business model and revenue model
| Revenue type | Segments | FY2025 revenue (EUR M) | Share of group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial and agricultural products | Agro, Bio-valorization, Industrial Solutions | 2180.9 | 78.9% |
| Capital equipment, components and aftermarket | Machines & Technologies | 504.3 | 18.3% |
| Contracted energy (tolling) | T-Power | 77.9 | 2.8% |
The group is overwhelmingly a product business. Revenue is generated by selling physical goods — liquid and solid fertilisers, crop-protection formulations, gelatin and collagen peptides, rendered fats and proteins, plastic pipe systems, inorganic water-treatment chemicals, weaving machines, castings and electronic controllers. Two elements diverge from the pure product model:
**T-Power (contracted energy):** The 425 MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant earned a contracted tolling fee for 15 years under an agreement with RWE that ended on 30 June 2026. This produced an annuity-like EUR 55–62 M of Adjusted EBITDA per year at a 74–78% margin. A six-month tolling agreement with an unnamed major European energy company began on 1 July 2026, on terms that management says will not contribute significantly to 2H26 EBITDA.
**Services and aftermarket (Machines & Technologies):** Picanol sells spare parts, upgrade kits, weaving frames and reeds (via GTP Global Textile Partner), training, and digital services through its PicConnect platform. These are not separately quantified.
There is no material subscription or licensing revenue. Crop Protection (NovaSource) sells registered off-patent molecules under product labels, which is a regulatory-asset-based product model rather than licensing.
### Value-chain position
Tessenderlo typically sits in the mid-stream conversion layer of its value chains. It converts by-products or commodity inputs (sulphur, muriate of potash (MOP), animal bones/hides/skins and slaughter by-products, PVC/PE/PP resins, scrap and pig iron, natural gas) into higher-value intermediate or finished goods. Two structural features stand out:
1. **By-product integration.** Sulphate of potash (SOP) production at Ham (Belgium) via the Mannheim process co-produces hydrochloric acid (HCl), part of which goes to Vynova for PVC production and part to ferric chloride (water treatment) at Kuhlmann Europe. Akiolis rendering supplies raw material and energy streams; the new biomass cogeneration plant at Saint-Langis-lès-Mortagne (inaugurated 9 April 2026) burns animal by-products for renewable power.
2. **Proximity to end users.** Crop Nutrition in the US sells largely through agricultural retailers and distributors. Picanol sells weaving machines directly to mills in more than 100 countries.
### Customer types and end-markets
| End-market | Segment(s) | Customer types |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture (row crops, specialty crops, horticulture) | Agro | Ag retailers, distributors, cooperatives, growers (US, Europe, Latin America) |
| Food, nutrition, health and pharma | Bio-valorization (PB Leiner) | Food manufacturers, pharma/nutraceutical capsule makers, collagen-peptide brands |
| Animal feed, pet food, oleochemicals, bio-energy | Bio-valorization (Akiolis) | Feed and petfood producers, oleochemical and biofuel users |
| Building and construction, civil infrastructure | Industrial Solutions (DYKA) | Installers, wholesalers, utilities, contractors (Benelux, France, UK, Poland and others) |
| Municipal and industrial water treatment | Industrial Solutions (Kuhlmann Europe, moleko) | Municipalities, water utilities, industrial plants |
| Textiles | Machines & Technologies (Picanol) | Weaving mills (Asia, Turkey, Americas, Europe) |
| General engineering, compressors, agricultural machinery, powder metallurgy | Machines & Technologies (Proferro, Psicontrol, Melotte, Osterwalder) | OEMs |
| Electricity | T-Power | Tolling counterparty (utility/energy trader) |
### Independent characterisation
Tessenderlo is best understood as a controlled holding-style conglomerate with an agricultural core. Agro now contributes about a third of revenue and about 40% of Adjusted EBITDA (FY2025: EUR 935.1 M revenue, EUR 117.8 M EBITDA). The remaining segments are a mix of (i) a structurally challenged European gelatin franchise now being merged into a Darling-controlled JV, (ii) cyclical construction-exposed pipes, (iii) a cyclical capital-goods business (Picanol) exposed to yen-advantaged Japanese competition, and (iv) a gas plant whose long-term contracted revenue has just lapsed.
Group-level profitability has fallen sharply from the FY2021–FY2022 peak. Adjusted EBITDA margin fell from about 17% to about 10%, and IFRS EBIT went from EUR 288.1 M (FY2022 reported) to roughly zero in FY2025, as impairments, restructuring and FX losses accumulated. Cash generation has nonetheless remained solid: operating cash flow was EUR 225.7 M in FY2025 and EUR 333.2 M in FY2024.
The 2026 capital-allocation shift — a USD 403 M debt-funded minority stake in FMC, plus a 15% non-controlling position in Nextida — signals that management intends to compound value partly through listed minority "cornerstone" holdings, not just through operations.